Whammy!

Template:About {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |Template:Short description|noreplace}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other Template:Category handler Template:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Mesopotamia1982Bouncing Off the Satellites1986Studio albumWhammy!The_B-52's_-_Whammy!.jpgthe B-52'sApril 27, 1983<ref name="NudeLiners">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>December 1982Compass Point (Nassau, Bahamas)* New wave

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Template:Duration (second pressing)*Warner Bros.
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Whammy! is the third studio album by American new wave band the B-52's, released on April 27, 1983, by Warner Bros. (US) and Island Records (Europe, Japan). It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, in December 1982 and produced by Steven Stanley. The album spawned three singles: "Legal Tender", "Whammy Kiss", and "Song for a Future Generation".

The album entered the Billboard 200 twice in 1983, reaching both number 29 and 171 throughout the year, while "Legal Tender" reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Singles chart alongside its two respective singles.

The band's goal with Whammy! was to update their signature sound with drum machines and synthesizers. The album was also the first to feature vocal performances by all five members of the band, as exemplified in "Song for a Future Generation". This was the final album the B-52s released before guitarist and founding member Ricky Wilson died of AIDS in 1985, although he appears posthumously on their next studio album, Bouncing Off the Satellites (1986).

RecordingEdit

The B-52's initially conceived Whammy! in early 1982, during a visit to Compass Point Studios, where the band commenced re-recordings of three unreleased songs: "Butterbean", "Big Bird", and "Queen of Las Vegas".Template:Sfn All three tracks were originally intended to be included on their previous release, Mesopotamia (1982), but none were completed, due to pressure and time constraints from Warner Bros. and their manager Gary Kurfirst.Template:Sfn The album's remaining six songs ("Legal Tender", "Whammy Kiss", "Song for a Future Generation", "Trism", "Don't Worry", and "Work That Skirt") were recorded in December 1982, again at Compass Point Studios.Template:Sfn

Unlike their previous studio albums, all instruments on Whammy! were played exclusively by Keith Strickland and Ricky Wilson.Template:Sfn Both played the guitar and keyboards, while Strickland played the drums and Wilson played the bass.Template:Sfn Remarking on the band's new focus on electronic instrumentation, singer/instrumentalist Kate Pierson later called the recording "a transitional album."<ref name="avclub">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Additionally, Pierson stated that drummer Strickland "didn't want to play drums anymore, so Whammy! featured drum machines and some synthesizers. It was kind of a big change in sound, which I wasn't really for very much. I didn't really like the drum machine. It was a different sound, but Whammy! was very much based around that".<ref name="avclub"/> However, she added that, during the subsequent concert tour, the band would alternate between using drum machines and live drums played by Strickland.<ref name="avclub"/>

Producer Steven Stanley supported Wilson and Strickland's initial concept of mixing the album into one continuous track, in a manner similar to the band's remix album, Party Mix! (1981).Template:Sfn However, both Kurfirst and Warner Brothers vetoed this decision in favor of a more traditional method of track sequencing.Template:Sfn

ReleaseEdit

The album was released on April 27, 1983.<ref name="NudeLiners"/> On initial pressings of the LP, the seventh track was "Don't Worry", a cover version of the Yoko Ono song "Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)". However, the song was removed on later pressings due to legal issues and replaced with "Moon 83".<ref name="Erlewine"/> The song is a remake of their earlier track "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)" from the band's 1979 eponymous debut studio album, released as the B-side of the "Legal Tender" single.

ReceptionEdit

CommercialEdit

Whammy! was a commercial success, spawning the hit singles "Legal Tender", "Whammy Kiss", and "Song for a Future Generation". The album entered the Billboard 200 twice in 1983, reaching both number 29 and 171 throughout the year,<ref name=BillboardAlbum>{{#ifeq: | yes | https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1077{{

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}}</ref> while "Legal Tender" reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Singles chart alongside "Whammy Kiss" and "Song for a Future Generation".<ref>{{#ifeq: | yes | https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1077{{

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CriticalEdit

Template:Album ratings Critical reception for Whammy! was positive at the time of its release.Template:Sfn Most critics regarded the album as a return to form after the band's previous release, Mesopotamia, which they felt strayed too far from the band's signature sound. Praise was given to the drum machines and synthesizers, which created upbeat and highly danceable songs,Template:Sfn as well as the tight lyrics and over the top vocals.Template:Sfn

Rolling StoneTemplate:'s Christopher Connelly, while referring to Mesopotamia as "underrated", was pleased with the band's return to their trademark style, and felt that even with the addition of Devo-style keyboards, producer Steven Stanley had "kept the band's basic strengths intact: breakneck tempos, deliciously uninhibited singing and an earnest enthusiasm for some of the universe's less-celebrated pleasures". He particularly praised Pierson, Cindy Wilson, and Fred Schneider's vocals. While remarking that the entirety of side two is "a waste", he concluded, "What is important is that this band is having fun again - and in this age of dopey novelty songs and cheesy dance tracks, nobody does it better."<ref name="Connelly"/> Robert Christgau of The Village Voice continued his support, making it a "Pick Hit" and stating that while the band "still pick up some great ideas at interplanetary garage sales, their celebration of the pop mess-around is getting earthier."<ref name="Christgau"/>

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic later said the album was "certainly entertaining, even with its faults," praising the songs "Legal Tender", "Whammy Kiss", "Butterbean", and "Song for a Future Generation", and overall regarding the album as a strong follow-up to Mesopotamia, though he criticized the album's overuse of drum machines and synthesizers.<ref name="Erlewine"/> Ben Wener of The Spectator commented favorably on Whammy!, describing it as an "overlooked gem".<ref name="Spectator">Template:Cite news</ref>

Track listingEdit

Template:Track listing

On later pressings of the album, "Don't Worry" was replaced with "Moon 83" (length: 3:58).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

PersonnelEdit

The B-52's

Cindy Wilson – vocals
Kate Pierson – vocals
Fred Schneider – vocals
Ricky Wilson – keyboards, guitars, bass, vocals on "Song for a Future Generation"
Keith Strickland – keyboards, guitars, drums, vocals on "Song for a Future Generation"

Additional musicians

Ralph Carney – saxophone on "Big Bird"
David Buck – trumpet on "Big Bird"

Technical

Steven Stanley – producer, engineer
Benjamin Armbrister – assistant engineer
Dennis Halliburton – assistant engineer
Ted Jensen – mastering
Gene Greif – art direction
Phyllis of Tiffany Wigs – "wig-do's"
Vikki Warren – dresses
William Wegman – cover photography<ref name="avclub"/>

ChartsEdit

Chart (1983)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200<ref name=BillboardAlbum/>	29
UK Albums Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	33

CertificationsEdit

Template:Certification Table Top Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Bottom

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

Template:Cite book

External linksEdit

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Template:The B-52's

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