Fred Schneider & The Shake Society

I get the impression that people like to bad mouth solo projects like these before they've heard any of it, although with a reputation like Fred Schneider's you know the album could easily be awful or incredible. Not that Fred has really turned in a bad record with the B-52's or anything, in fact it seems like he brings a lot of the fun to the group. After all, what do you think of when you recall Rock Lobster? Anyway, in 1984 Fred decided to create a solo album of sorts with the help of John Cote writing the music and Bernie Worrell co-producing. The result was Fred Schneider & The Shake Society, although as I mentioned earlier it's more of a solo album than Fred with a real band.

The album is probably best known for the single Monster, featuring the unforgettable lyric, for better or worse, "There's a Monster in my pants and it does a nasty dance, when it moves in and out everybody starts to shout". Fred would later deny the obvious and even makes reference later in the song to the "monster" possibly being a dinosaur but who actually wants to think that long about something as catchy and dumb as this song? The dumb and catchy part turned Monster into a bit of a club hit although I'm certain the lyrics kept it off most radio stations, but most people weren't listening to music like this on the radio anyway. As for the rest of the album, Fred isn't trying to push boundaries, he just wants you to boogie and he mostly succeeds. Tracks like Cut The Concrete, upon which he instructs you to "cut it with your feet", or the goofy Orbit continue the groove while I'm Gonna Haunt You sounds like a B-52's leftover, in part certainly because Ricky Wilson contributed uncredited guitar and Kate Pierson provided backing vocals. The most notably insane moments though are the ridiculous duet with Patti LaBelle, It's Time To Kiss, upon which Fred proclaims that it's "time to get down on the bearskin rug" to a tune devoid of any real romanticism, although I can't imagine a seriously romantic tune with Fred's name attached to it, and Summer In Hell, an ode to a place where "the party goes on forever" and there are more dumb jokes about bad tans and constant heat than you can count! This album is the perfect kind of dumb, never meant to be taken seriously and only intended to cause bodily spasms on the dance floor. It's also kind of forgettable as a lot of the songs sound a bit the same but Fred's vocal audacity keeps them from becoming generic grooves. Face it, if Fred's having a good time, you're gonna have a good time!

It's easy to understand why an album like Fred Schneider & The Shake Society would be left to the era in which it was born, though it had an unlikely rebirth in 1991 with half of the album remixed and The Shake Society dropped from the label. It appears Reprise/Warners were trying to maintain the popularity of the B's 1989 reunion album, Cosmic Thing, by reissuing their Party Mix and Mesopotamia EPs on one CD as well, and there may also have been signs that an additional B-52's album might not have been coming anytime soon, what with Cindy Wilson having left the group shortly thereafter and having had no participation on 1992's Good Stuff album. Monster received a second life as a single although the album hit the cut-out bins pretty quickly. It's not meant as a knock to Fred but this is simply not the type of record you charged fifteen dollars for in the early nineties. At best this should have been a budget title, but record labels are greedy and Camelot Music and Sam Goody were the only shows in town so they could get away with that kind of abuse.

This is a ridiculously fun and goofy album which is actually better than it might sound on paper. Please don't expect anything world-changing, just be ready to sing along to some really goofy tunes about space junk, ghosts, perverted dinosaurs and a caveman from New Jersey. For your listening pleasure I'm posting a fresh rip of the original vinyl release of Fred Schneider & The Shake Society along with the five remixes from the 1991 reissue of the album. The remixes don't add anything new, in fact they seem intent to bury some of the new wave influences, though the 91 mix of Monster is actually a little longer and works pretty well. Enjoy!


Fred Schneider & The Shake Society

01 Monster
02 Cut The Concrete
03 Summer In Hell
04 Orbit
05 I'm Gonna Haunt You
06 It's Time To Kiss
07 This Planet's A mess
08 Wave
09 Boonga (The New Jersey Caveman)

1991 Remixes:
10 Monster
11 Cut The Concrete
12 Summer In Hell
13 It's Time To Kiss
14 Boonga (The New Jersey Caveman)


This is the cover for the 1991 reissue of the album. The original is bad but this is awful!



One more thing, you can purchase the 91 reissue of the album digitally on Amazon or iTunes. At $5.99 I'd buy it if I didn't already own the 91 CD and 84 vinyl. I always say you should support the artist, though I don't think Fred will make anything off it if you do. Nonetheless, you can purchase it at either of those digital retailers or you could purchase the debut EP from his new side-project, The Superions, also at Amazon or iTunes. Who can say no to the musical question, Who Threw That Ham At Me? Seriously, I'm sure Fred would appreciate that far more and I'm sure if you enjoy this you'll enjoy that!