Pros Great band, Harry's voice, some superb tracks
Cons New Wave & pop songs haven't aged as well as some others
The Bottom Line Definitely an album worthy of purchase...excluding a few mediocre tracks of course.
Full Review
I find it more than just a bit ironic that many music listeners got their first taste of rap music in the from of the Debbie Harry fronted Blondie. Who could have possibly guessed that Rapture would help to thrust the predominantly urban and underground rap genre in to suburban living rooms everywhere?
Blondie also helped to make it okay for a woman to rock out with the guys. Debbie Harry (formerly a Playboy bunny) provided vocals for the band also consisting of Chris Stein (guitar), Frank Infante (guitar), Jimmy Destri (keyboards), Nigel Harrison (bass), and Clem Burke (drums). Legends in their own right, the New York-based New Wave machine went on to record nearly ten albums and about a dozen hit singles between their formation in 1974 and when they disbanded less than a decade later.
The Best of Blondie was released in 1981. It contains twelve of Blondie’s biggest hits recorded between 1977 and 1981 for Chrysalis Records. Included are few songs from the first two albums. The three early tracks are some of the better album songs of the band’s career. Most of the concentration here are on the hits from latter albums like the career highlight Parallel Lines originally issued in 1978.
There’s something that still seems freely refreshing about songs like Heart of Glass. Harry seems carefree and wistful. Her voice is strange, yet somehow conventional all at the same time. Unlike many other examples of very dated sounding New Wave tracks, this song still sounds relevant. I suspect that is as a direct result of the band’s use of real rock guitars and drums rather than totally synthesizers.
The Tide Is High always reminds me of cheerful summer days. It’s reggae beat and tendencies would have sounded cliché if not for Harry’s vocals prowess and the truly awesome and traditional percussion. It’s simply amazing that such an atypical song could have possibly found an audience in the early 1980’s.
Originally a part of the American Gigolo soundtrack (remember that Richard Gere starmaker?), Call Me is more rock and roll than most of Blondie’s other tracks. I sincerely appreciate the driving electric guitars and heavy percussion. In my personal opinion, this is the track that is best suited to the otherwise New Wave band.
One Way Or Another is also a rock and roll track. Along with Call Me, this is my favorite track. Once again, I’m reminded of just how perfect the pairing of Harry’s aggressive vocals and Stein’s and Infante’s dueling lead electric guitars are. There’s really no way you can go wrong with this popular single.
Overall, this album is very good. I am a bit disappointed about how compact it is. Surely, the band could have included more tracks from Blondie and Plastic Letters. Later versions of this album smartly included two other tracks, Union City Blue and Denis (the track that put them on the rock map). The one thing I can say is that I generally am less appreciative of slower, poppier and in my opinion more boring tracks like the modest hit (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear and Sunday Girl. These kinds of songs just haven’t aged as gracefully as the band’s more renowned genre-bending tracks like Rapture and The Tide Is High or their straight rock tracks (my favorite).
I feel it’s important to state that I enjoy Harry’s vocals. The music and lyrics aren’t always up to snuff, but her voice is always charming. If the actual songs were better, this album would definitely be 5/5 stars. Because of the aforementioned problems, I can only award it 4/5. I will however recommend this album to all fans of New Wave and rock music. After all, you really can’t go too wrong with Blondie.
Track Listing:
1. Heart of Glass [Parallel Lines-1978]
2. Dreaming [Eat To The Beat-1979]
3. The Tide is High [Autoamerican-1980]
4. In The Flesh [Blondie-1976]
5. Sunday Girl [Parallel Lines-1978]
6. Hanging On [Parallel Lines-1978]
7. Rapture [Autoamerican-1980]
8. One Way Or Another [Parallel Lines-1978]
9. (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear [Plastic Letters-1977]
10. Call Me [Theme From American Gigolo]
11. Atomic [Eat To The Beat-1979]
12. Rip Her to Shreds [Blondie-1976]
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