Eat to the Beat [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Blondie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00005MNP7
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,610 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #41 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > American Punk

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Second Best Of Blondie, March 15, 2002

By 

Rachel Lai (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eat to the Beat (Audio CD)

Eat To The Beat was a wonderful followup to Parallel Lines, but is one of the band's least-liked albums. I don't know why perhaps it's because the record doesn't contain any top 10 singles like the inferior Autoamerican did. In my humble opinion though, the songs on this album rival Parellel Lines for beauty and complexity. Songs that make you go "WOW!" are:
01. Dreaming
Debbie really lets the Shangri-La in her emerge here ("beep! beep!"); this song is simply heaven, the cryptic lyrics are wonderful. The quality of this song is so strong, one must wonder why it isn't more acclaimed, perhaps their best record.
02. The Hardest Part
A song about a bank robbery/love story; great song, fun lyrics, throbbing beat.
03. Union City Blue
Another contender for The Best Of Blondie (I don't know why it wasn't included on that album). This is one of the greatest lost album tracks EVER; it's production is rich and layered (almost seems like a Phil-Spector engineered track); Debbie's vocals are simply amazing, and the overall effect is sublime and dreamy.
04. Shayla
This track really shows off Debbie Harry's vocal abilities, and the lyrics and production are surreal; great tune.
07. Die Young Stay Pretty
Not many people like this track, but I find it to be a tongue-in-cheek gem (Harry was 35 when this record was released). This was Blondie's first foray into reggae (think The Tide Is High: the prequel)
08. Slow Motion
This is a percolating pop song with ice cream Debbie vocals and an experimental, varying beat. I love it.
Note: These are only the classics on the album; the rest of the tracks are wonderful as well. The only dud on the album is "Sound-A-Sleep" (10.) I always skip over that one, most fans do.
The 24-Bit remaster is absolutely fantastic; this album sounds like it was released yesterday.
Even casual fans will need this record if only for "Union City Blue" (which is not on The Best Of Blondie). Believe me, that song makes it all worthwhile.
My verdict: Buy Parallel Lines first, then Eat To The Beat (then Autoamerican if you care to keep going).

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Follow-Up to Parallel Lines, June 10, 2002

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eat to the Beat (Audio CD)

BLONDIE had been kicking around for several years before the band exploded into public conciousness with PARALLEL LINES, an album that made the most of Debbie Harry's sensuous voice and the band's "new wave" tone that fused punk and pop to impressive effect. EAT TO THE BEAT was the follow up, and although it stayed very much in the slick mold of PARALLEL LINES it did not repeat so much as elaborate the previous album.

On the whole, the recordings here are at once edgier and softer than those found on PARALLEL LINES, with "Atomic" similar in feel to "Heart of Glass" but considerably jumpier and "Sound-a-Sleep" echoing Debbie Harry's vocals for "Fade Away and Radiate" but softening the instrumentation to create a gentler tone. And then there are the knock-outs: "Dreaming" has sometimes been called the band's best single with its typical BLONDIE punk-pop fusion, both "The Hardest Part" and "Die Young, Stay Pretty" have a truly funky feel unlike anything on PARALLEL LINES, and "Union City Blue" possesses an English-toned wall-of-sound quality. My own favorite of the set is "Slow Motion," which is just flat-out fun.

The re-master here is very nice, and the additional live cuts are interesting although not entirely in line with the album as a whole. If you're a BLONDIE fan, PARALLEL LINES should still be your first purchase--but EAT TO THE BEAT should be a close second. Recommended.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Blondie Recording?, December 22, 2001

By 

KSG "ksgnyc" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eat to the Beat (Audio CD)

You bet it is. All the things that they did best are represented here: punk, power pop, girl group, and disco. Deborah Harry is in top voice, inventing her soon to be trademark wail of "whoa wo, wo wo, wowa ha". There is not a weak cut on this Cd. Eat to the Beat opens with Dreaming, a sonic assault of drums and chiming electric guitars and is followed by the equally ferocious double entendre laden The Hardest Part. The wall of sound Union City is followed by my favorite track Shayla, where Blondie does something no other band of this era did, Sci-Fi rock. Shayla, who worked in a factory, is abducted by aliens while driving down the highway. The song is a sonic blast of drama and mystery. Die Young Stay Pretty was their first try at calypso and Atomic was the disco follow up to Heart of Glass. The Cd closes with I'm Not Living in the Real World which pretty much sums it up after this intelligent and always fun collection of songs. Blondie will never top this CD for it's sheer adrenalin and originality.