Blondie - Parallel Lines
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Free Music Notes for Parallel Lines
Free Music Review: BLONDIE'S FINEST HOUR
Hit: 5 Stars
Parallel Lines is nothing less than a Masterpiece. Constantly ranked in the Top 100 best albums of all time, not to mention sellers of all time, some 21 million copies internationally by 2003. Blondie soared to superstar status not only on the music charts 1978-1979 with this album, but forever placed them as POP ICONS. Blondie are truly among rock music's elite. If ever there was a perfect POP/ROCK Album, Parallel Lines is it. In a time where 6 singles off 1 album was unheard of, Blondie did the unthinkable and rode the International charts. Deborah Harry is simply sweet as honey, on songs like "Pretty Baby" and "Sunday Girl" a UK #1 in 79. Although "Sunday Girl" was the 5th biggest sellling single in the UK in 1979, it was never released in the USA, but recieved a fair amount of FM airplay. Parallel Lines is not without it's edgy moments, as evident on songs like "11:59", "One way or another" and "Hanging on the Telephone", we see Deborah Harry singing with frantic release. The world would forever be changed with the release of the Mega Smash "Heart of Glass", without a doubt one of the 50 biggest rock songs of all time. The techno beat of "Heart of Glass" sold millions of copies worldwide, hit #1 in the US/UK/CAN and some 19 other countries. The number #2 song of the year in the UK, Heart of Glass is still as vibrant a song today, as it was in 1979, fresh and still ultra cool. The technobeat of "Heart of Glass" inspires Dance music even today. Parallel lines rode the charts for 2 years and was the #9 USA and #1 UK best selling album of the year in 1979. Parallel Lines was produced by legendary producer "Mike Chapman", who produced 3 other all time classics, all from 1979. Pat Benatar's "In the heat of the Night", The Knack's "Get the Knack" and another 1979 BLONDIE album "Eat to the Beat". Parallel lines is an outstanding album, full of intelligent and catchy lyrics, and great grooves. This album does not have a weak track on it, this is a consumers dream, full of value and rock history. Parallel lines is a Classic album in every sense.Free Music Review: I Was Never The Same...
Hit: 5 Stars
..after seeing those lines and hearing that music.
Anyone who has ever heard Parallel Lines from start to finish should be affected by it as well. Opening with telephone buzz and breaking into the punky new wave "Hanging On The Telephone" through 12 songs of neon nuances, organ bounces, sultry cooing and downright new wave genius this is arguably one of the best albums released ever, and that comes from other real critics and not just my blonde head.
When I first saw Debbie Harry on TV singing; I was transfixed. I had to know who she was, what she was, where she was. Once again my Aunt Sarah stepped in by having the Parallel Lines album since they had done a cheerleading routine to "Heart Of Glass", I stole that record from her and I've never looked back.
The rocking jaunt of "One Way Or Another", the 60's popness in "Sunday Girl", the gloomy "Fade Away And Radiate", "11:59", "Will Anything Happen?", "I'm Gonna Love You Too" - there isn't a bad song on this bunch.
In fact, I used to act out the entire album from beginning to end in my room. There was also one of my neighbor's neices who bought the album and brought it to the the house where I insisted I knew all the words - they laughed at me until they started following along on the lyric sheet while I sang. That's how cool of a kid I was!
Just listen to some of the amazing lyrics and the incredible music and you'll be hooked too - "Your mouth is permanently entrenched where a molar should be" - how frickin' cool! Parallel Lines made me want to be a singer, it made me want to write songs, it made me proud to be blonde, and it made such an effect on me I can't go without it for more than a few months without pulling it out and playing it from start to finish all over again. And now there's a brand new 30th anniversary addition out and Deb & The Boys are doing the album live on tour! It doesn't get better than that.
Free Music Review: a brilliant album
Hit: 5 Stars
I have a confession to make- one of the big reasons I love Blondie's music so much is because of some key memories in my life. When I was about five years old in the mid 80's, my mom and aunt would drive around all over Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland shopping for things, and there I was in the backseat just jamming to Blondie cassette tapes my mom and aunt would bring with them on the trips.
As I grew up, my tastes began to change as I preferred to hear all kinds of different stuff such as progressive rock and heavy guitar rock (just to name a few phases I went through) but even during these times, I would still think very highly of Blondie's incredible singing skills and the bands extremely strong songwriting abilities.
Now that I'm an adult, I can approach Blondie's music without caring much about popularity or anything else, so it's very safe for me to say Blondie's music flat out RULES!
One song that really floors me with Deborah's singing style is "Fade Away and Radiate". Talk about a song that can honestly make you think heaven is right here right now!
Also I want to mention my dad was absolutely obsessed with Blondie's good looks growing up in the 70's. That may have been one of the reasons he liked her so much! I don't think my mom was too pleased with his obsession though.
I think the thing that's really neat about Blondie's music is how it appeals to just about everyone. I mean, you might think of the music as really catchy and exciting pop music, but another person might think it rocks hard enough to please hard rock fans.
Also I believe Blondie influenced thousands of the female pop bands that are out there today. It's amazing to think Deborah Harry finally made a big comeback after all these years, but most of us will always appreciate the albums she was a part of in the 70's.
Free Music Review: A Landmark In The Pop Music Lexicon; Essential
Hit: 5 Stars
BLONDIE kicked around for several years and released a couple of albums without developing more than a very localized New York following, where the band was generally considered a sort of punk-pop fusion--and then in the late 1970s came PARALLEL LINES, which vaulted them to a superstardom seldom seen even in the high profile music world. And listening to the recording today it is easy to understand why: absolutely everything about the album is perfect.As a whole, PARALLEL LINES manages to walk a fine line between several different musical styles. Most of the tracks have a bouncy, almost bubble-gum feel: catchy and memorable with driving rhythms. But the arrangements are anything but bubble-gum: they rely on a mix of synthesizers and traditional drums-bass-guitar in a way that essentially defines the entire "new wave" sound of the late 1970s. And the lyrics, often savage, frequently satircal, and always memorable, are edgy and witty and sharp and about as far from pop as one can get.
All of that would have been enough to make a hit album--but BLONDIE also had the front singer to end all front singers: Debbie Harry, who mixed tough and sexy and pretty and naughty to tremendous effect--and whose full-throated voice actually contrived to SOUND blonde. Whether we're talking about the sleek, disco-like "Heart of Glass" or the punk-edged "Just Go Away" or the new wave "Fade Away and Radiate," the music here suits her unique voice perfectly--and the result is a truly flawless group of recordings that set the standard for the next decade. Blondie would do several more recordings before the band collapsed, and some of them would be very good--but PARALLEL LINES is IT, a landmark in the pop music lexicon. This remastered release, which includes a couple of live recordings for good measure, is an essential in any pop music library. Strongly recommended.
Free Music Review: Vive la chanteuse blonde!
Hit: 5 Stars
Remember the line in "Men in Black" where Tommie Lee Jones tells Will Smith, "This means I have to buy a new copy of the White Album" after showing him a futuristic audio device? Well, I only have one version of the White Album, but I've bought PARALLEL LINES in every form it's been released. Not because I no longer have the equipment to listen to it, mind you, but because I wore them all out! My purchase of this CD was due to the grief I still felt for the cassette tape, which met a sorry end in my clock radio set. The remastered version does not disappoint. It takes you right back to 1978, when we found out that punk didn't just mean Johnny Rotten's verbal sputum or the political pessimism of the Clash. Punk could be Fun! Debbie Harry's versatile, clear-as-a-bell voice is the highlight, from the opening growl on "Hangin' on the Telephone" to the oozy sweetness of "Sunday Girl". It exudes mystery in "Fade Away & Radiate", utter desperation in "Will Anything Happen" and "11:59", and sarcastic poutiness in "Go Away" and "Pretty Baby" (an ode, by the way, to Brooke Shield's scandalous child character in the movie of the same name).
The bonus tracks I can take or leave. I like the live version of "Hangin' on the Telephone", but "Once I had a Love" is a weak version of "Glass". The cover of Marc Bolan's "Bang a Gong" is an interesting element, since it brings the number of gender-bending songs to three (including "Baby" and "Sunday Girl"), but not an especial showcase for the band. Never mind, this is still at the top of my list of discs I would take to a desert island (along with the corresponding audio equipment!).