Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artefacts.
With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware.
A1: Party Out Of Bounds
A2: Dirty Back Road
A3: Runnin' Around
A4: Give Me Back My Man
A5: Private Idaho
B1: Devil In My Car
B2: Quiche Lorraine
B3: Strobe Light
B4: 53 Miles West Of Venus
Party out of bounds! Not only is this sentiment one of the B-52's directives on their ceaselessly fun sophomore album, it's one of the record's hit songs, and perfectly summarises the spirit and intent behind this new-wave classic. Completely up to task in following up their kitschy debut, the B-52's step everything up a notch: Songwriting, humour, exaggeration, melodies, hooks, and group interplay. Wild Planet also finds the band embracing stronger psychedelic accents that seamlessly mesh with its lava-lamp colours and textures. What an album.
Rollicking, rousing, and riotous, Wild Planet soars on vocal efforts put forth by the delightfully campy chanteuses Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson, whose innocent girly tonalities wonderfully match up with Fred Schneider's effeminate deliveries and manic presentations. While the sheer exuberance and giddy nature of the music tends to make them an afterthought, the trio's harmonies are utterly amazing. Add in Ricky Wilson's propulsive beach-bound guitar riffs, random squealing synthesizers, and a surfeit of danceable rhythms, and you have nothing less than a 1980s masterpiece that, due to its optimistic vibes and buoyant grooves, only gets better with time.
As for clever humour and quirky character? Everywhere. Mentions of an icebox, fruit punch, and surprise greetings kick off the defining "Party Out of Bounds." "Private Idaho" is an instant mix-tape essential, sent up with declamatory refrains and insouciant beats. Not to be outdone, the B-52's tackle the subject of devilish possession on the witty "Devil In My Car" and get hysterical on "Strobe Light," surely the finest tune ever written about making love in the shadow of a pulsating illumination device. Schneider is on fire, embracing his sexuality while pushing his mates to new limits. There's no serious matter here; Wild Planet is all about celebrating, and few records do a better job of capturing such a mood.
Mastered on our world-renowned mastering system and pressed at RTI, Silver Label's numbered edition LP presents the B-52's 1980 classic in a rousing fidelity that will have you wanting to jump off your furniture, lampshade on head. The all-important bass lines, divergent vocal timbres, and usually unnoticed guitar lines attain an unprecedented level of balance and realism. And, few bands took advantage of the large-format LP cover art like the B-52's. The cover portrait of these fashionistas is reason enough to get these extraordinary reissue, which takes great pride in reproducing the original art right down to the last smears of eyeliner on Pierson and Wilson's faces.
GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's founding fathers - Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL's most heralded past releases.
The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customised reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)
First and foremost, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs only utilise first generation original master recordings as source material for their releases. MFSL then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master's sonic information. The lacquers are then plated in a specialised process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). MFSL further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors' items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.
Produced by Rhett Davies, The B-52's
Engineered by Benjamin Armbrister
Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, 4/1980
Mastered by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on the GAIN 2 ULTRA ANALOG SYSTEM.
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, MOFI 1-014
Series: Silver Label Vinyl Series
Format: Vinyl LP, Limited Edition, Numbered, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 2011
Genre: New Wave
Mobile Fidelity records are typically supplied in a thin plastic wrap with a perforated edge. Unfortunately, during normal handling, it's very easy for this perforated edge to pop open. Rather than ship your record exposed to the elements, if this outer wrap pops open, we carefully replace it with a proper sealable outer record sleeve in order to keep your record safe. Trust us, it's for the better! Have no doubt that your record is brand new and ready to add to your collection!
Model Number | LMFS014 |
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RRP | 65.00 |