Fred Schneider & The Shake Society by Fred Schneider

Fred Schneider & The Shake Society was the first solo album from the frontman of the B-52's, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1984, and it sounds like exactly what happens when that band's chief yelper gets the run of the studio. Schneider co-produced it with Bernie Worrell, who also spread keyboards, synths and backing vocals across several tracks, so the new wave bounce rides on a thick layer of funk. The players changed from song to song, but B-52's bandmate Kate Pierson turns up on backing vocals on four of them.

Schneider does what he always does, half-singing and half-declaiming in the style he worked out reading poetry over guitars. "Monster" is the keeper, with Pierson singing on it and camping it up in the video too. The record got a second life in 1991, reissued simply as Fred Schneider, and "Monster" finally crept onto the Billboard Hot 100 that July, peaking at 85.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.