Reviews (page 9 of 15)
A few bangers on this album, better than expected but didn't need the live stuff at the end.
Hanging On The Telephone - 5/5 One Way Or Another - 5/5 Picture This - 4/5 Fade Away And Radiate - 3/5 Pretty Baby - 3/5 I Know But I Don't Know - 2/5 11:59 - 3/5 Will Anything Happen - 3/5 Sunday Girl - 5/5 Heart Of Glass - 5/5 I'm Gonna Love You Too - 2/5 Just Go Away - 2/5 Average score: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ pretty solid album. didn't care for track 6, 11 &12 very much so that unfortunately didn't land them 4 stars or more for me
Sucks
7/10
A rather eclectic set of songs, with styles ranging from pop rock, punk, new wave, and disco. The writing and production are solid, and the playing is tight, but ultimately the whole thing is orbiting around the force of Debbie Harry’s personality.
not a fan, personally
a few skippable track here and there, not sure if I'd ever put this n
Erinnerung an die (späte) Schulzeit Bekannt: Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass, Once I Had A Love Vote: 3
This is another album that is entirely on here because of two major hit songs. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is just filler of babbling, and mediocre instrument play. Favorite Song: "One Way Or Another"
A few great songs, otherwise sort of a relic of punk-pop
I liked about 4 songs. Not horrible, not great. I can take it or leave it.
did not enjoy the fusion of pop and rock
Probably in the minority here but I really don't like Debbie Harry's voice. It has a weird Kermit quality that I find off putting. Some of the music is groovy though.
This was a good album. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again, but it wasn't bad. The hits are classic ofc, and there weren't any necessarily bad songs. Just kinda a regular album.
Gelungenes fetziges Album im Punk und New Wave Stil in der Wechselzone von 70er und 80er. Es macht Spaß das Album zu hören, dass kaum Längen hat. Zeitlos sind die Songs „One Way Or Another“ & „Heart Of Glass“. Überraschend gut sind aber auch „Fade Away and Radiate“ und „11:59“.
Excellent album by Blondie!
A great pop/new wave rock album. Good from start to finish, even beyond the hits.
simplesmente blondie bom demais
NEW WAVE É BOM DEMAIS eu esperava bastante e tudo me foi entregado com requintes de guitarrinha e synth. dançante, direto e até levemente punk as vezes. bom demais. talvez eu esteja obcecado por esse aqui. disclaimer: se for fazer pop rock, por favor, faça com personalidade, que nem esse aqui.
Großartig!
njoo.. njooh.. onhan se huomattavasti kuunneltavampaa kun ei luumukurkku miesukko, jonka ei ehkä kannattaisi elämässä sitä suuta avata paitsi niitten prkl luumujen syöntiin (sikamaista). muutama täysi FLOPPI tässä albumissa mutta muuten genious melodys, iconic harmonisation, legendary tonality... kehtaa olla poppia (non pretentious) ja oikeasti sitten menee sääntöjen mukaan että nappaavia lauluja eikä 3252353260820938219752389759284729856982 muuta bändiä jotka tekevät tylsää paskaa (myös tärkeä poppi elementti) mutta sitten ei olekaan mitään mukana. perunamuussi tarvitsee vähän kalapuikkoja sivuille.. tässä laitettu kalapuikkoja ja leikattuja., one way or another
Ahmazing!
Good, not great
If you dont answer I’ll just Ring it off the door ! Und one way or another
I love it! it's a really easy thing to vibe to. It's great to listen to when you are in a energetic mood.
Great album from the 70’s. A breakout album for Blondie. Some memorable songs.
Couple great songs I'd listen to again. Overall, not something I'd listen to in its entirety.
Definitely a classic. Some top tunes on here
I think this album may be used as an example of an absolutely average record. There is one pretty good song, one that is quite catchy, and 10 others with no descriptive features. Very boring album, I guess there's not enough Blondie in Blondie, as she's the only good part of the band. It's funny that they have a Buddy Holly cover on Parallel Lines. I was thinking this record was very much in his style, just much worse. That's it.
Blondie really hit hard during my college days, and for a little while, I thought the bleached hot chick in a tight dress was Blondie. Nope, she’s Debbie, and the band be Blondie. Ok, whatever. The band is average, and she is the Bomb! Typical of the time. Sold a lot of records, but besides a few hits, the boys don’t stand out behind her.
stooped at "just go away". annoying and abbaesque...
Great poppy album
Blondie - Parralel Lines hanging on the telephone, i recognise this, fun song, poppy, a bit basic, but easy and good to bounce to. i like the singer's voice. one way or another- OH I KNOW THIS!!! this is lodged in my brain from childhood. i can't remember where i know it from, but my god, it is lodged hard. catchy ass song, the drums and bass interact really nicely, i like that Debbie Harry's voice is passionate sounding, like she actually is gonna hunt me down. oh the breakdown yessssssssssss i really like this. OH THE ALARMS!! all the details and the way the intruments sound so bouncy, ahh great song. picture this- slightly boring but it's gonna be hard to follow up one way or another. THE PASSION IN HER VOICE!! YEEAAH. fine song fade away and i radiate- great intro, i love the contrast of the vocals and drums and the little other details happening in the background. after the intro it gets a little slow and sloggy but holy shit it sounds like a 3 course gourmet meal after listening to led zeppelin. i zoned out for a lot of it pretty baby- cute song, kinda boring subject matter of the lyrics. HOWEVER, i did just look at a photo of Debbie Harry and i can say this song might be about herself, god damn, she is realy pretty. sorry i know that's irrelevant to the music. the fade out in this song felt really off, like it was halfway between a fade and a total stop and it couldn't make up it's mind. fun song, bit generic. i know but i don't know- furries rise up aroooooooo <3 instrumental is great, oh shit theres a dude singing. he's there. i suppose. sorry hehe 11:59pm- bit boring, the intrumental is cute though. oh it revs up a bit, nice i would kill myself if today lasted a million years tho will anything happen- sorry i didn't pay much attention and zoned out. it didn't catch my attention at all sunday girl- this makes me want to shimmy my shoulders and it feels very queer which i loooove. like i wanna wear a leather jacket and court a lovely femme to this song. great song heart of glass- WOAH this is deep in my memories. gorgeous song, i love the synths? i think it's synths going wowowowowow. debbie has a really pleasant voice, even when she sings falsetto. i like the man doing bg vocals too, it contrasts in a velvety way. physically impossible to not bop my head to this. i bet it's fun as hell to play the drums in this band. banger i'm gonna love you too- ooo boppy as fuck. good song just go away- GOOO AWAY!!! relatable haha, i like the happy sounding instrumental with the "piss off" lyrics. sounds like another song where the drummer is having heaps of fun. and the bass actually. hell yeah once i had a love aka the disco song- do do dod od oddodododo oh! this must be the demo of heart of glass maybe? the original is better but this is fun too, the guitars are going crazy. the bass sounds great too. i'm actually not sure if the original is better now. this straight up has got me closing my eyes to be enveloped by the music. i wasn't expecting that! wow 3.9
icons
Tolles Pop-Album. Highlights: Heart of Glas, One way or another 4/5
Super rad! Blondie forever!
I always thought Blondie were British, but apparently Debbie’s from Miami, which is bonkers to me. Does she live in the UK? Or do I just associate her with Britain because the new wavey punk sound of this album (which I accidentally own twice on vinyl) is what I know them for best? Even owning it twice, I pretty much only knew the singles here. I love that Sunday Girl is basically the Ronettes with electric guitars, and even before I found out I’m Gonna Love You Too was a cover I could hear Chuck Berry- it’s fun that they’re so retro, and even were in the late 70s. Heart of Glass is the kind of disco I could tolerate as a kid, and it’s a banger that sounds like an arcade machine a bit to me, or a slightly dangerous Wurlitzer operated by a drunk woman. Fade Away and Radiate is something a bit different and moody but not really what I’d listen to Blondie for- I think 11:59 is probably my favourite of the tracks I didn’t know properly going into this. A fun listen for sure, but something about listening to such famous songs felt a bit basic- I guess Heart of Glass has been everywhere for so long it feels like a cliché and I can only think about how I know every note without ever having connected with Blondie emotionally. Still, a really solid 4.
God what I would do to be Debbie Harry... who doesn't want to be Debbie Harry????? Just the coolest of the cool, I'd say her and Stevie. This album is not new to me, and to be honest was lovely to listen to it again as I don't think I've listened to it since I was about 13. It deserves a 5 I think because of it is a deep meaningful album but it merges a lot of genres, it is fun and it just has that added spunk and coolness from Harry that just... IT'S JUST COOL OK. Love that punk is a constant residue throuhout, you can hear it in every track but it's not a punk record. 50s esque sounds in 'Picture This' but then the anger that grows in it and gumption shows how we have moved on from 50s rockabilly, especially for female vocalists. New Wave sounds in 'Fade Away and Radiate' at the beginning at least, but also like that it doesn't try to be anything more than it should if that makes sense. Overall, I am a big fan. I think 'Hangin' On The Telephone' is still the best but apart from that I love 'Picture This' and '11:59'. Got to always love Blondie.
ok. 2.5
3/5 Good not great pop-rock. Some classic songs but also a lot of fillers. Only one listen though.
Very nice.
Album #10 - 3.5/5 Generally I enjoyed this, but wasn't overall that excited by this album. It's hard to listen to songs that have been a part of popular media for so long, and try to reflect on how unique and impactful it would've been when it came out. "One Way or Another," is obviously a classic that slaps, but it's hard to be exhilarated by a song I've heard a million times in a million different pieces of popular media. Debbie Harry's voice as a lead woman was commanding and powerful, which I loved. Standouts: "Heart of Glass" & "Fade Away and Radiate."
Really phenomenal new wave/post punk. Boasts some super-creative songwriting, great sing-along melodies, and some early rock influences.
my first thought was why are there so many band members in blondie? second thought was hey this should be a fun album. and it was for a while. i dont think any of the songs were bad but some were definitely better than others. its not a long album but towards the end it was beginning to wear out its welcome
Aw I love Hanging on the Telephone. Such a fan of covers. Every album should have at least one ❤️ Anyway, this album is cool. I kinda wish this is all pop punk ever was. 3.5
Funky album. Would listen again
Very fun dance punk. Not my favorite by any means, Blondie is always enjoyable.
Very well done pop album, Blondie is always ahead of their time
𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ Stand Out Songs: 1. Hanging on the Telephone, 2. One Way or Another, 𝟑. 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝟒. 𝐅𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝟓. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲, 𝟏𝟎. 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 I enjoyed this one! Particularly a fan of the more dopey-lovey ones like track 3. Picture This and track 5. Pretty Baby. I don’t think I would have listened to this entire album on my own, but i do have memories of listening to Heart of Glass on my mom’s iPod when i was like 6 years old, so for that track in particular, maybe I would have ventured out into the blondie-verse.
Some full-on favourites from a by-gone age. Great to re-visit this once-favourite album.
79/. A good new wave/pop rock record. There are some excellent tracks on this project, but it feels a bit uneven in quality. For me, the record is very front-loaded, with all the best tracks appearing at the beginning.
Loved
I would've given this album a 3 but I hate Heart of Glass. This band also feels like it's trying to be so quirky by having a female singer and male band, like that's never been done before!
10/10
What a perfect sound. The original pop punk band? Sets a standard on how to blend the punk sensibilities into something mainstream and fun. Beyond that, they are clearly inspired by all the other genres of the day, disco, new wave, etc. And a lot of the songwriting could receive only minor production updates and not sound out of place today. There's a timeless quality to a lot of it. Debbie's voice is so great, doesn't even need harmonies or anything complicated, just enjoyable to listen to.
top 3: - hanging on the telephone - picture this - heart of glass + fade away and radiate
Good stuff
This was just ok, I guess. Some bangin' singles, but as a whole - ok.
норм
I discovered Blondie as a young child when "Autoamerican" came out. "The Tide Is High" was my favorite song. My appreciatioon of Blondie has spread a lot wider in the decades since.
I was hoping to discover some hidden gems here, but the less familiar songs on this record are pretty missable. Still, it has more than one all-time bop, which I'm going to say meets my criteria for four stars.
A classic. Already owned this but nice to revist.
What's not to like? It's Blondie. At their best.
a landmark in pop, punk, and pop-punk!!!! debbie harry is a genius. this album still sounds fresh, i would have easily believed it was made in 1987 despite being released in '79. effortlessly cool and weird, still accessible!! 1. heart of glass 2. hanging on the telephone 3. one way or another
Fun
I've come to the conclusion that Blondie sounds like something you'd hear playing at your local worn-down rock pub. 'Heart of Glass' and 'One Way Or Another' are a step up and really catchy songs, the rest I could do without. Not consistent enough to warrant any higher rating really, so will have to land in the middle.
I've fallen a bit behind in these reviews and have because of this seen that this album was coming up for the last week. I had really been looking forward to it as I love quite a few Blondie songs. It starts of great with two classic songs. Both "Hanging On The Telephone" and "One Way Or Another" are really great songs, elevated by "Debbie Harry's" great vocals. After that the album just fell off. A mark down in quality with no more songs that I really enjoyed (except of course "Heart Of Glass" which is another classic). I left the whole thing feeling a bit disappointed. Was going in to this thinking this would be a strong 4 or even a 5 judging by the hits on this record. But the hits were the only really good parts. Take the hits leave the rest. Going to settle on a weak 4 because a 3 just feels too harsh an album with such classics.
Great album was classics in it
Classic - trying to get Aga to move from Abba to Blondie...
Parallel Lines The best of Blondie was one of the official minidisc albums I got when I got my minidisc player for Christmas in 1998. Nothing to do with Parallel Lines but whenever I hear Blondie I think about that Minidisc player. Sweet memories aside this album is just a terrific rush of pop perfection, right in the sweet spot of new wave, disco, reggae, pop, power pop, little bits of country and rock, with a slightly crazy number of classic bangers: Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another, Picture This, Fade Away & Radiate, Pretty Baby, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass, I’m Gonna Love You To. Some of the less famous songs are great as well, I Know but I Don’t Know has a great seedy pop snark to it, 11.59’s slight doo wop wedded to power pop is super, Will Anything Happen is an excellent bit of new wave vaguely rockabilly synth pop and Just Go Away is a lovely bit of attitude. All bangers, all the time 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 Playlist submission: Heart of Glass the obvious one, but I love Fade Away & Radiate.
Several certified bangers in here. Many more which are above average to great. It melds New Wave, disco, 50s rock n roll, to create a definitive late 70s post-punk album.
I like blondie SOMETIMES
Pretty much perfect
🎧A new wave treat. Some very good songs: One Way Or Another, Pretty Baby, Sunday Girl, and the magnificent Heart of Glass (one the best songs of the 1970s).
It's Blondie's Parallel Lines, for God's sake. Instant five for the cover alone.
A few real bangers in there
Yeah it’s ok. Not in my collection, she had some attitude did DH & fair play to her but it’s not an album I have really connected with and even after giving it a try today it still leaves me with little to change my mind
Enjoy Joy
One of my all time favourite albums. Back to back pop classics.
It's a testament to Debbie Harry's enduring relevance and continuing development that I think of her first as an older woman despite her most famous work taking place during her early 30s with Blondie. I always associated her work with Blondie with the cool detachment of heart of glass, but on this album she shows a broad emotional palette as a vocalist and applies it freely: switching in a second between pouting doll; cold robot; disarming friend; wailing poseur; cool fashionista; commanding dominatrix; growling raw animalistic ugliness.
Blondie has always been kind of meh. Not great, not bad. Just middle of the road new wave meh.
Enjoyable new wave and edgy for it’s time.
After One Way Or Another, the album lost me a bit, but I really enjoyed the second half of the album - 11:59 onwards.
I liked it more each time I listened through.
ну это моёеее,даже добавить нечего,обожаю Дебби Харри икона,а ещё она обещала новый альбом в 2025 году, ждём...
крутота, блонди спасибо за веселье и большое количество хитов на альбоме, но до 5 недотянула крошка
One Way or Another this album will getcha, it’ll getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha.
Got an original record of this, would be a 3 but heart of glass brings it up to a 4
Would not listen to of my only free will
Aside from the 3 hits, the rest was pretty average
Fun to listen to at first, kinda drags on a little but a couple of good tunes for sure
4.5 almost flawless
So many quintessential songs on one album. I didn't know Blondie could do this variety of styles either
The one and only Blondie
rename it 5 meixcans and one blondie
Great album. Her voice and the guitar riffs just made me lean back end enjoy for an hour. While I recognize some songs every one fit the album in a coherent way really well.
Very poppy but also very pleasant and listenable. More than muzac....
Hanging On The Telephone, One Way Or Another, and Heart of Glass earn this a 4. Rest are ok.
Excellent stuff! So many bangers on one album. Simpsons: Yes
Excellent album, the really well-known songs are great, the rest of the album is also decent. I should listen to more Blondie.
I remember my dad getting a free copy of this from the newspaper and having it in his van for years before he replaced it with Fleetwood Mac. This was a really nice album to listen to on a Sunday morning; they were all good with some absolute bangers throughout.
3 months ago I worked on a Blondie tribute act and was quietly optimistic. I know some of their songs (Blondie is the name of the band, not the singer, something I learnt working that night!) and they’re pretty good. I finished the gig and was blown away by how much I enjoyed it. Now onto this album. All good shit, 5 stars!
Perfect power pop. Those rhythm changes on 'Heart of Glass'!
State of the art new wave / power pop. If you don't find yourself grooving with a smile to the playful time signatures on "Heart Of Glass" are you really human?
Know
So many bangers. Can remember jumping around to this album that my dad has on vinyl when I was small... and not much has changed. Love Blondie!
Nicht meine Lieblings Lieder von Blondie drauf
Best album yet. Absolute banger.
Exceptional.
I knew a couple songs, don’t know more. The ones I knew were the good ones and the rest not so much.
One Way or Another is amazing. The rest was pretty good, but no huge standouts.
In the 70s I thought the best thing about Blondie was how cool and beautiful Debbie Harry was but I wasn’t really into their music. This album had some really good tracks and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. 3/maybe even touching 4* ?
It’s hard to judge this album objectively – I’ve never been a Blondie fan, and Heart of Glass ranks among the most annoying, whiny and overplayed songs for me. So I approached the parent album with some bias. That said, it’s actually not bad. Ironically, despite its massive global success, Heart of Glass might just be one of the album’s weaker points.
Masterpiece of new wave music. Almost a greatest hits album
A quintessential new wave, pop rock album. Switching to producer Mike Chapman did Blondie a lot of good, as they pumped out hit after hit here with the group all sounding at their best at the time. Debbie Harry is an iconic voice to many, showcasing great range with the variety of rock tracks featured throughout "Parallel Lines". The rest of the group also showcases their musical range, with the combination of new wave and power pop-like riffs & hooks. Just a strong album overall and probably Blondie's best work. Favorite tracks: Hanging On The Telephone (just learned that this was a cover!), 11:59, Sunday Girl, Heart of Glass
Enjoyed that. Ahead of its time for sure.
This album was awesome I really fucked with this. Heart of Glass and One Way or Another are classics in my eyes. Both have good stories: One time I was driving my neighbor, Dougie, home from school. We were tired of listening to my Spotify playlists, and randomly agreed to listen to some good ole' FM radio instead. The song that came on right after we switched was Heart of Glass by Blondie, the first time we both ever heard it! We both instantly loved it and would listen to it together to and fro from school quite often :). One Way Or Another I used in my short film for a high school film class. All my classmates really liked that short film I made and I remember the year after I took that class, students in the current class would come up to me and say how much they loved that film I made, I was very proud of myself :). So overall, this album houses two songs that I have good memories with, and I loved the rest of it. Funny how I never checked it out after liking these two songs. 5/5!
Early Blondie. One Way is the big hit
Fun, punky album
Never heard it before but know the singles. Pretty solid, I feel like it could grow on me.
Can't say I like the band, but this album is quite interesting. It includes studio and live recordings, well known to more obscure songs, and genres that go from pop/disco to some sort of punk. Still, not something I would choose. 6/10
Meestal word ik een beetje kriegel van Blondie, maar dit vond ik eigenlijk best OK. Eigenwijze popmuziek met een rafelrandje en af en toe een discovibe, er werd in deze periode wel slechter gemaakt. We geven onze blondine maar eens een keer het voordeel van de twijfel.
Een gevarieerd album, waarbij Blondie toch een eigen geluid houdt. Een prestatie op zich. Regelmatig dut ik wat in, pakt het mij niet zo. Maar ook regelmatig veer ik op. Nummers als One way or another zijn toch fijne powertracks.
Onderhoudend albumpje van Blondie. Pop rock met invloeden van allerlei kanten, zoals punkrock, progrock en new wave, maar ook elektronische invloeden en ik hoor zelfs Beach Boys-achtige surfpop. En die afwisseling maakt het leuk om te luisteren. Doe er daar een paar hitjes bij en je hebt een succesformule wat mij betreft. Niet alle tracks zijn raak, maar aangezien het volgende nummer toch weer anders klinkt, stoort dat nauwelijks. De lengte is met 40 minuten ook helemaal goed. Prima 4 sterren-album.
Meh. Nostalgic, and I could see it was occasionally crunchy / more than just straightforward rock, but not handsome enough to tempt me
7/10 Highlights: Hanging on the Telephone Sunday Girl One Way or Another Just Go Away 11:59 Heart of Glass
Debbie Harry has a great voice. Musically the album is very consistent. Nothing sound groundbreaking, but the simplicity is so well done, hard to find any flaws with it
What a pleasent surprise to find 'One Way or Another' and 'Heart of Glass' in the same album. I knew about these songs, but I didn't know about the group. This is a very solid album, and it sounds insanely clean for it's time. I was expecting a more noisy sound, but everything sounds fantastic. What I dislike the most of this album is that some songs feel standard. There's a lote of experimentation in this album, but there's also some songs that lack of it, and those I don't like that much. When they do it great, they do it really great, but when they don't, at least is still good.
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and oh my does Blondie make a banging breakfast. I'm still waiting for my lunch and dinner however...
Three tracks in and I was beginning to think it was their best of album. I knew it wasn't though as I have that and quite frankly it's not as good as this one. Great songs done really well, and not just the well known ones. It's definitely on the to buy list.
A high-ish 2 stars. Nothing on the album hits the heights of ‘Heart of Glass’ or ‘Hanging on the Telephone’. What a shame.
Blonde are great, the New York scene in the 70's was buzzing with talent. The guitar work is fantastic, the different edges and emotions Debbie Harry manages to put into her vocals show how good a singer she was. Not really a bad track. A low 5.
pretty good
Pop-rock. 2 megahits. Un 4.
¡Genial! ¡No hay canción que no esté genial!
Meh
хорошие песни и блондиночка секси
Similar but yet so inconsistent
I was previously only familiar with Blondie's Greatest Hits. This album is almost like a greatest hits in itself. There are a bunch of really strong tracks on here. Hanging On The Telephone, Heart of Glass, and One Way or Another are all really good. The other tracks are solid as well. It's a worthwhile listen.
Great album 4/5. And I’ve always thought Heart of Glass was the beginning of white-person rap.
Pretty enjoyable even outside of the obvious hits. Can't say it's something I'd listen to off-hand, but pleasant overall.
Classy
I like multiple songs from this album
Pretty good
Un album qui part vraiment en force. Des compositions intéressante, du bon rock qui bouge, un son qui se démarque. Malheureusement vers la fin ça s'essoufle un peu. Reste que c'est vraiment un plaisir à écouter et on comprend l'impact de ce band. 7.5/10
Any doubts I had that this album would revolve around the stratospheric singles of One Way or Another and Heart of Glass were extinguished by mere seconds into the first track. Parallel Lines delivers constant fun throughout, and it’s very refreshing to see it done so well without compromising on musicality. Heart of Glass does steal the show, but that isn’t to discredit tracks like Fade Away and Radiate which push the ceiling of this album’s effortless enjoyability further. It’s a lot of fun. And you wouldn’t want anything more than that.
It starts off so strong but then kind of shows its age. Debbie Harry was an absolute rock star though. I missed "Call Me" and wished it were on this album. I think I would've liked this a lot more if I'd been around when it came out.
Important piece of New Wave. Debbie Harry's vocals has this cutting clarity with a bit of a growl, adding this menacing quality to some vicious lyrics. At other times, her high notes float effortlessly as exemplified in "Heart of Glass". The guitar-driven instrumentals with the punk-style drums create a fun and pulsing atmosphere. Standout tracks: Hanging On The Telephone, One Way Or Another, Will Anything Happen, Heart of Glass
I agree with Justin. I kept reminding myself that this was 1978. Listening to this album, I can hear the influence she had on The Bangles, The Go Go’s, and later No Doubt. “One Way or Another” is still my favorite song for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride.
Liked it better than I thought I would. I can feel many female artists that I love being influenced by Debbie Harry. Shirley Manson of Garbage, Mazzy Star, Portishead. I can also feel the punk influence on Blondie it's polished pop punk but I can feel it.
It was good. Heard most of the songs before and can see why it would be very influential. The thing I kept coming back to is "surely this isn't from 1978 is it" and then I realized I am old. Good album.
blondie walked so gwen could also walk
A timeless classic.
Seems like all their hits are on this album. Personally prefer the more rock/punk tracks to the disco tracks
All the blondie classics was this when they became commercially acceptable? Still a jolly good stomp.
Deservedly iconic, an easy five stars
An eighties album that both serves up his single after his single and doesn't come across as completely manufactured and materialistic. I like that apparently Debbie Harry was still screaming lyrics as the studio engineer was calling her in to sing. Slightly punchy, raucous and tuneful.
Great album, hits all the right notes!
Finally listened to this front to back. I knew this would be good based from the songs I know (Heart of Glass, Sunday Girl, One Way or Another) and it really was.
where lots of jittery new wave features vocalists that Succumb To The Neurotic Chaos to varying degrees, debbie harry always feels like the queen of it, channeling and commanding it. the chemistry between the unstoppable confidence of her presence and the eccentric, disorienting, jaggedy music is, among other things, some kind of theoretical Pop Perfection between chaos and order. frank infante's guitar lines go crazy all over here...just such constantly bright music in general, sunshine bent thru a bunch of sculpted prisms. is there anything more punk then being remembered by the superstar producer who orchestrated your """""sellout""""" album as The Worst Band I've Ever Worked With???? and still getting a bunch of immortal hit tracks out of it too...thats the stuff
wat een klappers, wist niet dat dit album zo bangin was
Saved Prior: One Way Or Another, Heart of Glass Not Saved: 12. I Know But I Don't Know Off Rip: 11. Will Anything Happen 10. Fade Away And Radiate 9. Hanging On The Telephone 8. 11:59 7. Just Go Away 6. Picture This 5. Sunday Girl 4. Heart Of Glass 3. Pretty Baby 2. One Way Or Another 1. I'm Gonna Love You Too (The Clash definitely heard this one before writing Rudie Can't Fail) Overall Notes: hahahahahahahhaahahahh it's so good Hanging On The Telephone isn't even in the top half of the better songs on this album and I really really like that song. Let's just say I 100% would've followed the Blondie Instagram account.
I love Blondie and some of these songs were ones I had never heard. I love her kind of throaty vocals. A very fun and lively album.
Very solid guitar pop- love hanging on the telephone
Charles Shaar Murray claimed she had no star power. Nope. She’s terrific. They were what talking heads would be if talking heads didn’t take everything so so seriously. Debbie has fun. So does the band. Yes they’re serious artists. And there’s a bit of that. But they are fun. Heart of glass is a banger. So is the other hit single - one day or another I’m gonna getcha. Big dumb fun. And they loved playing with genre*. It’s a shame the heroin curtailed them. But what we have is great. *technically the first rap single was Blondie’s Rapture released just before Rapper’s Delight. History has slightly modified the story to ensure the accolade doesn’t go to a white woman. But the dates remain firm. It is right though that a black group get the credit.
I first heard Blondie on the Muppet Show when I was a child in around 1981, but let's not dwell on that. When I was teenager, my mate Shawn's parents had a caravan at Kendall's Beach near Kiama, and they kindly let Shawn and his friends (including me, Philippa, Tim, Jessica, Irina, and few others) head down there for the occasional weekend, unsupervised. We were generally a well-behaved bunch, and didn't get up to much trouble beyond splitting a bottle of lambrusco between of us (which is not a lot of cheap wine per person). We would often go hang out at the pizza place at Surf Beach, just over the headland, eat pizza and feed coins into the jukebox. A vinyl jukebox was almost an anachronism by then, so it was a bit special. They didn't update the singles very often, if at all, so it usually had the same reliable songs available whenever we visited, including a bunch of Blondie singles. We always played the Blondie singles. Always. When Shawn and Tim and I formed a band a few years later, we mostly played (terrible) originals, but Heart of Glass was a regularly featured cover. As a result, I mainly think of Blondie as a singles band. The Best of Blondie is a guaranteed good time, and a record I keep in my DJ crates for dance floor emergencies. They had a magnificent streak of amazing pop singles through the late 70s into the early 80s. I own a few of their albums (including Parallel Lines) but I rarely play them because I live under the misapprehension that they just were a singles band and that the albums are full of filler. So, giving Parallel Lines a proper listen today was quite a surprise. Blondie _are_ a phenomenal singles band and they were at the height of their powers here. There were six (SIX!) singles released from the album, and they are all pretty great (with chart-topper Heart of Glass the clear standout). But even the album tracks are pretty damn strong. This is a really consistent album of power pop all the way through. The songs are awash with hooks and strong melodies and a beat you can bug out to. The covers are well chosen and sit well with the originals. Their cover of Buddy Holly's 'I'm Gonna Love You Too' is my deep cut discovery from this listen (although, in fairness, it was released as a single. I didn't know that). Mike Chapman had a hard time wrangling the famously undisciplined band into playing, you know, _well_, which he managed to do without smoothing off all their energetic edges. The band is muscular and taut and melodic. Debbie Harry's vocals are tough and expressive and charismatic, even if not always technically perfect. Charles Shaar Murray famously wrote in a 1975 overview of the CBGB's scene that Debbie Harry was cute, but lacking star power. By 1978, I'm sure he was eating his words. Fade Away and Radiate is a bit of the odd track out, and I understand why some people don't like it, but I love the moody weirdness, embellished by Robert Fripp and his idiosyncratically Fripp-y guitar playing. Always love a bit of Robert Fripp. Based on this listen, I am prepared to re-evaluate my prejudices about Blondie. They were an outstanding singles band, one of the best of all time _and_ capable of producing high quality pop albums as well. All killer, no filler (as they say). Five stars.
Maybe my heart is made of stone, not glass, but one way or another I didn't need the whole album after noon
I enjoyed this
Blast from the past. A decent quirky album. A couple of classics on there. Overall not bad at all.
It’s on the Mount Rushmore of American New Wave albums. From Harry’s sultry and sarcastic expressive vocals to the lyric snide to the surprisingly complex guitar lines to the perfect pop ditty composition…. It’s an amazing album with no parallel. Pardon me the wordplay.
One of my favorite genres is alt/indie rock from the aughts, especially The Strokes. So, not only was I totally surprised how much I loved this album, I was even more taken aback by how much it sounded like something from the 2000s. Obviously Blondie inspired those bands, not the other way around, but of course, I'm coming around to Blondie in reverse. Anyway, there was not a bad track on this album, with a couple of recognizable hits. It has great flow, catchy riffs, and ripping solos. Man, I can't wait to come back to this one. Easy 5 stars.
Such a great fun album. So many great tracks, so many hits. Fave today: Hanging On The Telephone
An absurdly strong album. A bunch of these tunes I've heard an order of magnitude more times than I'd voluntarily choose to, and they still sound great. Debbie Harry is ridiculously listenable. Fave tracks - "Hanging on the Telephone", "One Way or Another", "Sunday Girl" and "Heart of Glass" from the overplayed tracks. My overall fave from these listens, though, has to be "I Know But I Don't Know" - great stuff!
Heart of Glass, Sunday Girl, Hanging on the Telephone… I’d never listened to the album but at least half the songs are familiar!
A mixed bag as a whole but ultimately has some fantastic material on it
This was a 16 year old’s perfect album in 1978. It covered all the bases musically and stylishly for that year. Listening now, only the hits still resonate. Rest of the album feels like a bit like filler. I’d go 4 on this now but will give it a 5 because of the strength of the hits and of course Debbie.
70's, CBGB-era New York is my Marvel Universe. I listen to podcasts, read books, watch any movie about this particular era in music. I can't get enough. Imagine squatting in a 3,000 square foot loft in Soho making art in a leather jacket, then heading uptown to Max's Kansas City to catch a show and there's Lou Reed and Andy Warhol. Really cool time to be alive (I wasn't to my dismay). Blondie was always a peripheral in that universe -- not as punk as the Ramones and not as artsy as Patti Smith. But there was style. There was attitude. There were killer hooks. "While Heart of Glass" is a great tune, "One way or another" is where it's at. I enjoyed all of this album.
Lots got a few fun songs
A solid album. So many singles on here and the tracks that weren’t made me smile too.
Echt fantastisch, wie zijn one direction?
Well, this was a lot of unexpected fun. I knew the singles, but nothing else. It has aged really well.
I was a bit too young for punk back in the day but new wave hit me right in my adolescent wheelhouse. This album combines the exuberance of 50's rock 'n' rollers like the Crickets with the punk energy of The Stooges, as well as a touch of French nouvelle vague cool. Just about every song on this is a banger, but apart from the hits (and there are a lot of them!) the standout is the cheeky cover of Buddy Holly's I'm Gonna Love You Too. Peroxide-tastic!
That was fun. There are the obvious hits, but apart from them, the record in pretty nice, very entertaining and not one second boring.
Done
Good album. Nearly a 4.
buen grupo blondie la verdad
This is quintessential 80s rock to me. A couple of timeless hits that are immediately recognizable. Great sound. I really enjoyed this whole album.
Already have this. Great album 4/5.
Bokte proživjeti ću adolescenciju opet ovaj tjedan 😁 Očekivala sam i nju na listi eventually. One Way Or Another mi je baš zabavna pjesma, iako je ono, još jedan izlizani hit, ali nije mi muka kad ju čujem negdje, kao ni neke druge njihove pjesme. Slatka mi je skroz ona 😊 moram priznati jedino da mi bubnjevi idu dosta na kurac na nekim pjesmama, baš me bodu u uho (primjerice Picture This). Ne znam kako bih ovo rejtala iskreno. Volim ju, ali možda ne ovaj album toliko. S druge strane, dala sam visoke ocjene nekad na temelju nostalgije, što bi i ovdje bio slučaj. Ma bit će 3/5 ili 5.5/10.
A ono. Ništa posebno I know but I don't know mi je ok. Heart of glass isto nije loša stvar Trojka
7/10 Album koji je ispljunuo 6 singlova i zavrsio na svim mogucim ljestvicama 1979. godine. Odlican spoj rocka, new wavea i disca, te veliki uspjeh benda. Hanging On The Telephone sam prvi put cuo prije nekih 15ak godina ali u obradi Rijeckog benda Fit. Kad sam skuzio da je Blondie izvorno u pitanju, odmah su mi porasli u ocima jer sam zavolio tu stvar na prvu. Osim nje, disko hit Heart Of Glass volim jos od dana kad sam Vice City prvi put zaigrao (a bit ce jos mnogo stvari iz soundtracka igre na ovom popisu). Ima tu jos dobrih stvari, ali nista sto bi me izulo. S druge strane, ovaj album mi je vise manje poznat i nije bilo nikakvog 'novelty' faktora (a zbog toga sam ovdje) pa ce biti solidna sedmica.
There are classic rock albums, classic jazz albums, classic blues albums, but classic pop album like this one are very rare. Simply a gem.
Parallel Lines by Blondie is an overall good album. Some of the instrumentals were very unique and impressive, and the singing was decent too. There were several great songs that I really enjoyed, but there were also moments where the album didn’t hit as strongly. Despite a few lows, it’s still a solid listen.
Already knew this Album great production great songs blonde at their best
catchy, decent music, gets you moving nothing wrong with it, im enjoying listening to it, i dont actively want to skip any songs, but i also dont wish anything was longer.. i do keep getting that "oh! this classic! i like this song!" but other than that, i dont feel anything special about this album, its good, dont get me wrong, but nothings grabbed me.. YET! okay nevermind, didnt get GREAT.. nothing wrong, nothing id reccomend to anyone.
10/10. Ah, yet another epic classic. Albums like these tend to be fairly hit-or-miss albums, and this one is a hit. I love the melodies that accompany the songs. The vocals are great. Also, I am quite fond of the structure of the album. It stays consistently good throughout the album, and doesn't fall flat. This is the kind of music that I simply crave every once in a while, and really need to listen to when I do. Oh, and who can forget that the song "Heart of Glass" is on this album? I bloody love that song. I listened to it 46 times in a single day a few months. Everything about that song just feels so perfect!!! It's SO exciting when that song comes up (not this time around; my Mama interrupted me a few seconds after the song began playing). :) Aside from "Heart of Glass", there are other straight-up bops on the album like "Sunday Girl", "Hanging on the Telephone", and "Picture This". Ah, this album is so nice! :)
being into this album comfortably the coolest thing i did as a teenager
Fun, poppy album with solid punk guitar. Shades of reggae and surf now and again keep things from getting stale. I found the first half somewhat lacking, but things came around by the end. Favorite song: Heart of Glass.
Pretty much what you expect from Blondie. Solid, not spectacular.
My dad listened to this nonstop for like a year so I'd rather not
Yes
so much fun I love blondie, such a badass!!! like kim and kelly deal, kim gordon and chrissie hynde - they'll always be so uber cool to me <3 this album cranks with the 1st 2 tracks, has a punky, sometimes a Ronnie Spector/early 60s 'bemylittlebaby', sometimes dancy feel I love the variety and her unapologetic sass - Debbie Harry was so fierce back then, one of the only 'cute little blond' chicks who you would even think of messing with. I was at a TomTom Club concert in 1989 and she was standing right in front of us - we were DYING! Royalty.
I love Blondie. A total badass mixing up genres in an edgy, fun way. One of the Barbie doll punks who claimed a spot for herself.
One of the best 1-2 punches in the rock era - hanging on the telephone into one way or another start things off with two bangers. Because of that they can then go anywhere. And they do. Punky. Proggy. 60s girl group. Disco. So many ideas on this album.
This was an easy album to listen to. Even though Parallel Lines came out in 1978, it really started to usher in the early 80s punk-adjacent. Obviously, the standout tracks are One Way Or Another and Heart Of Glass, but there were some other decent songs too. Best Songs: Hanging On The Telephone, One Way Or Another, Heart of Glass Worst Songs: I Know But I Don't Know
Outside of two wildly overplayed songs, not much to enjoy on this album. Unremarkable and generic, and honestly a bit grating to listen to. Wouldn't recommend
The sound of my teenage years. Energy, good songs and a charismatic Debbie Harry
What a collection of absolute bangers. This is on a par with Rumours in terms of 80's pop. The hits are all brilliant and the rest holds up. Its 50 years old and still sounds modern, well produced and danceable as fuck.
3.5
Favorite songs: Hanging on the Telephone, 11:59, Heart of Glass
This album is peak Blondie, strong from start to finish. Love the voice and the pop rocky style of the music. So many bangers on one album. Favorite songs were: 1. Hanging on the Telephone 8. Sunday Girl 9. Heart of Glass 10/10
Another album that teen Kit was keen on, but never dove into. Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another, and Heart of Glass are the songs that stayed with me through the years, and I'd largely forgotten the rest. I listened to Telephone while walking home from BART and it was a A+++ walking headphones song. Its as good a power pop song as has ever been recorded. Its fun and catchy, and it r o c k s. I liked the rest of the album, but they never hit the same heights as those 3 songs did for me. Also as Sam and Stijn may remember, I once went as Debbie Harry for Halloween (probably my best costume, except for when I went as a fridge in 4th grade). I spent a long time learning the lyrics to Heart of Glass for that Halloween, even though she definitely sings above my range. Blondie rules, but I didn't love the whole album enough for a 5 star. Album Cover: (A-) Fun and goofy concept executed well. Also Debbie is the archetype for all rock babes, and any cover with her on it gets a bump.
The rare album that gets better as it goes along!
Right away I'm enjoying this more than I expected! I definitely thought Blondie was her name and that she was a solo act. I didn't know she had a band. "Hanging On The Telephone" is a fun song. I'm realizing as I go that my dad used to play these songs. "One Way or Another" is awesome and is unlocking memories of childhood car rides and hanging out in the living room. The vocal performance in this song is iconic. "Pretty Baby" is a very ABBA sounding song. I love it. The synth coming in on "I Know but I Don't Know" was exciting. It's a shame it didn't last that long, the rest of the song was a little stale. "11:59" is my favorite song so far. "Sunday Girl" has another awesome vocal performance. This is a groovy track. "Heart of Glass" hit me like a truck. I've heard it so many times and I've never know what it was. "I'm Gonna Love You" has me wanting to clap along and do some shimmying in my office chair. This album has a lot going for it. Blondie's amazing vocal performance is the highlight, but there's a ton of great guitar parts and fun backup vocals. 9/10
A gem of an album. Infectious attitude and hooks over a cool late 70's American poppy new wave sound. Comes out of the gate strong with Hanging on the Telephone followed by One Way or Another, and then later on side two you get another 1-2 punch with Sunday Girl and Heart of Glass. This band must have been so much fun to see live!
Aside from their radio hits--and really only "Call me", "One way or another", and "Heart of glass"--I don't know that I've ever really listened to *anything* by Blondie, and certainly not a full album. I can totally see how this album would represent for Blondie-devotees their best album, and I enjoyed discovering that there was more range in their arsenal than the first few songs on the album implied. "I know but I don't know" and to some degree "Will anything happen" even seem to display their NYC underground roots, a nice touch. (I also thought it was funny to have a few retro tracks like "Sunday girl" peppered throughout.) The two highlights for me on this album are the unsettling song (and video) "Picture this", and the Robert-Fripp-accompanied "Fade away and radiate". But I also found I couldn't really get into this album, although I *really* appreciated how snappy the song lengths were. And the Wikipedia entry is a fascinating slow-burn evisceration by the producer Mike Chapman of every aspect of the band, from talent to lyrics to work ethic. By the end you feel badly for the band, but it all rings true to some degree. Regardless, this is clearly the most complete album by the band and an interesting intersection of their past and future, even if it didn't really do a lot for me personally.
Wow, it was great to hear this again! It has been decades! I remember loving the 50s vibe of this album and thinking it made sense because Debbie Harry was born in 1945 so she grew up with that sound and then made it her own with Blondie. Pure pop with attitude and almost every track is a winner--I've always loved Fade Away and Radiate in particular. Thank you Blondie!
Perfect album.
Iconic album. The hit songs on this album are songs I like but was always suprised that they are as prolific as they are. The album is really solid and enjoyable, not much else to say.
This is pretty good, I only really know Blondie from their singles and occasionally confusing them for Goldie, who is absolutely not the same style. It's like if Devo was fronted by a woman and was less, well, Devo about things. Fun 80's style pop-rock without any over reliance on 80's staples like synths and drum machines. I thought the opening track, "I know but I don't know" and "11:59" the picks of the rest. It's funny that they're different from the big hits; they're almost like new wave punk songs without any of the grime of the actual punk movement. They're better than the singles in my opinion! I didn't think I'd like this as much as I did. Good time.
I love it. I mean those. I mean her. The disco/rock mashup works well. A toe tapping good time. The singles all survive the passage of time. I might throw on Autoamerican.
I feel bad that I don't have more positive feelings for this album. 3/5
The deep cuts are better than the hits imo.
debbie
From the grungy stage of CBGBs to the heights of bubblegum pop sensibilities. She was cute and knew what she was doing. The album is good enough without actually being good.
Fun with some good hits
You could chuck heart of glass into the worst album on this list and it would make it a solid 4*. Fortunately the rest of this is full of bangers too.
Not quite a five but close. This was a very enjoyable listen. The songs were fun to listen to while still being sonically interesting. Everyone does their part well.
Debbie Harry is an under-rated vocalist. Fabulous, joyful power pop, brimming with invention. Clem Burke is on top form, too - dynamic drums throughout. And an all-time classic cover.
Two really good songs, a few good deep cuts, a couple I could have cared less for, and the rest was relatively okay. So better than like 85% of what this list has to offer.
Definitely enjoy the pop rock sound. I had heard a few songs before but never the whole thing.
4.5
Pretty cool record, lovely production. Debbie's voice grates on me in certain areas, surprisingly. Favourite tracks: Hanging On The Telephone, One Way Or Another, I Know But I Don't Know, Will Anything Happen, Heart Of Glass.
This is the kind of album that 2 years ago I would have absolutely hated. I would have thought it was cheesy and annoying, and almost has a bit of a Stock, Aitken, and Waterman type quality to it. But I feel like since then I have really learned to appreciate new wave for what it is, and I can absolutely say that I now love this album.
The hits are amazing, some songs not my favorite, 3.5/5
Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Blondie is an actual new wave band -- not just a disco act. Certainly worth a good, long listen. Unexpected bangers: Fade Away and Radiate, 11:59, Sunday Girl
classic shit
😎
The Heart of Glass/Sunday Girl single record was my absolute favourite from my mum's collection when I was a kid. It turns out this entire album is killer and I liked every single track. Debbie Harry has amazing range and the whole thing was just fun to listen to. Rating: 5
Classic singles, some of the album tracks drag it down though.
Pop Pop Pop Bang Bang Bang
Heart of Glass is a bop. That tasty 7/8 bridge... A few other good ones on here, but the rest sounds very antiquated to me.
Excellent album - some really good songs on here, Debbie Harry’s voice, it’s really good.
Go gogogo
debbie harry the woman that you are
Debbie girl why do you look so angry 😭
I was a young lad when this album came out. I remember all of the classic tracks but I've never listened to the complete album previously. It was exactly how I expected it to be. It's a symbol of the late 70's when music was changing constantly. I would listen again if it came on, but I wouldn't actively seek it out to listen again. It's got 3 stars written all over it!
What a great album. Kinda pop, kinda rock, several bangers. Songs that just make you wanna sing along
Ok
Grating, boring, and influential for all the wrong reasons.
# Album Name: Parallel Lines # Artist: Blondie # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: Great opening tunes to this album. Hanging on the telephone and one way or another are absote bangers. With a capital B. Really enjoyed fade away and radiate. Almost more of a ballard. Sunday girl. great song. love how pop and cheeky it feels. Honestly, i always thought this album was from the 80s. i was genuinely shocked to see the 70s. miles ahead of its time. unbelievable tbh. Heart of glass. Love this song. Great drums, keyboard and vocals. # Top Tunes: Hanging on the telephone / One way... / fade away... / sunday girl / heart of glass # Would I listen to it again? yup! Well ahead of its time.
It’s easy to forget that there wasn’t anything else out there at the time that really sounded like Blondie. Good energy and top song with Heart of Glass!
Make me jig.
This was ground breaking album in 1978 when it came out 0 and it still holds up. Give it a listen. There are a few hits you will know and the rest are pretty good.
Such a fun album. It's right in that era where pop music was transitioning out of disco and into that distinct 80s sound. Some hits on this record that really stand out that we all hear in many places we go to, or even from commercials we see on TV. The vocals lend so well to the harmony of the instrumentation. Would have loved to seen this band perform live back in their prime. Very entertaining record.
Buen álbum, sonido adelantado a su época y con muy buenas canciones, lo volvería a escuchar
Enjoyed this album a lot. Great drums.
Solid all the way through. Big hits as well as deep cuts that deserve more appreciation.
i also want some minions like debbie harry 😫😫😫 #girlboss
What an album. So many hits.
Didn’t mind this one…only had heard the singles from Blondie in the past. Liked a few of the album cuts. I’ll call it a 3.
Way better than I would have guessed -- you can really hear the influence she had on the 80s
Fav: Just Go Away Least Fav: I Know But I Don’t Know Yknow maybe new wave isn’t so bad after all
I love the representation this list has for 80s new wave. It’s an era I abstained from for the longest time, but have grown a real affection for in recent memory. There are just so many great bands. Blondie is one of those many for sure. There is something really interesting about this album. It’s hard for me to pin down exactly what it is, but I know I like it a lot. Truthfully this gets close to being one of those 80s records that is too much for me. But it toes the line between that and being so awesome that you can’t help but like it really well. Except it isn’t an 80s album. But somehow it is, in many ways, the essence of what makes the best of the decade so good. I’ve always appreciated how rooted in punk new wave really is, especially considering its history in bands like Television. And this feels like one of the most glaringly punk inspired records in the genre. Which was definitely a surprise to me, since I was not anticipating something that went so far in the rock and pop direction. And with those punk roots comes an album filled with amazing performances from every member. It is very rare to hear a female voice in punk. Which is what makes Deborah Harry such a memorable icon. She took already great songs like One Way or Another and Heart of Glass and elevated them to a level that allowed them to be considered essential songs. And even if this album is surprisingly punchy at times, the fun and sweet flavor they manage to maintain on top of it makes it accessible to all. It’s not that anything they are doing on these songs is inherently that groundbreaking. But it’s effective, and there is clearly some thought put into it. It excellent bridges the sounds of the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Rating: 8/10
Ok, not really my style.
Great album pop punk disco. Heard many times before but good to hear again 8/10
I like it! I could see myself listening to this again but would still not be a go to
I liked Blondie before this, now I love her
Pretty fun straightforward guitar driven pop album. Torn between a 3 and a 4. 3.4
2.5 I thought I would have liked this more than I did. Felt a bit more disco-y and pop than new wave in a lot of spots. There was some interesting guitar work in the background. Skipped through a bunch of it though
greatness
Almost the perfect album imo
Was fine. Didn’t like the choice for intro. I like Heart Of Glass. Some other fine songs. Would've rated 2 and 1/2 stars if it were an option.
“Picture this” is an absolute BOP! My favorite song I haven’t heard before… so far on this adventure. “Heart of glass” is a true classic, a song I can listen to over and over. A lot of really great, timeless songs on this. Blondie is the shit
Post-punk perfection? Ms. Harry's voice is often the most imaginative instrument in the band (I would have forwarded it more in the mix). Moody, melodic, masterful. Highly pop influenced, the album keeps changing its particular approach. A couple misses, but mostly keeping things very engaging.
I thought this might be an immediate five star album because It evokes. great memories. It certainly in the Bamford archives. Listening to it there were definitely eight great songs out of 12, which is better than average. It did lose me a bit in the middle though so might have to dock it a mark. Still wonderful memories from my childhood though.
I think this the first time I've heard this entire album. I've always loved the radio hits. The production is rough, very '80s, and still inspiring today.
Blondie is awesome. Let's just get that out of the way. In terms of their albums, it always astounds me how the hits, or let's say, the superior material, leaps out of the speakers in a different way than the other tunes. And, while Blondie's B-material is solid, for the most part, it just seems to lack some indefinable spark. The A-material is just killer — great vocal melodies, Clem Burke's under-appreciated drumming, interesting arrangements, propulsive energy, often quirky lyrics. And always, such a distinctive sound, even as they float through a variety of styles along the way. An aside: I have always loved Clem Burke and rate him among my favorite drummers. I say "under-appreciated" because he's rarely listed as one of the greats, but he's just so solid — something like Keith Moon without the mania. Thankfully, this album has a bunch of A-material... but then again, every one of the band's first five albums is rich with great songs. I think any one of those could have picked as "the one" to listen to. Glad I got to spin this one this morning.
For all the hits I've enjoyed from this band, I never bothered to check out any of their albums. I don't know that this is a great album, but I enjoyed it. There's a lot of variety and I liked how weird some of the deeper cuts were even if they didn't strike me as great songs. And of course, the hits are fabulous. Heart of Glass is about as great as a pop song can be. This is really more of a 3.5, but I'm rounding up because I like their moxie and because Clem is such a monster drummer.
Fun!
I mean. It’s a classic. One of the greatest pop punk albums ever! I don’t love every song, but I love most. And the ones I don’t love have great production. It’s an easy record to listen to.
Energetic.
This is an important album as it brought pop punk to the forefront.
Loved it Definitely great all around. Catchy tunes. T a lot of future artists
This is just a classic, I can tell some references to surf rock, a bit of reference and feel to UK rock, I know blondie from a long time, but I never heard the entire album, till know 10-10
I liked the second half better than the first half. Highlights? Sunday Girl and Heart of Glass, naturally. Still, all in all, just an OK album for me. I think I could have died happy without having heard it, to be honest.
Wonderful, start to finish. Debbie Harry's powerful vocals beautifully complimented by the rest of the band. Will definitely listen to again
C+ Just a couple of songs that I liked, could leave the rest, not one that I would listen through every song.
pretty cool, not my usual thing but some classic songs
This was pretty enjoyable! Lots of different, interesting songs on here. Surprise to be sure.
Great album. Brought back great memories. She is a icon and broke through so many barriers!
Great album, fund to listen to.
# 326 : Great album, I liked it. Almost the perfect pop rock album. This might be one of the best albums ever created. I forget how great this stuff is, Not a bad track in the bunch. It's not until you sit and pay attention that you realise how awesome it is. Favourite Track : One Way Or Another
Also die Klassiker sind Bombe, aber wusste nicht das die anderen Songs der Band so schlecht sind. 3/5
ziemlich hohe bangerdichte
Nette sounds, aber selbst die bekannten songs mich jetzt nicht umgehauen
Several good and recognizable songs. Enjoyed this one today
It's ironic that a fair amount of BRITpop was a pale imitation of the contents of this album.
3.5/5
Too many good songs to be anything other than a 5.