![]() ![]() ![]() The original of Hanging on the Telephone, a 1976 single by LA powerpop band the Nerves, is pretty good, but Harry’s commanding performance owns the song, while Blondie’s arrangement is louder, brasher, tighter and tougher: the stuff of which classics are made. Sometimes, a song takes a while to find its ideal singer. But its genius is the subtlety with which it gradually builds from a jangly folk-rock intro to its thunderous climax, driven by Clem Burke’s superlative drumming. The tune is magnificent, and the lyrics are alternately funny and sexy, Harry inhabiting them completely. The first sign that Blondie were more than stylish, 60s-obsessed CBGBs curios. (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear (1978) Quibble about the quality of Harry’s rapping if you want, but the disco groove beneath the whole thing is magnificent. The experiments on 1980’s Autoamerican – including string-laden instrumentals, spoken word and show tunes – might have worked better if Blondie themselves had sounded like they were enjoying them. Photograph: Maureen Donaldson/Getty Images 7. Perkily covered by One Direction, who seemed not to notice that the lyrics are a deeply unsettling depiction of a stalker.īlondie in 1979. One Way Or Another (1978)Ī highlight of Parallel Lines, the one Blondie album that’s great from start to finish, One Way Or Another boasts a ferociously aggressive Harry vocal that seems to be made up entirely of hooks. “I wasn’t making a new wave album,” said producer Mike Chapman, of Parallel Lines, “I was making a pop album.” Nowhere is that clearer than on the effortlessly commercial Sunday Girl: teen romance lyrics, the irresistible sweetness of its melody given a hint of toughness by Harry’s vocal. Harry sounds suitably zonked Robert Fripp’s guitar solo is incredible. Fade Away and Radiate (1978)īallads aren’t really what Blondie were known for, but from its electronic intro onwards, Parallel Lines’ Fade Away and Radiate – about watching late-night TV movies in an altered state that shifts from blissful to paranoid – is eerily compelling. Blondie’s version drags it into the late 70s by throwing everything at the song – glam stomping, verses in French, synthesisers, frantic drum rolls – transforming its atmosphere. The original – Denise by one-hit-wonders Randy and the Rainbows – is a falsetto-voiced 1963 doo-wop single, utterly of its era. In the Flesh (1976)įrom the opening, Shangri Las-inspired monologue to the production credit for Richard Gottehrer – writer of the Angels’ My Boyfriend’s Back – Blondie’s eponymous debut album was 60s girl-group obsessed In the Flesh is a perfect update of a girl group in dreamy doo-wop-influenced ballad mode. ![]() Bond’s producers rejected it in favour of a Sheena Easton ballad, which was pretty much the final insult. Phonographic Copyright Chrysalis Records Copyright Chrysalis Records Published By Rare Blue Music, Inc. But there’s one exception, a would-be Bond theme with a killer chorus. Blondie Hanging On The Telephone More images Tracklist Companies, etc. The final original Blondie album, The Hunter, is leaden, miserable listening, with glossy production that can’t hide uninspired songs. ![]()
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