Blondie - Parallel Lines
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Free Music Notes for Parallel Lines
Free Music Review: New Wave Monument
Hit: 5 Stars
The point where Blondie's mix of punk,pop and even disco came together like it never would again.Blondie never was a true punk band,the keyboards they used and the occasional ballad they made set them apart from punk's most purist bands(Ramones,Wire)but made their appeal to the public larger,hence they sold more.But commercial doesn't necessarily mean worse as this finely crafted new wave masterpiece clearly shows.
HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE-Powerful and with a trully widescreen chorus.Blondie at its best.
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER-My personal favourite,has a great guitar riff and a darker chorus than they used to do.
PICTURE THIS-Poppier than the previous but still great.One of their best known tracks.
FADE AWAY AND RADIATE-Robert Fripp's distinctive guitar turns this ballad into something more,giving it an ethereal an slightly scary ambience.
PRETTY BABY-100% pop but still good,especially the guitar playing.
I KNOW BUT I DON'T KNOW-Strange song with Stein's backing vocals making their first and only appearance.Cool,though not the best in here.
11:59-A fast one.The keyboards are the standout here.Great.
WILL ANYTHING HAPPEN?-Outstanding speed and instrumental parts.Debbie's voice is here at its best(especially in the chorus).
SUNDAY GIRL-Another pop single filled with Debbie's sweet voice and dreamy keyboards.
HEART OF GLASS-Their most successful single yet.Could be called Debbie's song since it all here floats around her voice;only with a disco beat as backdrop to her singing.
I'M GONNA LOVE YOU TOO-Kinda silly but still acceptable.
JUST GO AWAY-Nice song with a touching feel of sadness to it.
Possibly the best album to come out of New Wave.
Free Music Review: It was like the first day of Spring in Seattle.
Hit: 5 Stars
This album was released the year I graduated from high-school, back in the time when "disco" music was all the rage. I never liked "disco" and I tried to hide from it any way I could. I was buying Doors and Creedence albums while everyone around me was listening to "Shake your Booty."When this album was released, it was the musical equivalent of the first day of Spring in Seattle. A bright yet cool breeze of refreshing and invigorating rock-and-roll that sounded old yet new at the same time after a long, dreary "disco" overcast.
Interestingly, the very first track from this album that I heard on the radio was "Fade Away and Radiate". I still remember cranking it up on my Superscope Hi-Fi in my room. I thought it was a brilliant example of pop musicianship (rather like like Pink Floyd) and great poetry to boot. It also helped that I remembered watching the old vacuum-tube televisions so I could visualize the song in my mind. What a trip!
"Heart of Glass" quickly became a monster hit and got so much airplay that I couldn't stand it. Then one day I want driving with a friend and he played a cassette of Parallel Lines and I realized I had to buy the record. I still remember walking across the Univerisity of Washington campus with my new Blondie album.
In my little corner of the world, I can think of no other single recording that did more to sweep "disco" music off the charts and bring back rock, this time as the "new wave". So, I feel like I owe Blondie big time for that.
Ironically, the one song I really didn't like was "I Know but I Don't Know." I thought it was self-indulgent filler at the time, but it sounds like Mozart compared to some of the stuff that's popular today.
Free Music Review: Unparalleled Lines.
Hit: 5 Stars
Life was a bore in the mid '70's. Janis was gone, we were being bombarded with Olivia Newton John & Helen Reddy...Just when we had reached the breaking point...out emerged a blonde Goddess, with the voice of an angel that could just as quickly turn into a guttural snarl...we were saved...LIFE HAD MEANING AGAIN!!!! WE HAD DEBBIE HARRY!!!! Before Medusa, Mariah, and Monica, there was Blondie & Debbie Harry. To say this album was a breath of fresh air is an understatement. We flipped when we first heard it, and loved it just as much when we had played it to death and had to get it in cassette, and then c.d. This is a fabulous pop record, with great songs, that only Debbie Harry could have sung. I love all Blondies records, I play them to this day. But Parallel Lines was the first album that made them a sensation. Debbie is not only a fantastic, versatile singer, but the fact that she is also one of the centuries great beauties makes for a timeless combination. This album not only still sounds great, but brings back that great New York-Andy Warhol-C.B.G.B's-Studio 54 time, and the memories of many friends now gone. But it's great to know that someday, we that are left will be punking out to "Heart Of Glass", "Picture This","One Way Or Another", etc...in the old folks home. I hope all todays divas pay homage to the girl who re- started the singing girl superstar. I recently saw Debbie & Chris Stein on "Musicians", she's just as beautiful, just as intelligent, and her singing has only improved with time. Yet, in this age of super-egos (you know who they are), she remains humble. What a lady, what a band, and what an album. Get it. If you had it, get it again. It's just as good as you remembered.Free Music Review: There are no parallells
Hit: 5 Stars
Blondie's third album was where they grabbed the lightning rod. Producer Mike Chapman understood the band perfectly, honing the groups pop leanings with his own razor sharp production style and Debbie Harry's star vocals. It led to a dazzling combination of hook laden hits and sexy experiments, and made Debbie new wave's first bona-fide icon.
There are a dozen flawless pop numbers here, from the disco-punk cross of the mega-hit "Heart Of Glass" to Robert Fripp's sinuous guitar on "Fade Away And Radiate." The key was both in the production (the liner notes state that the band was not used to the kind of task-mastering for Chapman's rigid work style) and in the band's songwriting. All the band members contributed, with the Harry/Stein axis taking the lead. That also brought out great songs from guitarist Infante ("I Know But I Don't Know") and bassist Harrison (the punky hit "One Way Or Another"). The band became fearless in their genre mixing - remember the cries of "sell-out" when "Heart Of Glass" charted? - and their determination to be great.
Of the bonus cuts, the real treat is the band's concert workout of "Bang A Gong" which briefly incorporates "These Boots Are Made For Walking." It sounds, live, like a roaring good time. The other two concert tracks are fun, but not as revelatory. There is also a demo of "Heart Of Glass," which shows exactly how much Chapman worked with the band on polish.
"Parallel Lines" achieved that greatness. This was one of the earliest of the new-wave's short list of classic albums, along with The Cars, Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello.
Free Music Review: "Stars live in the evening, but the very young need the sun"
Hit: 5 Stars
Hearing that opening line from Parallel Line's Pretty Baby I'm reminded of why I love Blondie so much: they represent pop music at it's most unique and intelligent. Debbie Harry and Chris Stein were pushing 40 back in the glory days of Parallel Lines. They were old enough to have established points of view and pretty much stuck to them. They were slightly retro, girl group and sci-fi obsessed New Yorkers. Their success came when they teamed up with L.A. based producer Mike Chapman (who also produced most of Pat Benatar's best work). In his new and enlightening liner notes Chapman explains how he tamed Blondie. This album is full of high energy, hook filled, infectious pop. It includes the now classic Heart of Glass in it's hit version as well as in an earlier less polished version. Other highlights include Fade Away and Radiate, a sci-fi pop dirge (by this time a Blondie staple) with an incredible guitar solo by Robert Fripp and Debbie's James Cagney inspired vocals on One Way Or The Other, where she states that she's "gonna getcha getcha getcha".
My only complaint is that this reissue does not include the lyrics as the original album did. The remastering is brilliant and brings out the wonderful arrangements enabling you to hear the strong contributions by all the band members, especially the keyboard playing of Jimmy Destri.
By the way, the CD's opener is a cover version of The Nails' "Hanging On The Telephone".