Bouncing off the Satellites is the fourth studio album by American new wave band the B-52's, released on September 8, 1986, by Warner Bros. (US) and Island Records (Europe, Japan). It was recorded in July 1985 and was produced by Tony Mansfield. Founding member and guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS after most of the work on the album was completed, but a year prior to its release. The band had gone on hiatus by the time Bouncing Off the Satellites was released, and it took three years for the band to recover from Wilson's death and release their next studio album, Cosmic Thing.
Recording
Bouncing off the Satellites was recorded in July 1985.
According to Kate Pierson, "Wig" was written and recorded after the band's label, Warner Bros., asked them to write a hit song for the album. The band had the title in mind for years and devised the song via a jam session.
Death of Ricky Wilson
During the recording, guitarist Ricky Wilson was suffering from AIDS. Keith Strickland was the only bandmate who was informed of Wilson's illness. Strickland later stated that Wilson "was very protective, particularly of Cindy and his family", due to the public's misconceptions about AIDS.
On October 12, 1985, Wilson succumbed to the illness, at the age of 32. Pierson has stated that Wilson worked on the album in its entirety prior to his death, and that it was completed.
Release and promotion
The album was released on September 8, 1986.
Pierson later stated, "Warner Bros. figured since we weren't touring after Ricky died that they would just not promote the record. We all went through so many changes—especially without touring, and the record just dropped like a stone—and we all dealt with our grief." Carney had previously played saxophone on the B-52's' Mesopotamia (1982) and Whammy! (1983) releases, and had subsequently toured with the band.
Reception
Commercial
Despite the relative lack of promotion, "Summer of Love" was released as the lead single and initially received a considerable amount of airplay from some radio stations, managing to peak at No. 3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Pierson later recalled that Warner Bros. employee Steve Baker had tried to get the label to promote the album in light of the single's success, to no avail.
| rev2 = PopMatters
| rev2Score = 6/10
| rev3 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev3Score =
| rev4 = Select
| rev4Score = 3/5
| rev5 = Sounds
| rev5Score =
| rev6 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
| rev6Score = 7/10
| rev7 = The Village Voice
| rev7Score = B+
Robert Christgau of The Village Voice felt Pierson's and Cindy Wilson's contributions to the album were "watercolors posing as Kenny Scharfs—not only don't 'Summer of Love' and 'She Brakes for Rainbows' redeem anybody's '60s retro, they don't even take off on it", adding that "Fred's abrasive camp saves the day".
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated, "Considering their loss, it's not surprising that the B-52's don't sound entirely focused throughout the record", adding that "There are so many musicians on the record that it winds up sounding too carefully considered -- the polar opposite of the loose, inspired fun of their early work." Brian Cullman in Spin described the album as "clean, well-manicured, and dull".
Track listing
Personnel
The B-52's
- Cindy Wilson – vocals (1–2, 4–7, 9–10)
- Kate Pierson – vocals (1, 3–6, 9), organ (3)
- Fred Schneider – vocals (4–6, 8–9)
- Ricky Wilson – guitars (1–2, 7, 9), bass (4–6), vocals (6), backing vocals (7)
- Keith Strickland – bass (1, 2, 9, 10), keyboards (2, 4, 6–7, 9–10), guitars (3–7), percussion (3), sitar (5), vocals (6), harmonica (7), backing vocals (7, 10)
Additional musicians
- Tony Mansfield – Fairlight CMI (all tracks)
- Mark Mazur – guitars (3), bass (3)
- Tim Rollins – guitars (3)
- John Coté – all other instruments (8), backing vocals (8)
- Tom Beckerman – lead guitar (8)
Technical
- Tony Mansfield – producer
- Shep Pettibone – additional production (1, 2), remixing (1)
- Michael Hutchinson – engineer (1)
- Steve Peck – engineer (2)
- Tony Phillips – engineer (3–10)
- Fernando Kral – assistant engineer
- Don Peterkofsky – assistant engineer
- Phil Brown – mastering
- Andrea Starr – coordinator
- Matthew Murphy – coordinator
- Pat Sabatino – coordinator
- Keith Strickland – back cover photography
- Kenny Scharf – front cover painting
- Keith Bennett/Kav Deluxe – art direction
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1986-87)
!Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| 73
|-
|-
|-
|}