Cocody Rock - Alpha Blondy

Advantages: The first high ranking new wave album by any artists or band
Disadvantages: A couple of flat tracks that dampen the spark of the album

...so this very immature, sweaty sound of hard thumping, microphone stand shaking new wave might as well have been natural to Blondie as throughout this album, they adapt gracefully to each and every style. This entirely, timeless classic album is still admired by fellow musicians to day as being one of the most influential and inspiring of the era. Along with its striking sleeve, it contains a small piece about the making of the album and the first meeting with Blondie by album producer Mike Chapman. He recalls in the appraisable and touching account his incredible nervousness on his first encounter with Stein and Harry. Being called in to produce, he had only become a big name from producing glam and glitter rock albums and was not prepared for a futuristic punk rock band with an attitude. He tells of the tensions with the recording... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A brave step forward, experimental
Disadvantages: This doesn't necessarily equate as good music

...- back in the CBGB's days of early punk, Blondie's wit and intelligence was never noted, the irony seemed to fall flat on an American audience, who opted for the far more in-your-face intelligence and quirk-funk of the Talking Heads. Blondie must have been seeking the same kind of respect and cultural esteem? Either way, this track is appalling, worst song on the album. This album was recently re-released with some added on material. The first of the new tracks is 'Call Me', the theme from the 1980 Richard Gere film 'American Gigolo', and it is a fine piece of work, showing Blondie back in their guise as a rock band. The only problem is this is the long version and it starts to annoy you after a while. The second added track is 'Suzy and Jeffrey', the B-side to 'The Tide Is High', and a track which outclasses most of 'Autoamerican', which... Read review

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Advantages: The songs are still timeless
Disadvantages: Pub rock tendencies, improvised bits get a bit tedious

...Blondie's appearance at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, where they put in a barnstorming set. 'The Tide Is High' is included from that set. As a band, Blondie prove themselves to be quite competent but with a tendency to veer into pub-rock cliché. For example, there is the boring bass solo on 'Atomic', which, while quite quirky on the studio original, seems extremely tired and dull when performed live. Elsewhere, the band (Debbie Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar), Jimmy Destri (keyboards), Clem Burke (drums), Paul Carbonara (guitar) and Leigh Foxx (bass)) seem far too content with jamming away and improvising without pushing the song forward, as evidenced by the drone that the once-cool 'Rapture' becomes. Elsewhere, it is the songs themselves that are the problem. This is most noticeable on the two cuts from 1999's 'No Exit' album... Read review

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