Customer Reviews

Most Of All - The Best Of

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The general public has always had difficulty accepting Deborah Harry as the lead singer of the group Blondie. Instead, they think she IS Blondie. Well, she is and she isn't, and "Most of All" highlights the Deborah Harry who isn't, and proves she's just as wonderful as the one who is. Featuring such solo milestones as the funky Nile Rodgers' produced "Backfired" (from "Koo Koo"), the beautiful, shoulda-been-a-hit "Brite Side" (from "Def, Dumb and Blonde," and also featured in the late '80s series "Wise Guy") and the bouncy "Rush Rush" (from the "Scarface" soundtrack), this CD is essential for any Deborah Harry fan. Unfortunately, it also includes "Feel the Spin," which sounds like an anemic answer to Madonna's "Get into the Groove" (it was even produced by then-Madonna producer, Jellybean) and the godawful "Communion," which will only be of interest to fans of low camp. Kind of wished her contribution to the "Married to the Mob" soundtrack, "Liar Liar," was included, but you can't have everything. Even with the not-so-great songs, "Most of All" is satisfying listening experience. Whether she's Blondie, Debbie or Deborah, she'll always be a goddess.

This is the only and foremost extensive compilation of Debbie Harry's solo work. This compilation is great for several reasons.
It contains "almost" all of her US and UK singles.
It has very hard to find single versions of several tracks.

Track Listing is as follows (since the track list on Amazon is wrong):

1. I Want That Man (Single Version)
2. French Kissin' In The USA (Album Version)
3. Brite Side (Album Version)
4. Sweet And Low (Phil Harding Single Remix Edit)
5. Free To Fall (Single Edit)
6. Well Did You Evah!
7. I Can See Clearly (Album Version)
8. Strike Me Pink
9. Communion (Edit) This version available only on this CD.
10. Backfired (Single Version)
11. In Love With Love (SAW Remix - London Mix Edit) Not on any other CD.
12. Rush Rush (12" Dance Version)
13. The Jam Was Moving (UK Single Version)
14. Feel The Spin (Extended Dance Version)
15. Maybe For Sure (Album Version)
16. Rockbird
17. I Want That Man (Almighty Difinitive Mix Radio Edit)
18. I Want That Man (D-Bop's 11:59 Vocal Mix Radio Edit)

What's Missing? The Soundtrack Singles Liar,Liar, Prelude To A Kiss, and Summertime Blues.

Great for a casual Debbie Harry listener a for the collector or serious fan!

My title sums up my feelings about this compilation: I bought it specifically for the single edits, most of which are unavailable elsewhere on CD. That being said, there's a lot of misinformation in people's reviews of this CD but it's mostly irrelevent. Others have expressed their opinions of Deb's solo work, so I'll weigh-in with mine:
Koo Koo: Sort of a musical-concept album. If you like Chic, you may find it appealing.
Rockbird: More what you would expect a mid-80s Deb solo to sound like (some great songs, like the title track).
Def, Dumb, and Blonde: A very ambitious album, most fans' fave, understandably.
Debravation: My personal fave, has a darkish quality albeit with some bright moments.
Misc singles:
Rush Rush: Used factory-programmed synth sequencers prior to Berlin; "nonsense" lyrics are thinly-veiled drug references (which cost it airplay on some stations).
In Love With Love: SAW mix (I like the original better)
Liar Liar: One of my top-5 Deb singles (conspiciously missing from this and all DH albums for legal reasons, the same thing that killed it as a single and prevented it from being included on Def, Dumb and Blonde, for which it was originally recorded.)
Well, Did You Evah: Great, goofy duet from Mr. and Mrs. America
Feel the Spin: Great song, though I always preferred the single edit (which was the flipside of Free to Fall) to the 12-inch-only single release.

Minus Blondie, Debbie Harry released four solo albums. Even the best of them ("Def Dumb and Blonde") were spotty, and frankly, "Koo Koo" was horrendously over-rated on release. That album is represented here by its two main singles, "Backfired" and "The Jam Was Moving," and frankly, they are the most dated sounding songs on the album.

On the other hand, when the songs were on and the producer was sympathetic, the best of these singles rates with the best of Blondie. "Most Of All" peels three astonishing songs right off the top, with the energetic dance song "I Want That Man" (written special for Debbie by the then red hot Thompson Twins), the glorious pop "French Kissin' In The USA" and the TV show "Wiseguy" featured Blondie-styled "Brite Side." In fact, that song and "In Love With Love" prove what a dynamic songwriting team Debbie and Chris Stein were.

The album also includes a few non-album tracks, like the fab duet with Iggy Pop, Cole Porter's "Did You Evah'" (from the musical "High Society"). Originally recorded for the "Red Hot and Blue" AIDS awareness benefit series (and why in heaven's name is that broadcast NOT on DVD?!?!), Debbie and Iggy are obviously having a fine romp. Not so noteworthy is the pale imitation of Madonna's "Into The Groove," otherwise titled "Feel The Spin," recorded for "Krush Groove." As soundtrack movie songs go, Giorgio Moroder's "Rush Rush" from "Scarface" is a better track, and Debbie shows who really influenced the blonde ambitioned one with the superior "I Can See Clearly." And any additional cuts from all the albums would have been a better utilization of disc space than three versions of "I Want That Man." ("Liar Liar" from "Married To The Mob" or "My Last Date" from "Debravation" would have suited my tastes more.)

Given that the solo discs are hard to find (though both "Debravation" and "DD&B" have recently been re-issued), "Most Of All" suffices for a solid post-Blondie CD of Debbie Harry's best.

PS: Solo Album ratings are:
"Koo Koo" - 2 stars
"Rock Bird" - 3 1/2 stars
"Def Dumb and Blonde" - 4 stars
"Debravation" - 3 stars

This album, as with most hits collections, only contains a partial representation of the artist's talents. "Most Of All" is a singles compilation, and a good one at that! THE best track on it is the Almighty Definitive Mix of "I Want That Man". This remix of the 1989 single off the "Def, Dumb And Blonde" album was a hit in the U.K. and should've been a HUGE hit in the U.S., but for some reason that I'll never fathom, wasn't even released here. It is a perfect match of Debbie's vocal talents to a magnificent remix and is almost worth the price of the CD alone! That is how ALL of Debbie Harry's songs should sound remixed.
There is also the Stock, Aiken and Waterman remix of "In Love With Love", which is also a great reworking of good track. Add to this the single edits of "Backfired" and "Communion" and you have a great reason to buy this CD.
Also included are three soundtrack songs, 2 from movies and one from a tv show. "Feel The Spin", from the rap movie "KRUSH GROOVE" is probably the best. "Brite Side" from Debbie's guest appearance on the CBS tv series "Wise Guy", is also on the "Def Dumb And Blonde" disc and is a really great tune. It and "Strike Me Pink" are the 2 less pop, more experimental tracks in the collection.
The third song from a movie is "Rush Rush" from the underground flick "SCARFACE". This to me is the weakest track on the album. I never cared for this song, with it's silly lyrics and borrowed beats (the producer, Giorgio Moroder, seemed to recycle the Berlin song "No More Words", which he also produced). I think a much better soundtrack song would've been "Ghost Riders In The Sky" from "THREE BUSINESSMEN", an unbelievably great cover and inexplicably left out.
All in all, this is a great CD for those not familiar with Ms. Harry's solo work. A casual fan would definitely be smart to buy this. And for the dedicated fans, there are the remixes. The pluses really do outweigh the one minus.

The actual songs featured on this CD are:

1. I Want That Man (original)
2. French Kissin
3. Brite Side
4. Sweet and Low (single remix edit)
5. Free to Fall
6. Well Did You Evah!
7. I Can See Clearly
8. Strike Me Pink
9. Communion (7" edit)
10. Backfired
11. In Love With Love (SAW remix)
12. Rush Rush
13. The Jam Was Moving
14. Feel the Spin
15. Maybe for Sure
16. Rockbird
17. I Want That Man (almighty definitive mix radio edit)
18. I Want That Man (D-Bop's 11.59 vocal mix radio edit)


For some reason, the track-listing for Donna Summer's "All Systems Go" album has been displayed for this product.

Deborah Harry to most of the Planet was the Vocals and Visuals of super group BLONDIE. However Deborah Harry has had several of her own hits Internationally, in fact if they did have the Blondie name on them, they too would have been Million Selling Singles in America. Deborah Harry is a POP ICON in every sense of the word, she's a singer, songwriter and actress. Deborah simply shines on songs like "Brite Side" and "I can see clearly". Brite side used in the TV Series "WiseGuy" is a hauntingly beautiful upbeat ballad. Deborah actually scored a re-surgence with her hit UK single "I Want That Man" because of it's New Millenium references. Deborah has actually had some pretty big solo dance hits on the American Billboard Dance Charts. The remixe of " In love with love" was a #1-2 weeks in 1987, and the song "I can see clearly" was #2-2 weeks in the mid 1990's. The most outstanding tracks on this outing are "Brite Side, I Can See Clearly, Backfired and I Want That Man". Although these are not the MEGA BLONDIE SMASH HITS you may be familiar with, this album is just as good.

Since it's hard to get all 4 Debbie(Deborah) Harry solo albums this is an excellent item to get an impression of the Blondie leadsinger Debbie Harry solo. Together with the Deborah Harry collection and this Most of all the best of cd. You get what you need: all Deborah Harry UK hits with non album tracks like Rush,Rush, Feel the spin and Well did you Evah!

Even for a fan (who owes usually every album): a must have!

I have been looking for a good compilation of Debbie Harry's best work for a long time... Most of what was on the U.S. market was incomplete, not spanning her entire solo career from the mid 80's through the 2000's. This import CD has all of her best, plus a few rare gems I hadn't previously heard... Essential to any die-hard Deb Harry fan!

Songs Include :

All Systems Go 4:13
Bad Reputation 4:14
Love Shock 4:16
Jeremy 4:40
Only The Fool Survives 4:42
Dinner With Gershwin 4:39
Fascination 4:30
Voices Cryin' Out
Thinkin' Bout My Baby