Customer Reviews

Blondie

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 1:16 Mins

Wow, an 80's album in the middle of the 70's? Strange but true. Deborah Harry was the architypal 80's vocalist, infusing Blondie's songs with a pop sensibility that was missing from her punk pals Patti Smith and Chrissie Hynde. It's not difficult to imagine Cyndi Lauper, Belinda Carlisle or even the early Madonna singing these tunes. In that sense Deborah Harry was without doubt the most influential American female vocalist of the late 70's/early 80's.

On their first album Blondie perfectly mix 60's bubblegum pop with garage rock and it's the keyboard that makes all the difference (another one of their innovations that would become standard in the 80's). If Blondie can be described as punk it was their humour and irreverence that made them so, subverting classic pop styles with black and ironic humour e.g. 'Rip Her To Shreds' and 'Attack Of The Giant Ants'. It's also interesting to hear the reggae influence of the time on a track like 'Man Overboard'. 'Heart Of Glass' was also originally written as a reggae tune, but by the time Blondie was gaining some success, the producers took it and turned it into a disco hit, the reason being apparently that "Americans don't buy reggae". Other notable tracks reflecting their time include 'Kung Fu Girl' (Bruce Lee movies being huge in the 70's).

Respect must also be given to Chris Stein for his foresight and musical knowledge in knowing what would instantly appeal to an audience overdosed on rock pretentiousness.

Blissful!

Oh, this record is absolutely marvellous! Yes, even better than "Parallel Lines" - their usually most celebrated album. Nonetheless, I like "Blondie" better, because the songs aren't as over-familiar as those on "P.L.".

The only beef I have with this reissue is the inclusion of below par extra tracks a la "Platinum Blonde" and "The Thin Line" --- not prima Blondie material that. The cover of the Shangri-Las "Out in the Street" is OK, although they bettered that one on "No Exit".

From the original album I only ever disliked the very silly closing "The Attack of the Giant Ants". The almost-equally-stupidly-titled yet finger-snapping "A Shark in Jets Clothing" is one of the best cuts here/there, though, and deserves a belated and celebrated recognition (retro movie music supervisors out there take note!)

"X Offender", "In the Flesh", "Kung Fu Girls", "In the Sun", "Rifle Range", and ALL the (at least) first 10 songs on this CD are amongst some of the (still) freshest and best pure pop music recorded (as Homer Simpson would say) during those turbulent times that were the 1970's.

Stay in the sun and don't fall overboard --- buy this CD today!

It took me 30 years to discover that Blondie's self-titled debut album from 1976, along with it's follow-up "Plastic Letters" are arguably as good as their critically-acclaimed "Parallel Lines" which sold 20 million copies.

Thankfully, I took another Amazon reviewer's recommendations seriously and picked both these CDs up and instantly fell in love with them.

Blondie's first album is an amazing mix of '60s girl group pop, new wave, and rock and sounds nothing like what was being played on Top-40 radio in 1976. The material has a built-in retro kitsch factor that doesn't really date it.

Tongue-in-cheek lyrics prove that Blondie, (like another of my favorite bands, The B-52's) never took themselves too seriously and were always in on the joke.

"X-Offender" (the record company was scared of the original title "Sex Offender") is a great opener and has Debbie assuming the role of a hooker being attracted to her arresting police officer. The spoken intro is quite reminiscent of The Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back" with Clem Burke's drumming subsituting for handclaps. Prominent organ and tambourine make this track sound very much like it was recorded for a 1966-67 period piece film.

The girl-group sound continues in the uptempo "Little Girl Lies" (in which handclaps DO make an effective appearance), then in the slow number "In the Flesh".

"Look Good in Blue" has Debbie singing "I could give you some head and shoulders to lie on" and features memorable piano and synth backup.

Debbie shouts "Surf's up!" to open "In the Sun", which could have been at home on any beach-party movie soundtrack (if it had been directed by John Waters maybe). Clem Burke's drumming makes this track one of the better offerings.

"A Shark in Jet's Clothing" conjures up visions of New York gangs or something out of "West Side Story". Again, the synth keyboards make this one memorable (it comes as no surprise Jimmy Destri wrote this).

"Man Overboard" is a somewhat funkier track with great backup vocals and guitar solo.

"Rip Her to Shreds" is another winner. Debbie sounds so sassy on this track, with her cutting remarks and put-downs, and the band really shines as a unit. It has great drums, guitar, keyboards and background vocals.

I detected a slight Jefferson Airplane influence on "Rifle Range", another enjoyable track.

Though not one of the better songs, "Kung Fu Girls" is a rollicking number that showcases Burke's amazing drum skills.

Perhaps the biggest oddity on the album is the closer "Attack of the Giant Ants" which opens with a tribal, conga-like beat before the memorable keyboard riff kicks in (it will stick in your head all day). A fake-out ending and bizarre '50s horror-movie sounds fill the middle section before the song resumes. It strangely ends with random piano-bar music.

Having this gem on CD would be good enough, but there are 5 bonus tracks included here. There are alternate takes of "X Offender" and "In the Sun" as well as demo recordings of "Out In the Streets", "The Thin Line" and "Platinum Blonde" (which is the best of these IMO). None of these are outstanding but it is nice that the studio included some bonus material.

For those less-than-diehard Blondie fans like myself who never paid this release much attention due to the absence of hit singles, I strongly recommend it.

There's a couple things that have been bothering me lately concerning Debbie Harry and the music of Blondie, and I want to take a moment to get these things off my chest-

Young kids nowadays seem to think the music of Blondie is mainly the kind of power pop that *only* girls should like, because Debbie Harry and Blondie influenced hundreds and thousands of female power pop bands. This is NOT true.

Back in the 70's it was totally cool and perfectly normal to be a man and a fan of Blondie. Guys liked Debbie Harry for her incredible looks and the bands heavy and energetic style, and women liked her because the music of Blondie was danceable and poppy. Nowadays, the attitude that Blondie can only be a band women should admire is absolutely ridiculous.

Just because cute, fluffy, light power pop/rock with female lead singers is thrown under the category of wimpy pop/rock according to todays generation does NOT mean Blondie should be listed under this category as well. The fact Blondie's debut album rocks pretty darn hard makes such a belief even MORE ridiculous. This isn't wimpy pop/rock at all. It's borderline punk at times! Not to mention, this (and the follow-up Plastic Letters) holds up extremely well over the years.

In fact, what's so appealing about Blondie's debut is how the band has an incredible knack for the catchiest vocal melodies you'll ever hear, and mix them with a radically different sound that was brand new in 1976. Nothing in 1975 or before sounded quite like Blondie as far as female energy, pop hooks, and an influence on the new wave scene is concerned. This was totally different from everything else in 1976.

Also, this is definitely NOT disco music. Blondie had some songs that probably resemble the disco movement, but mainly the band is focused on rock, pop and new wave.

Blondie's debut is an absolute winner from the first note to the last. Please pick up this legendary recording.

This great group from the 70s in an embrionic stage before the hype and fame. A major part of the New Wave along with Talking Heads, this a fun, rude set.

Love this album. Takes me back to that time and place. I can still see and hear it all in my head on that little stage in CBGBs before Hilly built the bigger one in the back were the pool tabel was and when Debby was first in the band The Stilletoes
In the Flesh...You Look Good in Blue..Rip Her to Shreds
It was so much fun
Rock on Deb!

So, here comes the band Blondie. It's all on in this album, In The Flesh, Rip Her to Shreds and X-Offender, all great tunes that energizer the listener. Also Rifle Range should have been a single, although it was on the Heart Of Glass 12 inch single. As well Kung Fu Girls and Attack Of The Giant Ants with it's El Mocombo ending is fantastic. This album is a reflection of the pre-pistols era and nobody cuts it better than Blondie. Check out the bonus tracks. A Lot of fun .

1977, Blondie's debut album: the beginning of a very interesting Punk rock career, Rip her to shreds and Kung Fu Girls are Punk /new wave. This album contains In the flesh (a sweet ballad) which is Blondie's first big charttopping hit in Australia.

X-offender, Little girl lies, In the sun, Look good in blue are the inventors of girl power !

This album is just great and showcases the Blondie roots before they made it real big!! I'm glad it's remastered it contains interesting bonustracks like Platinum blonde, The thin line and Out in the streets.

Though they'd get more famous, Blondie never got better than their debut. Their mixture of '60s girl-group pop and '70s punk energy was a unique sound among their New York contemporaries. While the Ramones were stripping rock 'n' roll to its 1'30" essence, Blondie matched the hook-filled melodies of the Brill Building with lyrics that pushed the Shangri-La's bad girl stance a few paces forward.

Debbie Harry's vocals - alone, double-tracked or backed by harmonies - and the band's songs (only drummer Clement Burke didn't contribute songwriting) were at once heartfelt odes to the of 1960s while at the same time thoroughly modern in attitude. "X Offender" "Rip Her to Shreds" and "In the Flesh" are too in-your-face (and perhaps too ironic) to have actually been recorded by early-60s girl-groups, yet their spirit leaves one to imagine how great they would sound if sent back in time to the Shangri-Las.

Richard Gottehrer's production is spot-on, adding a polish that elevates these tracks to stand with their Brill Building inspirations. At the same time, the buzzing Farfisa organ and Clem Burke's power drumming keep an edge that plants these tracks firmly in the mid-70s.

Capitol's reissue adds five bonus tracks to the original dozen, all of which are more interesting for their historical peek into the band's development than for their musicality. A pre-LP single featuring "X Offender" and "In the Sun" shows the band still balancing their sound. The double-tracked vocal on the former pales in comparison to the LP version, and the melody on the latter (as well as its rambunctious spirit) had yet to fully emerge. An Alan Betrock produced take of the Shangri-Las "Out in the Streets" is fine, but doesn't capture the tortured mood of the original, while "The Thin Line" and "Platinum Blonde" sound like the demo track that they are - a band with an original idea that isn't yet fully expressed.

4-1/2 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings.