The B-52’s – “Strobe Light/Dirty Back Road” (1980) Review | Is That You, Baby?

Kronomyth 2.2: A perky pair from those perennial partypeople.

This was a double A-side single that didn’t contain a single hit. Ouch. In fairness, Wild Planet already had plenty of popular tunes: “Private Idaho,” “Give Me Back My Man,” “Quiche Lorraine,” “Party Out of Bounds.” But it wasn’t Sticky Fingers; digging deeper for more gold was bound to come up empty. Strobe Light is a fun track, to be sure. “Is that you, baby? (Pause.) Yeeaahh.” That line alone is worth playing in an endless loop. Dirty Back Road is also a really good tune with a catchy, driving riff behind it. You could drop the needle anywhere on Wild Planet and encounter something just as interesting, which is the problem: these are album tracks masquerading as a single. Of minor interest, this was originally available in a printed polybag for your shopping convenience—and, of course, to announce to the casual observer that you had just purchased the latest single from The B-52’s.

The Product

A1. Strobe Light (Fred Schneider/Keith Strickland/Ricky Wilson)
B1. Dirty Back Road (Ricky Wilson/Robert Waldrop)

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch single in November 1980 in the UK (Island, WIP 6665) with picture sleeve and polybag. Also released as promotional 12-inch single in 1980 in the US (Warner Bros., PRO-A-927).