Best of Blondie [Original recording reissued]

Blondie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000003JAL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,619 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While Best Of may not be inclusive enough for the avid collector because it focuses more on Blondie's new wave dance hits than on their punk beginnings, songs like "Heart of Glass," "Dreaming," "The Tide Is High," and "Call Me" display the diverse musical styles this band embraced. It's a new wave album, a reggae album, a dance album, a punk album, and a rap album. Rock-solid songwriting and Debbie Harry's sultry vocals hold the CD together despite the stylistic reaches of the tracks. --Beth Bessmer

Product Description

Blondie Photos

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get the updated collection instead, April 20, 2005

By 

Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Best of Blondie (Audio CD)

Blondie, depending who you ask, were a seminal punk/new wave act from New York that managed to place the new sound onto the charts and help usher out disco and bring in the MTV age. Held down by blonde bombshell Debbie Harry (where they got their name)and sometime boyfriend guitarist Chris Stein, the band managed a string of hits in the late 70s/early 80s (particularly in the U.K. where they had their biggest chart success). Along the way, the band helped bring more mainstream consciousness of reggae ("The Tide is High") and rap ("Rapture") as well as glances back at 60s girl groups ("In the Flesh") and doo-wop ("Denis" was a gender switched version of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 Top 10 hit "Denise"). They also influenced many female musicians of the day and later including Madonna, Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads, Annie Lennox, and Gwen Stefani.

PROS:
Very nearly everything on here is at least good, and "One Way or Another" and "Call Me" are some of the best pop singles ever in my opinion.

CONS:
So why the 3 star rating only? As many others have noted, there's a better sounding (remastered), more comprehensive package out there (19 songs instead of 12 including all the songs on this package). Those extra songs include the band's 1999 comeback smash "Maria" (a U.K. #1 and Top 40 in the U.S.), the band's final U.S. top 40 hit from their first time together (1982's "Island of Lost Souls"), U.K. #2 "Denis" plus "Picture This" (a #12 U.K. charter).

BOTTOM LINE:
Get "Greatest Hits" (ASIN:B00006IM9Q) instead. Better sound, better song selection..If you find yourself really loving that one, move on to their album "Parallel Lines" (remastered with some bonus material) as your next one from Harry's band.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I never get tired to listening to this album, June 2, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Best of Blondie (Audio CD)

If the number of times I listen to it each year means anything, "The Best of Blondie" is the best greatest hits CD in my collection. Yes, the New Wave classics like "Dreaming," "Hanging on the Telephone," "One Way Or Another" and "Call Me" are here, but like with most artists the songs I really seem to enjoy are those great songs that never got a lot of air play, like "Atomic," "Sunday Girl" and my personal favorite, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear." Yes, it would be nice to have a bit more representation from the punk stage of vocalist Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein (e.g., "I'm Not Living in the Real World"), but you do get the proto-rap hit "Rapture." What else can I say, except that pretty much everybody I know has this CD and loves it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SHE SHOULDA BEEN A BIG , BIG STAR!, October 20, 1999

By 

Boz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Blondie (Audio CD)

I don't know why Debbie Harry never became a mega-star like Madonna. Maybe her promotion was poor; maybe the time just wasn't right. Anyway, she and the group Blondie are GREAT! And in my opinion, Madonna is just a Blondie wannabe. She can't even compare to Debbie Harry.