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Post by Horacewimp on Nov 8, 2015 9:41:12 GMT
For the album of the week I have chosen The Best Of Blondie, the American band named after the singer Debbie Harry. Blondie seemed to have non-stop hits during the late 70s early 80s. This album captures most of their popular songs but I’ve added as extras a few favorites of mine.
1. Heart of Glass 2. Dreaming 3. The Tide Is High 4. In The Flesh 5. Sunday Girl 6. Hanging On The Telephone 7. Rapture 8. One Way Or Another 9. (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear 10. Call Me 11. Atomic 12. Rip Her To Shreds 13. Union City Blues 14. Picture This 15. Denis
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Post by queenofthehours on Nov 8, 2015 19:23:20 GMT
I used to really think I liked Blondie but I've gone off them a little in recent years. I'm hoping a listen to their tracks might remind me why I liked them in the first place.
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Post by unomusette on Nov 8, 2015 20:15:08 GMT
I was never hugely into Blondie but they're undeniably a really class pop act. So I shall listen to this properly and re-live my schooldays
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Post by Chippa on Nov 8, 2015 22:10:22 GMT
I've heard five of these songs. look forward to hearing, and reviewing, the rest.
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Post by jrmugz on Nov 9, 2015 3:07:25 GMT
Yeah, I.know 5 too, looking forward to hearing the rest!
Jim
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Post by Chippa on Nov 9, 2015 23:29:18 GMT
1. Heart of Glass – Probably the quintessential Blondie song. I love the percolating, bubbly synths on this one. Very reminiscent of the sound on ELO’s “Time”, in parts.
2. Dreaming – I lied. I’ve heard six of these songs, this being the one I’d forgotten about. The Posies did a fantastic version of this, but the original is great. That manic rhythm is insane. When they did this live, I’ll bet the drummer was exhausted.
3. The Tide Is High – It seems like a lot of bands during the early 80’s were experimenting with the reggae sound, probably thanks to the popularity of Bob Marley. This is one of the songs that succeeded pretty well in capturing that sound. Always loved the hiccup in Debbie Harry’s vocals towards the end, when she sings the “the tide is hiigghh!!”.
4. In The Flesh – 60’s girl group throwback. Not a great song, but they capture the sound of that era perfectly.
5. Sunday Girl – Parts of this track remind me of Julianna Raye’s “Tell Me I’m Alright”, which we reviewed on here a while back. Typically catchy early 80’s new wave. Interesting to hear the French bit. Wonder if this inspired Jeff to do the same thing on “Hold On Tight”?
6. Hanging On The Telephone – Great chorus! Total ear candy.
7. Rapture – I’m thinking this was the first straight up pop song to incorporate rap. Quite the innovative move, at the time. Probably inspired by the Sugarhill Gang, and Fab Five Freddy, whom they name-drop, here. Nice, disco-flavored song.
8. One Way Or Another – Classic opening guitar riff. This is a truly a great pop song. Love Debbie’s voice on this one. She has that little growl, which is super sexy and appealing.
9. (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear – A really good power pop song, in the vein of Cheap Trick. Not crazy about the bridge, but the rest of the song is solid.
10. Call Me – Ok, maybe this is the quintessential Blondie song! An absolute classic. Love the driving rhythm, and the call and response chorus. This one really stands the test of time.
11. Atomic – A disco beat with some Duane Eddy-esque guitar twang. Very cool. The melody is somewhat lacking, but the overall feel of the song is interesting, for sure.
12. Rip Her To Shreds – More cool synth sounds, interacting with some great guitar. Sounds like a shot at a groupie who pissed Debbie off..haha.
Bonus songs…
Union City Blue – Sounds like an anthem, of sorts. Not bad, but not all that special, really.
Picture This – Sort of melancholic feel, although still upbeat. Nice melody, and a winning chorus.
Denis – Ok, I’ve heard this one, too! Wasn’t sure who it was, though. Almost has an Elvis Costello feel, mixed with an early 60’s pop sound.
Overall, with bonus tracks included, I’ll give this a 7.5/10. The band really had a way with a pop song, and this compilation is probably a must hear for any fan of really good pop music.
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Post by 88keys on Nov 10, 2015 7:17:19 GMT
Blondie rocks! I'll try to cobble together some kind of review before Alone In The Universe takes up all of my music listening time.
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Post by 88keys on Nov 11, 2015 17:20:55 GMT
Deborah Harry is the most dynamic frontwoman in the history of rock. Essentially, this is her band, although the other members did contribute greatly to the overall sound. The girl-group punk sound works great, even though she was the only girl in the band(which probably surprises a lot of people).
As a band, I would rank Blondie right up there with other bands of that era like The Cars, The Police and Cheap Trick.
This 'best of' comp. has a lot to love about it, with the missteps being few and far between.
The Great Heart Of Glass Denis Call Me One Way Or Another Rapture Hanging On The Telephone
The Good Dreaming Union City Blues Tide Is High I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear Rip Her To Shreds
The Just Okay In The Flesh Sunday Girl Atomic Picture This
There are no bad songs, in my opinion, which is why I give this a "buy it", on the Buy It-Try It-Trash It scale!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2015 22:45:51 GMT
The hit singles are what make this album special. Call Me,The Tide Is High, One Way Or Another, Rapture, Heart Of Glass, and Dreaming rank as some of the best American singles of the past forty years.
It's funny, because for the longest time I thought Blondie was just Debby Harry. I never really knew her name until I got older!
As for the lesser-known songs, Sunday Girl is the shining moment. Why wasn't this song all over radio? What a mini masterpiece.
By the way, I wish good luck to whoever has the task of doing Album Of The Week, nest week. With Alone In The Universe coming tomorrow, I think that's all we'll be listening to! Maybe we should really consider downsizing to Song Of The Week.
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Post by jrmugz on Nov 14, 2015 13:14:52 GMT
OK, HW, for my review, I just have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole CD, it was on the treadmill with me all week, and I never got bored of it. I always liked the five Blondie hits I knew, and it was really great to get familiar with more songs along the same line. 1. Heart of Glass - Instantly catchy and melodic classic, like "Call Me". 2. Dreaming - This is a great Blondie rocker, that I probably heard a couple times before and didn't remember. Great tune. 3. The Tide Is High - Always loved it, always well. I remember it felt like a really nice change-up of style from the other songs on the radio when it came out. 4. In The Flesh - Well Nancy, it's getting a little too hot in here. 5. Sunday Girl - My kind of girl, ha ha. 6. Hanging On The Telephone - Straightforward fun song. 7. Rapture - Very fun song, I remember hearing it for the first time, it was a trip. 8. One Way Or Another - Fun innocent rocker, not quite as stalky as "Every Breath You Take", ha ha. 9. (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear - I can relate, how just being in someone's presence for a minute feels like a major event in my life, like the people closest to us we don't take for granted. 10. Call Me - Instantly catchy classic. 11. Atomic - Very fun, love the rhythm. 12. Rip Her To Shreds- Fun straightforward rocker. 13. Union City Blues - Not bad. 14. Picture This - A tad risque for my tastes, but other than that sounds good. 15. Denis - Really like the melody. Star Rating: 4.1 out of 5 Prime Cuts: "The Tide is High", "I'm Always Touched By Her Presence", "Denis", "Dreaming" Bottom Line: A fine collection of non-imposing fun songs. Light-hearted fun, leaves enough room for if you want them to have innuendo or not, or just use the songs to sort out other areas of your life like I did, so I like how it was just fun and non-imposing, even with nonsense lyrics like in "Rapture". Thanks for posting it HW, and I will mark you down for next year when I get around to making the list. Jim
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Post by Horacewimp on Nov 14, 2015 17:52:11 GMT
Thanks for the reviews so far. I'm surprised that the US members didn't know more of the songs, I'll need to check maybe Blondie were bigger in the UK and had more hits over here.
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Post by unomusette on Nov 14, 2015 21:55:03 GMT
Surprised at how many of these I know. Mostly they came out when I was still at school and being a bit of a rocker they struck me as pretty uncool and far too frequently played on the radio. I do recall me old Dad being very impressed with Ms Harry though Listening now it's a proper nostalgia trip and of course as an ELO fan I can appreciate their flair for a solid pop song. 1. Heart of Glass - I remember hearing an interview with Debbie Harry where she admitted they only wrote this so they could get into Studio 54, the notorious New York disco. Played to death on the radio at the time, it drove me mad. But rightly it's a classic of its type. 2. Dreaming - Sounds a bit 60's throwback, lots of banging and crashing about with the drums and some earnest singing. 3. The Tide Is High - Doesn't do a lot for me, it's a bit too repetitive and reminds me of a sort of playground skipping song 4. In The Flesh - After the 60's sound of Dreaming, here they are again, or maybe the 50's. Nice echoey sound and a pretty tune. 5. Sunday Girl - Another song played beyond my tolerance back in the day, slightly less annoying than Heart of Glass though. I think it's because the melody is nicer. 6. Hanging On The Telephone - now this I do like and never got sick of. It kicks off with attitude and is a bit raw and original. Best so far. 7. Rapture - For its time it was pretty ground-breaking as I recall. Is Nile Rodgers involved? Sounds a bit like his influence is ther.Good on them for branching out, I can appreciate it although it's not really my kind of song. 8. One Way Or Another - another in the mould of Hanging on the Telephone, but maybe a bit more polished. I like it. 9. (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear - Nice melody on this one, interesting lyrics and a big sound. 10. Call Me - Bounces along at a smart pace, and who can resist a bit of a French section? They used to do a live mashup of this with Uprising by the mighty Muse which worked quite well. 11. Atomic - Love the ending on this and again the big wall of sound. Goodie, it's very uplifting. 12. Rip Her To Shreds - Snarky little number, reminds me very much of something Alice Cooper might come out with. I like it. 13. Union City Blues - sorry, this is another that's too repetitive for me 14. Picture This - Much better! Interesting lyrics and nice shouty chorus. I've sung along to it many a time 15. Denis - This is the one my Dad used to go all unneccessary over when it came on Top of the Pops, I think Debbie Harry sang it wearing a swimsuit. As far as I know it actually is a 60's cover, that kind of vibe does suit Blondie well. Thanks for the trip back to my schooldays Horacewimp, I'd give this collection a solid 7 out of 10
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Post by queenofthehours on Nov 18, 2015 19:15:41 GMT
1. Heart of Glass – I’ve always liked this song. Probably the reason I started to get into Blondie in the first place. No disco is complete without it. Although when I went to discos it was back at school and it was never played. They were bad discos. 2. Dreaming – I didn’t think I was familiar with this song but I am. Maybe a new favourite. Those Blondie drums, you can’t mistake them.
3. The Tide Is High – I think I may have this on 7” from my time as a post-punk obsessive vinyl collector. It’s a great tune, catchy. Can be played anytime anywhere even though it does have a tropical sound.
4. In The Flesh – I didn’t know this one before. Sounds nothing like Blondie really. Waltz-time, unusual.
5. Sunday Girl – One of my Blondie favourites. A great pop song.
6. Hanging On The Telephone – One of my top favourites. I had this on a punk cassette and even though it isn’t punk it still works. It’s sort of light-punk. I like Blondie’s fast, rocky songs best. Great guitar here.
7. Rapture – Not one of my favourites, could be because it isn’t on the radio often or because it is a bit 80s, rather, it’s a LOT 80s. Hear the rap? It’s a good song however, just not a “Blondie” sound for me.
8. One Way Or Another – I love the guitar here, especially at the beginning.
9. (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear - This is ok, not too special. Good but other tracks are so much better.
10. Call Me – One of my favourites if only because I don’t hear it much as it isn’t one of the “classics”.
11. Atomic – A big favourite of mine. Like ‘Heart of Glass’ the music is a huge hook.
12. Rip Her To Shreds – I’m not that familiar with this one. It’s very Blondie sounding, sort of cross between punk and pop.
13. Union City Blues – One of my favourites. I remember somebody playing this in a car I was in at top volume – it sounded great. From now on I can only ever hear it LOUD.
14. Picture This – I never used to be keen on this song but hearing it again here has made me appreciate it more. There’s some great instrumentation there, especially the guitar.
15. Denis – Another favourite and probably the only Blondie track I hum to myself. Never realised it was so short.
I loved catching up with Blondie again, they had so many good pop songs. I don't know if anyone else noticed but they have their own drum sounds as much as Jeff Lynne has his. I can't describe it but if you hear an intro you immediately know it's a Blondie song from those drums. What surprised me hearing the tracks again is how short the songs actually are. I think Blondie have their own niche - punk pop, not many other bands fit that category so well. No other I can think of.
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