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The Blondie back catalogue is almost complete, just one or two more to go, so without further ado, let’s get started on the Greatest Hits…
TRACKLISTING
1) Dreaming (Harry/Stein) 2) Call Me (Moroder/Harry) 3) One Way Or Another (Harry/Harrison) 4) Heart Of Glass (Harry/Stein) 5) The Tide Is High (Holt/Evans/Barrett) 6) X-Offender (Harry/Valentine) 7) Hanging On The Telephone (Lee) 8) Rip Her To Shreds (Harry/Stein) 9) Rapture (Harry/Stein) 10) Atomic (Harry/Destri) 11) Picture This (Harry/Stein/Destri) 12) In The Flesh (Harry/Stein) 13) Denis (Levenson) 14) (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear (Valentine) 15) Union City Blue (Harry/Harrison) 16) The Hardest Part (Harry/Stein) 17) Island Of Lost Souls (Harry/Stein) 18) Sunday Girl (Stein) 19) Maria (Destri)
Over the years there have an assortment of Blondie compilation packages, all of which vary in quality Miss Muffet-style, some are really, really good and some are really, really bad (read: horrid) but this one is the most recent, compiled and released in-between 1999’s ‘No Exit’ and 2003’s ‘The Curse of Blondie’, which makes it the most up-to-date Blondie compilation package, stat fans. Which means it includes the No. 1 hit ‘Maria’ but apart from that it’s business as usual as the focus remains on the years 1976 to 1982, and rightly so. This was a time long, long ago when pop as we know it today was still taking shape and evolving into what we know it as today and this is the era of Blondie. Simply put, no other band can claim to have had the influence over modern music that Blondie has, and I kid you not. Their influence is unparalleled and unrivalled. Everyone from Madonna, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Eurythmics, Garbage, Blur, Hole, the Strokes, Hot Hot Heat, the Rapture, the Hives and everything inbetween have drawn something from the Blondie legacy. Be it the skinny-tie fashions, the pop-art manifesto and attitude, the razor-sharp, guttural guitars or the outstanding contribution from frontwoman Debbie Harry, who has done more for women in rock than any other, Blondie’s influence over the shape of modern music is undeniable. Furthermore, no other band or act, with the possible exception of David Bowie, can claim to have experimented so greatly while crucially remaining within the pop mainstream. For a band with punk origins to then move into pop and turn their hands to rap, jazz, disco and reggae was almost unthinkable in those days and to some extent remains so to this day. Yet during this outrageous experimentation, Blondie were the biggest band in the world, scoring No. 1’s across the globe, as their unerring knack for crafting perfect tunes made the experimentation all the more subtle.
This compilation isn’t in chronological order, which makes it quite difficult to chart any kind of evolution within the band, but that matters not, for once you hear the opening, sensational drum beats that launch us into ‘Dreaming’, matters such as this are forgotten. But first, the history. Blondie were formed in New York 1974 by Debbie Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar), Ivan Kraal (guitar), Fred Smith (bass) and Billy O’Connor (drums). Don’t worry about the last three names though guys, because they are bit-part players. The band was on the very outskirts of a burgeoning scene in NYC which would come to be known as punk. Other bands such as Television, the Patti Smith Group, Talking Heads, the Ramones, Suicide and the Heartbreakers were also gathering together around this point in time and the focus of all the band’s attention was a small (now legendary) nightclub by the name of CBGB’s, which became a hive of activity for all these bands sick and tired of the rock mainstream which had become dominated by bloated, stagnant rock acts.
Each band would approach the task differently. No-one could claim that any of the bands highlighted above sounded in any way the same, something that cannot be said of the shambolic British punk movement, with its rama-lama-destroy Sex Pistols trade-offs. Talking Heads specialized in quirky, jittery art-funk, the Ramones were masters of the simple, two-minute, three-chord chant and Television combined mind-bending, formless guitars with mind-bending, formless poetry to create this strange synthesis.
But what of Blondie? What did they bring to the table? Well, more so than any other band they were rooted in pop sensibilities. They had an uncanny knack for a hit and great ideas about how to revitalize pop. Harry once remarked that she wanted to make the kind of music she used to hear on the radio back in the glory days of Phil Spector, the Beach Boys and classic girl groups, and that is something highly evident in Blondie’s music.
In 1976 Blondie, now with a new line-up of Harry, Stein, Gary Valentine (bass), Jimmy Destri (keyboards) and Clem Burke (drums) released their eponymous debut album. Chock-full of classics, it failed to get anywhere in the US charts and kind of died without trace. But it was undoubtedly a classic album, a rough, tough, swaggering album rooted in punk and pop-art. It is represented here on the Greatest Hits package with three entries, ‘Rip Her To Shreds’, ‘X-Offender’ and ‘In The Flesh’. ‘Rip Her To Shreds’ is a wonderfully chaotic, violent tale of jealousy and cruelty complete with all sorts of memories from modern popular culture such as comic books, King Kong and Brenda Starr. An exercise in high trash, it cuts the target of Harry’s venom to pieces simply for the way she looks. However, the drama and nastiness is downplayed by the sense that the band have their tongues firmly in check and this sense of irony is evident throughout many of the songs here. ‘X-Offender’, penned by Harry and Valentine, is a story of a cop falling for a criminal he has just arrested, the classic tale of boy-meets-girl given a nasty scorpion’s sting in the tail. The song is propelled by some amazing drumming by Clem Burke and the song is vaguely reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’, although in sound, definitely not in terms of lyrics. ‘In The Flesh’ sounds completely different to the other two and is something of a ballad, a cooing, pleading ballad at that. The song is drenched in irony and is a perfect deconstruction of a love song (‘Went walking one day on the lower East side/Met you with a girlfriend, you were so divine She said, "Hands off this one sweetie, this boy is mine”/I couldn't resist you - I'm not deaf, dumb, and blind’). The band’s fascination with the connection between high and low culture was perfectly demonstrated on the debut album, which I urge you to buy. By the way, in all instances, I have written ops about each individual album if you want to know more detail (plug, plug).
Their next album, ‘Plastic Letters’, saw the band make moves towards prominence although this came primarily in the UK and Australia as opposed to back home in the US, where they were still something of an unknown quantity. Valentine had by now left the band, tired of his contributions being ignored, though he did leave the band with a little gem, the sweet ‘(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear’, which never used to be my favourite, I always thought it a little boring, but a recent re-listening of the song has made me appreciate its fine craftsmanship, Valentine’s love for magic and ESP evident in this quirky little love song (‘Floating past the evidence of possibilities/We could navigate together, psychic frequencies/Coming into contact with outer entities/We could entertain each one with our theosophies’).
This Greatest Hits package boasts another little number from ‘Plastic Letters’, the cute ‘Denis’, a cover of a 1960’s hit by Randy & the Rainbows which was originally titled ‘Denise’. Blondie give the song a new spin and make it sounds fresh and exciting but at the same time remain faithful to the original, capturing the classic 60’s sound. The song became a huge hit at football matches across Britain and went soaring to No. 2. The simple yet effective song had earned Blondie a hit and they had finally made the mainstream. The song, curiously, was done at the insistence of Harry, who was adamant that it would be a bit hit – clearly Harry had her eyes on the prize in those early days. The band were not so keen but Harry’s pop ingénue paid off.
By 1978 Blondie had added guitarist Frank Infante and bassist Nigel Harrison, and, crucially, producer Mike Chapman, who had worked with the Sweet and Suzi Quatro in the early 70’s. The classic Blondie line-up that would remain until the band’s extinction in 1982 was now complete, and they would make waves with the release of the groundbreaking ‘Parallel Lines’ which as a work of art is every bit as important as anything by Bowie, Talking Heads or Patti Smith. One of the most important albums of all time, it has undoubtedly changed the face of pop music. It is represented here by five cuts: ‘One Way Or Another’, ‘Heart Of Glass’, ‘Hanging On The Telephone’, ‘Picture This’ and ‘Sunday Girl’. Each one has passed into public consciousness and have become pretty famous songs.
‘One Way Or Another’ takes Blondie into stalker territory, with Harry telling her target that she’s not going to give up until she gets him. The lyrics deal heavily in paranoia and obsession: ‘I'll walk down the mall/Stand over by the wall/Where I can see it all/Find out who ya call/Lead you to the supermarket checkout/Some specials and rat food, get lost in the crowd’. Could this be the only song with ‘rat food’ in the lyrics? Maybe so. There are still strong shades of punk in this classic cut and it has one of the most memorable guitar riffs in memory.
‘Heart Of Glass’ is one of the most important records of all time, as the band march fearlessly into the enemy territory of disco. It predated ‘Blue Monday’ and the dance-rock crossover by a good number of years, and is testament to Harry and Stein’s razor-sharp knack for what was new and cool, also highlighting their boldness and capacity for invention. Can you imagine a punk band today to release a disco song that would go No. 1 all over the world? It isn’t going to happen. The effortlessly cool, nonchalant vocal delivery and the non-ceasing, pulsing beat of the song combine to demonstrate a band on cruise control, crafting a song that seems so deceptively easy.
‘Hanging On The Telephone’ was a cover of another NYC band, the Nerves, and has more shades of punk. There is a strong sense of aggression and danger here and the song is a wonderful burst of explosive energy, propelled once again by Burke’s magnificent drumming. ‘Picture This’, an effort by the band’s three key songwriters Harry, Stein and Destri, isn’t as frantic as a lot of the band’s material but has still stood the test of time, and contains some ambiguous lyrics: ‘I will give you my finest hour/The one I spent watching you shower/I will give you my finest hour, oh yeah/All I want is a photo in my wallet/A small remembrance of something more solid/All I want is a picture of you’. ‘Sunday Girl’ is one of my favourite Blondie tracks simply because it is just the perfect pop song, the melody is so sweet and clever and the lyrics so brilliant. An ode to his and Harry’s absent cat Sunday Man penned by Stein, it is represented here by an inferior French version, which isn’t really as good as the original to be honest. But still a good song.
By 1979 Blondie were one of the biggest bands in the world and their next release, ‘Eat To The Beat’ would be their effort to capitalize on their popularity and while it did do just that, keeping Blondie at the top of the pop tree, it was prone to moments where the quality control could most certainly slip. This package gives us four cuts from ‘Eat To The Beat’: ‘Dreaming’, ‘Atomic’, ‘Union City Blue’ and ‘The Hardest Part’. Four classics really. ‘Dreaming’ which opens the album, has the finest drumming from an on-form Burke and is sizzling with energy and propulsion, sounding ever-so-classy and dynamic, one of Blondie’s finest hours undoubtedly. The lyrics are once again amazing, as Harry plays up the trashy vamp role, and this is countered by some classic girl-group melodies, with backing vocals from Ellie Greenwich, who has a key figure in the 1960’s Brill Building songwriting ‘factory’.
I will never grow tired of hearing ‘Atomic’. Penned by Harry and Destri, who commented that after the massive success of ‘Heart of Glass’ they were simply parodying themselves at a time when the ‘Disco Sucks’ movement was rife. Bubbling with energy and with outstanding, powerful vocals from Harry, it is one of Blondie’s finest moments. The classic spaghetti-western guitar riff that opens the song is still instantly recognisable after all these years. The bass bobs and weaves like Pele and once again we are struck by the drums – surely Burke is one of the best drummers of all time? Keith Moon? You must be joking. Thanks to its use in ‘Trainspotting’ and in Coca-Cola commercials the song is now something of a classic and deservedly so. Darkly cool, the song is an effortless blueprint for electro-rock for years to come, still copied to this day. Death disco, maybe.
‘Union City Blue’ and ‘The Hardest Part’ are two of the lesser known cuts from the album but this shouldn’t downplay their greatness. The former is a panoramic epic, Blondie the Movie in widescreen, the lyrics so simple and the melody driving and passionate. The latter is a sleazy, dirty take on funk with grooves that have an almost military precision. The lyrics talk of some kind of armed robbery ('Nitro and acetylene open la machine/No short heist, no overnight, big money take you to Brazil/Bullet-proof vest, shatterproof glass, overdrive, we're gonna pass/Time bomb, greasy mob, count down, hurry up, come on') and Harry gives her dirtiest vocal delivery yet.
In 1980 Blondie were commissioned to work with legendary producer Giorgio Moroder to pen the theme to the upcoming Richard Gere film ‘American Gigolo’. They served up another classic, ‘Call Me’, which has another memorable riff and has some very colourful lyrics, Harry sounding sometimes sweet, sometimes dirty.
1980’s ‘Autoamerican’ wasn’t such a huge success but curiously the singles that were released off it were. Here the band seemed to get too big for their boots and tried all sorts of experimentation, some which worked, some which failed. The two singles here were the success stories, both of them smash hits: ‘The Tide Is High’ and ‘Rapture’. The former is Blondie going reggae, the latter Blondie going rap. Forget the Atomic Kitten version of ‘The Tide Is High’, their unintelligent recital of the classic really doesn’t do it justice. Blondie’s lazy, sloping, lilting effort is so vastly superior. There aren’t many white bands who could turn their hands to reggae and be successful, yet Blondie pull it off with their usual verve. ‘Rapture’ is a beast of a song and one of the most crucial in the history of pop. As Stein and Harry immersed themselves in downtown NYC culture, they were canny enough to notice a small underground movement emerging: hip-hop. Taking the movement overground they release ‘Rapture’, which was the first rap song to go to No. 1, the first rap song by a white artist and the first rap song by a female. So important for so many reasons. Blondie helped move rap into the mainstream, for better or for worse, and it captures so much about the era when it was written. The guitars are funky and cool and the bass is once again fantastic.
Come 1982 Blondie were a band in crisis and released their final, pretty shoddy, album ‘The Hunter’. The only track pulled from that album is ‘Island of Lost Souls’, which gets a lot of stick but isn’t really that bad. It’s a bit reggae-by-numbers, but it is saved by some strong lyrics which counter the happy-go-lucky tune. After a run of five straight No. 1’s ‘Island of Lost Souls’ peaked at No. 11, a sign that Blondie’s grip on the charts was coming to an end. It would have been nice to see the other single from ‘The Hunter’, ‘War Child’ garner an entry on this package. It peaked at No. 39 in the charts and was their last single from their first incarnation but was superior to ‘Island…’ in quality.
In the intervening years from 1982 to 1998 the different members did different things. Harry threw herself into acting (with star turns in ‘Videodrome’ and ‘Hairspray’) and a solo career, which by all accounts was quite underwhelming. Stein became seriously ill with a rare genetic disease called pemphigus which kept him out of the spotlight for a few years, but after his recovery he worked on Harry’s solo career and became a producer for acts like Iggy Pop and the Gun Club. Destri retired from the music biz after one solo album, while Burke became the drummer for the Eurythmics, the Ramones and Nancy Sinatra among others. Harrison and Infante drifted out of contact with the other members and were not invited to the 1998 reunion, which resulted in a messy lawsuit.
1999’s ‘No Exit’, a well-received but patchy effort’ is represented here by the cool ‘Maria’, which is a fine example of the talents of Jimmy Destri, whose work in the band is so often ignored in favour of putting the spotlight on Harry and Stein. ‘Maria’ has the band sounding both classic and contemporary and Harry’s vocals are once again pretty darn cool. Her voice has changed and she can’t always hit the notes like she used to but she’s still a force to be reckoned with.
And there we have it, a Greatest Hits package. This is an ideal introduction to this fantastic band, and it is amazing to think of the constant stream of hit after hit that the band display here. In a relatively short amount of time (1976-1982) the band put together a marathon of memorable pop classics that can be appreciated by anybody, from the music critic to the artist to the punk to the everyday pop fan. The sleevenotes on this package leave a lot to be desired but give a decent enough survey of Blondie’s career and there are some cool pics to look at as well. All in all, an excellent package that should belong in everybody’s collection.
Edit: If I were to be ultra-picky, I would suggest a few amendments to the album, I think a couple of good album tracks would have further improved an already fantastic collection. The songs I would add would be 'In The Sun' from 'Blondie', 'Fan Mail' and/or 'Contact In Red Square' from 'Plastic Letters', '11:59' from 'Parallel Lines', 'Die Young, Stay Pretty' from 'Eat To The Beat' and 'Live It Up' from 'Autoamerican' as well as the aforementioned 'War Child' from 'The Hunter', though anything else from that album doesn't really deserve a mention. Another track from 'No Exit' would have been welcome as well, possibly the second single off the album, 'Nothing Is Real But The Girl'.
But these are minor quibbles. Buy the album, it'll definitely improve your CD collection.
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a fantastic review, have an E! I'm glad to see maria is on there (its currently playing on my iTunes...with me singing/screeching along) :-D Hannah xxx
cocoklo 16.02.2006 22:32
Well worth an E. Excellent review; well detailed and brilliantly written!! Love it! Chloe x
fabfrog5 15.02.2006 00:09
a great review! i love blondie! wasn't too impressed when i saw them live tho!! :) x
Dreaming Call Me One Way Or Another Heart Of Glass The Tide Is High X Offender ... more
Hanging On The Telephone Rip Her To Shreds Rapture Atomic Picture This In The Flesh Denis (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear Union City Blue The Harde...
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