All of Blondie's studio albums ranked!
With one of their best singles in years ("Long Time") out now, and a fantastic new video for recent single "Fun", Blondie is in top form in anticipation of their forthcoming album "Pollinator." So I decided to look back at all their studio albums, which have all played such a big part in the soundtrack to my life.
This one was tough and although I followed my new system to rank the albums, I found that it didn't yield completely accurate results. Because Blondie have so many albums, many with over 13 songs on them, over the course of so many years, it's not always easy to remember a song just by the title. So I had the dilemma of either going back and re-listening to all the songs I didn't remember, or just going ahead and ranking any song I didn't remember a 1. I decided to proceed using the latter method, but this ended up with a ranking that I just didn't agree with. With Blondie albums, to me I think the artwork and packaging, as well the the videos, all contribute to the final ranking, so I switched things around once I took those into account.
10. Plastic Letters (1978)
This is definitely my least favorite album because it's kind of punky/crunchy and less poppy than my favorite Blondie albums, and it really doesn't have any of my favorite songs on it. The two main singles from it, "Denis" and "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear" are two of my least favorite Blondie singles. I do like the rough-and-tumble sound of "Detroit 442" though. I also have a fun memory of when I bought this album. I was in junior high and my dad had dropped me off in Hays while he went on to some function in another town, so I got to walk around what was to me (at that time) a "big city" all by myself, and shopped at a few record stores, before making my way to my grandma's apartment, where I listened to this tape after having just bought it.
9. Panic of Girls (2011)
While sporting the strong single "Mother," this album otherwise does not include many songs that I'm all that fond of. It's not a terrible album, but it's just not as strong as the last two, and it seemed like it was a little overwrought and perhaps too labored. "D-Day" continues the unfortunate trend of leading off the album on an oddly aggressive, non-melodic note (see "Shakedown" and "Screaming Skin"). My favorite track on the album is up next, "What I Heard," which Debbie sings with such passion and fits very nicely into the band's catalog. But there are many forgettable, slow-paced numbers and some that just sound a little too experimental. "Sunday Smile" is nice and pretty but it's not clear to me why they chose this song to cover.
8. The Hunter (1982)
This album is a little misunderstood and definitely has a bit of a stigma to it, because this was when the band initially broke up. Also, it was released after Debbie's solo album "Koo Koo." It starts off on a very strange note with "Orchid Club," which features lots of odd noises and a sort of tribal feel, and it sounds experimental but not very catchy. There are actually some really good songs to be found here, including "War Child," "Danceway," "Island of Lost Souls" and "The Beast." But when you really examine it, all those songs were sort of less-successful imitations of better Blondie songs: "Atomic," "Slow Motion," "The Tide is High," and "Rapture," respectively. The artwork and concept are nice, but something just isn't working; it shows that the band had been recording and touring non-stop for several years up to this point. But I love artists' 'difficult' albums and this is definitely Blondie's.
7. Blondie (1976)
The band's debut, self-titled album, is fun and frenetic but they hadn't quite found their footing yet. It won them success overseas in the UK and Australia but did not prove to be their breakthrough here in the states. It is a little lo-fi and has that live rock band sound to it, sticking to the kind of pop-punk they would become known for without deviating too much into other genres - something they would soon be known for. "In the Flesh" is a great throwback to the girl-groups of the 60s sound, and of course there's "X Offender," which was censored from the original title "Sex Offender" - so just remember that was the time period this was released in! I do love the cover photo! And of course, who doesn't love "Rip Her to Shreds"?
6. Autoamerican (1980)
This album is a bit of a departure, which is good since this was their fifth album and they were surely wanting to expand their boundaries. It opens with a dramatic, orchestral song which concludes with Debbie reciting a sort of poem. The range of styles is pretty intense, and includes what is known as the first US chart-topping rap song, "Rapture." Lead single "The Tide is High" gave the band it's third #1 single in the states, a cover of a b-side by Jamaican band Paragon. As much as I love those two songs, the rest of the album is not quite as memorable to me, so perhaps I need to revisit this one and give it a little more attention.
5. Ghosts of Download (2014)
I'm reviewing this album as a stand-alone work, even though it was only released together with the "Delux Redux" companion piece, which together made up the "Blondie 4(0) Ever" package. I felt this was an odd way to cash in on the band's 40th anniversary, but making this new album, which is actually quite good, play second fiddle to an album of re-recorded hits. It's apparent that this is a way to cash in on the band's catalog while retaining the rights and publishing for the band themselves, and it just strikes me as an odd thing to do. It is sort of nice to hear the songs as they sound today, but it didn't really need to be a whole album. But enough about that. Ghosts of Download is a very modern take on the Blondie sound, and includes some great guest appearances such as Beth Ditto on "A Rose by Any Name" and Miss Guy on "Rave." I really liked "Winter" and "Take Me in the Night" also. The album is a little more electronic and eclectic than other Blondie albums, which I also like.
4. The Curse of Blondie (2003)
When using my system to rank the albums, this one ranked way lower, because the final few songs of the album are kind of forgettable. But, it starts out so strong, and "Good Boys" was an amazing single. I had sort of written Blondie off at this point because it had been several years since No Exit, and I had moved to LA and completely changed my life. But when I listened to the album, I was really blown away, and I thought "this is really f'in' good!" There are many, many great tracks to be found here, such as "Goldenrod", "Rules for Living" and "End to End." As mentioned before, the energy does begin to wind down towards the latter part of the album with some forays into jazzy lounge style music, but all in all, this is a great set of tunes showing the band revitalized and sounding very modern.
3. Parallel Lines (1978)
It's kind of amazing to think that this was the second album Blondie released in 1978! From the iconic album cover to the worldwide smash single "Heart of Glass" this album proved to be the breakthrough the band had been aiming for but failed to achieve with their first two albums. "Picture This", "Hangin' on the Telephone" and "I'm Gonna Love You Too" had all been released as singles prior to "Heart of Glass," with it's disco sound and ice-cold vocals. I must admit, this is the song that made me fall in love with Blondie. That it was released only a year after I was born and was still a big enough deal to be on my radar by the time I was old enough to start buying records shows the staying power of the band. Blondie was one of my first favorite bands, even though they hadn't released anything in the time that I had become aware of the music industry. They had just left a huge mark on it that was still rippling through the zeitgeist a decade later.
2. No Exit (1999)
There are other rankings of Blondie's studio albums online (like this one and this one), but probably none of them rank the band's reunion album - their first in 17 years after The Hunter - in second place. But for me, this was the first album that came out while I was a member of the record buying public. I was 5 years old when The Hunter was released, so I was more concerned with learning to tie my shoes than listening to pop music. But in college, I had bought The Platinum Collection, and became really obsessed with Blondie, having only been slightly more than a casual fan before that point. Shortly after that, a remix album, Remixed Remade Remodeled was released and I was just crazy for Blondie! This was almost like a new album for me, since it took Blondie's classic hits and presented them in modern, club-friendly arrangements. So when I heard they were reforming for a brand new album, I just about lost it. I was definitely not let down by this album; to me, it sounded exactly what I would want a Blondie album to sound at the end of the '90s. Some of the songs really spoke to me, like "Double Take," "Under the Gun" and "Night Wind Sent" spoke to me on a personal level, and of course it was thrilling to see the band have another decent-sized hit with "Maria." I can honestly say I've probably listened to this album more than any other Blondie album, and still put it on every now and then to this day. It evokes such strong memories for me - 1999 being an especially good year for me, as I was about to graduate college and was planning my big move to LA - all while thoroughly enjoying the end of my stint in the Sunflower State.
1. Eat to the Beat (1979)
It should be no surprise that this album tops the chart, as it is frequently cited as Blondie's best album, and is truly packed full of amazing songs. It's also one of the first, and only, "video albums," as the band filmed promo clips for every song on the entire album. While predominantly a rock/new-wave album, it contains songs of various genres, even including lullaby ("Sound-a-Sleep"). Their second disco song, "Atomic," was a huge hit, as was the power-pop "Dreaming" which features some of the most intense drumming on a pop single ever! "Union City Blue" may be my favorite Blondie single ever (ok, maybe second to "Heart of Glass"), with it's passionate vocals and driving beat. "Slow Motion" is without a doubt my favorite Blondie album-track. And there's still "Die Young Stay Pretty", "The Hardest Part," and the title track as strong selling points. This was the band at their pinnacle.
This one was tough and although I followed my new system to rank the albums, I found that it didn't yield completely accurate results. Because Blondie have so many albums, many with over 13 songs on them, over the course of so many years, it's not always easy to remember a song just by the title. So I had the dilemma of either going back and re-listening to all the songs I didn't remember, or just going ahead and ranking any song I didn't remember a 1. I decided to proceed using the latter method, but this ended up with a ranking that I just didn't agree with. With Blondie albums, to me I think the artwork and packaging, as well the the videos, all contribute to the final ranking, so I switched things around once I took those into account.
This is definitely my least favorite album because it's kind of punky/crunchy and less poppy than my favorite Blondie albums, and it really doesn't have any of my favorite songs on it. The two main singles from it, "Denis" and "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear" are two of my least favorite Blondie singles. I do like the rough-and-tumble sound of "Detroit 442" though. I also have a fun memory of when I bought this album. I was in junior high and my dad had dropped me off in Hays while he went on to some function in another town, so I got to walk around what was to me (at that time) a "big city" all by myself, and shopped at a few record stores, before making my way to my grandma's apartment, where I listened to this tape after having just bought it.
While sporting the strong single "Mother," this album otherwise does not include many songs that I'm all that fond of. It's not a terrible album, but it's just not as strong as the last two, and it seemed like it was a little overwrought and perhaps too labored. "D-Day" continues the unfortunate trend of leading off the album on an oddly aggressive, non-melodic note (see "Shakedown" and "Screaming Skin"). My favorite track on the album is up next, "What I Heard," which Debbie sings with such passion and fits very nicely into the band's catalog. But there are many forgettable, slow-paced numbers and some that just sound a little too experimental. "Sunday Smile" is nice and pretty but it's not clear to me why they chose this song to cover.
This album is a little misunderstood and definitely has a bit of a stigma to it, because this was when the band initially broke up. Also, it was released after Debbie's solo album "Koo Koo." It starts off on a very strange note with "Orchid Club," which features lots of odd noises and a sort of tribal feel, and it sounds experimental but not very catchy. There are actually some really good songs to be found here, including "War Child," "Danceway," "Island of Lost Souls" and "The Beast." But when you really examine it, all those songs were sort of less-successful imitations of better Blondie songs: "Atomic," "Slow Motion," "The Tide is High," and "Rapture," respectively. The artwork and concept are nice, but something just isn't working; it shows that the band had been recording and touring non-stop for several years up to this point. But I love artists' 'difficult' albums and this is definitely Blondie's.
The band's debut, self-titled album, is fun and frenetic but they hadn't quite found their footing yet. It won them success overseas in the UK and Australia but did not prove to be their breakthrough here in the states. It is a little lo-fi and has that live rock band sound to it, sticking to the kind of pop-punk they would become known for without deviating too much into other genres - something they would soon be known for. "In the Flesh" is a great throwback to the girl-groups of the 60s sound, and of course there's "X Offender," which was censored from the original title "Sex Offender" - so just remember that was the time period this was released in! I do love the cover photo! And of course, who doesn't love "Rip Her to Shreds"?
This album is a bit of a departure, which is good since this was their fifth album and they were surely wanting to expand their boundaries. It opens with a dramatic, orchestral song which concludes with Debbie reciting a sort of poem. The range of styles is pretty intense, and includes what is known as the first US chart-topping rap song, "Rapture." Lead single "The Tide is High" gave the band it's third #1 single in the states, a cover of a b-side by Jamaican band Paragon. As much as I love those two songs, the rest of the album is not quite as memorable to me, so perhaps I need to revisit this one and give it a little more attention.
I'm reviewing this album as a stand-alone work, even though it was only released together with the "Delux Redux" companion piece, which together made up the "Blondie 4(0) Ever" package. I felt this was an odd way to cash in on the band's 40th anniversary, but making this new album, which is actually quite good, play second fiddle to an album of re-recorded hits. It's apparent that this is a way to cash in on the band's catalog while retaining the rights and publishing for the band themselves, and it just strikes me as an odd thing to do. It is sort of nice to hear the songs as they sound today, but it didn't really need to be a whole album. But enough about that. Ghosts of Download is a very modern take on the Blondie sound, and includes some great guest appearances such as Beth Ditto on "A Rose by Any Name" and Miss Guy on "Rave." I really liked "Winter" and "Take Me in the Night" also. The album is a little more electronic and eclectic than other Blondie albums, which I also like.
When using my system to rank the albums, this one ranked way lower, because the final few songs of the album are kind of forgettable. But, it starts out so strong, and "Good Boys" was an amazing single. I had sort of written Blondie off at this point because it had been several years since No Exit, and I had moved to LA and completely changed my life. But when I listened to the album, I was really blown away, and I thought "this is really f'in' good!" There are many, many great tracks to be found here, such as "Goldenrod", "Rules for Living" and "End to End." As mentioned before, the energy does begin to wind down towards the latter part of the album with some forays into jazzy lounge style music, but all in all, this is a great set of tunes showing the band revitalized and sounding very modern.
It's kind of amazing to think that this was the second album Blondie released in 1978! From the iconic album cover to the worldwide smash single "Heart of Glass" this album proved to be the breakthrough the band had been aiming for but failed to achieve with their first two albums. "Picture This", "Hangin' on the Telephone" and "I'm Gonna Love You Too" had all been released as singles prior to "Heart of Glass," with it's disco sound and ice-cold vocals. I must admit, this is the song that made me fall in love with Blondie. That it was released only a year after I was born and was still a big enough deal to be on my radar by the time I was old enough to start buying records shows the staying power of the band. Blondie was one of my first favorite bands, even though they hadn't released anything in the time that I had become aware of the music industry. They had just left a huge mark on it that was still rippling through the zeitgeist a decade later.
There are other rankings of Blondie's studio albums online (like this one and this one), but probably none of them rank the band's reunion album - their first in 17 years after The Hunter - in second place. But for me, this was the first album that came out while I was a member of the record buying public. I was 5 years old when The Hunter was released, so I was more concerned with learning to tie my shoes than listening to pop music. But in college, I had bought The Platinum Collection, and became really obsessed with Blondie, having only been slightly more than a casual fan before that point. Shortly after that, a remix album, Remixed Remade Remodeled was released and I was just crazy for Blondie! This was almost like a new album for me, since it took Blondie's classic hits and presented them in modern, club-friendly arrangements. So when I heard they were reforming for a brand new album, I just about lost it. I was definitely not let down by this album; to me, it sounded exactly what I would want a Blondie album to sound at the end of the '90s. Some of the songs really spoke to me, like "Double Take," "Under the Gun" and "Night Wind Sent" spoke to me on a personal level, and of course it was thrilling to see the band have another decent-sized hit with "Maria." I can honestly say I've probably listened to this album more than any other Blondie album, and still put it on every now and then to this day. It evokes such strong memories for me - 1999 being an especially good year for me, as I was about to graduate college and was planning my big move to LA - all while thoroughly enjoying the end of my stint in the Sunflower State.
It should be no surprise that this album tops the chart, as it is frequently cited as Blondie's best album, and is truly packed full of amazing songs. It's also one of the first, and only, "video albums," as the band filmed promo clips for every song on the entire album. While predominantly a rock/new-wave album, it contains songs of various genres, even including lullaby ("Sound-a-Sleep"). Their second disco song, "Atomic," was a huge hit, as was the power-pop "Dreaming" which features some of the most intense drumming on a pop single ever! "Union City Blue" may be my favorite Blondie single ever (ok, maybe second to "Heart of Glass"), with it's passionate vocals and driving beat. "Slow Motion" is without a doubt my favorite Blondie album-track. And there's still "Die Young Stay Pretty", "The Hardest Part," and the title track as strong selling points. This was the band at their pinnacle.
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