Critical reception
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated in his review of the band's debut album that, along with "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster", "It's all great fun, but [the album] wouldn't have resonated throughout the years if the group hadn't written such incredibly infectious, memorable tunes as ... 'Dance This Mess Around'." [1] In his review of the track, Evan Sawdey of PopMatters mentions that "fans have known this track for years as not only one of the finest tunes the group has ever composed, but also one of the absolute best tracks of the era," and that "This, along with "52 Girls", are the kind of songs that gave the band's debut its distinct personality." [2]
In their book The Story of the B-52s, Scott Creney and Brigette Herron wrote:
Dance This Mess Around's power is rooted in its slow buildup, the way Cindy takes her time before she explodes. When she appends the think it over line with her own roll it over in your mind, it's the first line in the song that doesn't sound borrowed from an old 60s song. [...] The third time she sings Why don't you dance with me? Cindy breaks the melody into something simultaneously more raw and melodic. It's an audacious choice, and Fred and Kate appear to suddenly turn the heartbreak into a party. They don’t even have time to do all 16 dances before Cindy starts to feel better. [3]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
