Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Debbie Does The Mammas & Pappas, January 20, 2004
A young Debbie Harry offers the only real interest here, and chances are, if you found this CD and are bothering to read this, you already knew that. Blondie guitarist Chris Stein called this a "folkie baroquey" group, and that pretty much sums it up. Debbie was less charitable when "High Times" asked in '77 if Wind in the Willows was "easy listening". Debbie replied "Depressing listening." And indeed, it's about as far from Blondie as you could imagine!
Apparently aspiring to do something along the lines of a woodsier Mamas & the Pappas, The Wind in the Willows badly missed their mark, with weak songwriting the primary culprit. The lead singer--was it Paul Klein?--can't sing. He should have handed the vocals off to the other male vocalist who only sings on "Park Avenue Blues"--his voice is much nicer but alas he only gets the one song . Debbie's voice, while not yet exciting, is noticeably pleasing in the background harmonies and in two songs where she gets to sing lead (Djini Judy and She's Fantastic and She's Yours). She sounds rather like a choir girl in "Djini", very pure and pretty, but in the latter song we hear a hint of the campy irony that would later characterize her singing in Blondie.
The two singles were "Moment Spent" (a dirge, again complicated by Klein's bad singing) and "Uptown Girl"--a cheesy attempt at hippy-vaudeville (ick!) complete with kazoos, no less!
Still, if you love Debbie Harry it will be interesting to take this musical stroll with a 23 year old girl who sings with a touching conviciton that is more than the songs deserve, and think about the fact that Harry's "lost years" began right after this recording was made. What exactly happened is still shrouded in mystery. Apparently the drummer, who was Harry's boyfriend, died of a drug overdose, and when the band broke up, Harry thought her musical career through. Even she doesn't seem to remember what she did for the next few years ("I was crazy--completely out of my mind. I wanted to blank out whole periods of my life. I used to cry and cry.").What is known is that she took drugs to "self medicate", worked as a Playboy Bunny for awhile in New York, then ran off to California with a multi-millionaire ("these forty year old guys with guns and infections all over their bodies..."), ran back home after a month, and--apparently in emotional tatters-- moved back in with her parents where she did battle with her drug dependency and paralyzing fears about trying again.
As we all know, the story has a happy ending. Less than a decade later, she beats her demons and dramatically metamorphasizes into Blondie, kicking off a career that continues to this day. Think of this CD as a chance to peek inside her young head for clues to the mystery.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Memory lane, July 8, 2009
Loved this album when it came out on vinyl in the 1960's - so glad to see it on CD. I sent this to a dear friend who was dying of cancer, as a reminder of our glory days in the last 60's/early 70's, and he smiled through his pain. Great songs - versions not found anywhere else. Blondie at her best.
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2 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is great, but all you baby-boomers won't like it, so stick with your Spunkwagon, October 23, 2005
This is a very good 60's release. But yeah, Baby-boomers wouldn't like this stuff, they like anything from the 70's or 80's, like the Eagles, Jimmy Buffet, and stuff from the 80's like Journey, REO Spunkwagon, and yes, Blondie. I kind of like some of the Blondie stuff, too bad that it had to be 80's produced mass marketed music and ruined by garbage producers. This disc has Deborah Harry singing background and lead on a couple tracks. she was probably 18 or 19, and it's better than anything Blondie ever put out. It's original, and somewhat corny, but if you are into anything Indie, Psychedelic, or trippy, you will get the point. Baby Boomers just didn't get it in the 60's and they don't get it now. They still want to hear the same old garbage over produced junk. Jesus, how many times have you heard a baby boomer blab about how great Neil Diamond is, and they don't even know who wrote "Solitary Man" or "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon". All they know is the stupid Jazz Singer. Jesus Christ of later day saints, baby-boomers have no musical taste whatsoever. Blondie has a dated sound, and most of that dated stuff was produced by baby-boomers. Baby Boomers love over-production, they thrive on it. Who do you think invented Synthesizers and Drum Machines, that's right, Baby Boomers did. Who invented SUV's, that's right, baby boomers once again. Baby Boomers go for the "over-the-top" feeling. They love David Hasselhoff, oh, they cream for him every night, man and woman alike.
The Wind and the Willow was produced back in the 60's probably by some old guy that worked for Walt Disney or something, but that's better than Baby Boomers. Hey boomers, stick to you're Margaritaville and Steve Miller, and live happilly ever after. Sunshine pop lives on in the depths basements full of reels that were never released because of David Hasselhoff lovers.
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~ Dolly Parton
by Roberta Bayley
~ Original London Cast Recording
~ Blondie
~ Blondie
by The Wind in the Willows 
