Review by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
No rating supplied
Blondie is one of those groups you never forget once you hear that
first song. How can you forget the image of a platinum blonde ala
Marilyn Monroe strutting her stuff on stage backed by a cool rock
band? When listening to this music today it's hard to see how they
exactly fit in with the uprising punk scene at CBGB's and Max's Kansas
City in the late seventies. I think they had more of punk attitude
than sound. They fit in well because of they way they looked and what
they presented on stage. They were more new wave and pop than anything
else. What I heard was great rock and roll music played in different
styles to echo the times. Blondie could play rock; disco, movie science
fiction, reggae, rap, or whatever hat you wanted them to wear, they
wore it well. They entertained themselves quite well by playing what
interested them. It was a magically formula that worked like a charm.
This remastered version of the 1976 self-titled debut "Blondie" has
five quality bonus tracks to enjoy along with the original release,
which sounds better than ever. 'X Offender' which originally was titled
'Sex Offender' (they dropped the X to make it more radio friendly
if you can believe that), was their first single off the album. That
one song launched an enormously successful career that was to last
for several years. Then 'In The Flesh', which had hints of doo-woop,
broke big in Australia. So while the band was trying to conquer America
they were beginning to take overseas countries by storm. This was
only the beginning of something much bigger.
The liner notes by producer Richard Gotteher give some good insight
into the early days of the group. Some great shots of Deborah Harry,
the lead singer, are provided as well. She looked sexy but tough,
which was just the right look for the scene they making their name in.
You know why Blondie was such a great band? Not just because they
had an attractive lead singer with charisma, they played music that
people could relate to on all levels. They took the best of every
decade from the fifties up to the time the recorded and made their
own sound from that. That is more than apparent to me while listening
to this first album. Give it a spin, and then another, and you will
see exactly what I mean. Not only were they a great band, they were very smart.
1. X Offender (Harry/Valentine) - 3:14
2. Little Girl Lies (Harry) - 2:07
3. In the Flesh (Harry/Stein) - 2:33
4. Look Good in Blue (Destri) - 2:55
5. In the Sun (Stein) - 2:39
6. A Shark in Jets Clothing (Destri) - 3:39
7. Man Overboard (Harry) - 3:22
8. Rip Her to Shreds (Harry/Stein) - 3:22 9. Rifle Range (Stein/Toast) - 3:41
10. Kung Fu Girls (Destri/Harry/Valentine) - 2:33
11. The Attack of the Giant Ants (Stein) - 3:34
12. Out in the Streets [*demo version] (Barry/Greenwich) - 2:20
13. The Thin Line [*demo version] (Harry/Stein) - 2:16
14. Platinum Blonde [*demo version] (Harry) - 2:12
15. X Offender [*Private Stock Single Version] (Harry/Valentine) - 3:13
16. In the Sun [Private Stock Single Version] (Stein) - 2:38
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