"Legal Tender" is probably my favorite music video of all time, and one of my all-time favorite songs as well. It's not because it has some huge emotional connotation for me, and it's really quite a simple, silly little song, but something about the way it sounds - the vocals sung in unison, the cheesy drum machine beat adorned with hand claps, and the wonky keyboards - just equals sonic bliss for me. I first heard the song during an MTV special about the band, back at the end of the 1980's when "Love Shack" was riding high in the charts and introducing the band to a whole new generation of fans including myself. The video is such a great encapsulation of the band, what with the many wigs, the hilariously cheap-looking blue screen effects, and the random cactus during the simple guitar solo. It was a song only the B-52's could have done, and still sounds original to this day, maybe even more so than it did when it was first released. It's probably the most upbeat and poppy sounding song ever written about counterfeiting.
This was the first single from the band's 1983 album "Whammy!" which saw the band experimenting with drum machines and keyboards, perhaps trying a little too hard to fit in with the new wave/synth pop sound of the time. Despite not making much impact on any charts, and alienating some fans who preferred the rougher, more natural guitar/drum sound of their first couple albums, "Whammy!" does contain some great tracks including "Song For a Future Generation" and "Queen of Las Vegas."
Chartwise, "Legal Tender" got to #81 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #9 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Rating: OOOOO (Five out of Five O's)
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