Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 07/29/2008
Run Time: 39:27
Fred Schneider's first solo turn away from
the B-52's was definitely a product of its time. For all of his band's
new wave icon status,
the B-52's weren't a
synth rock group as such, but that's what more or less ended up backing him here, mostly thanks to one
John Coté and his sometimes serviceable but unremarkable arrangements. Happily,
Coté is content to either try to ape
the B-52's or just let
Schneider do his thing when he himself has little to offer, and more often than not the result is sometimes fine if not collectively spectacular. Perhaps wisely enough, the lead song and single from the album was not only the best but one of the most
B-52's-like,
"Monster." With
Kate Pierson turning in one of several guest performances and
Schneider clearly having deadpan fun with lines like "There's a monster in my pants and it does a nasty dance," it's hard to resist.
"Summer in Hell" is another winner, and while
Pierson reappears it's much more
Schneider and
Coté's show, a solid slice of ersatz
B-52's merriment about how all the fun people ended up in the fiery regions. When it's just
Schneider,
Coté, and assorted others (including, in an inspired choice that just doesn't pan out for much, co-producer
Bernie Worrell), things are often far less interesting, and more than once
Schneider's trademark giddiness and odd imagery are the only things going for it. Remove those and songs like
"Cut the Concrete" -- down to a really worthless ending guitar solo that seems borrowed from a bad mid-'80s cop drama -- and
"This Planet's a Mess" could be trashed without anyone feeling any loss. Great as an EP, flawed as a full-length.
~Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
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