Blondie (album)
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''Blondie'' is the debut studio album by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band Blondie, released in December 1976 by
Private Stock Records Private Stock Records was a record label that operated from 1974 to 1978. The label was founded by Larry Uttal after he was ousted from Bell Records. The label primarily focused on pop music and had numerous hit records, many of them one-hit wo ...
.


Overview

The first single "
X Offender "X Offender" is the debut single by American band Blondie. Written by Gary Valentine and Debbie Harry for the band's self-titled debut album, '' Blondie'', the song was released as the album's lead single on Private Stock in June 1976. Song i ...
" was originally titled "Sex Offender", but since radio stations would not play a song with such a provocative title, the band renamed the song. After disappointing sales and poor publicity, the band ended their contract with Private Stock and signed with
Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
in mid 1977. Chrysalis re-released the album in September 1977, when they issued Blondie's 2nd album "
Plastic Letters ''Plastic Letters'' is the second studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in February 1978 by Chrysalis Records. An earlier version with a rearranged track listing was released in Japan in late December 1977. Overview This is ...
", along with the single "
In the Flesh In the Flesh may refer to: Books * ''In the Flesh'' (2009 graphic novel), a collection of stories by Koren Shadmi Film and TV * ''In the Flesh'' (1998 film), an American gay-themed murder mystery film * ''In the Flesh'' (2003 film), an Indian ...
". The album reached No. 14 in Australia, where the band had already had a top-3 entry with "In the Flesh". The album also charted at No. 75 in the UK in early 1979, where the band had become immensely popular. Through the production of Richard Gottehrer, who had worked with the Angels and other artists of the 1950s and 1960s, much of the music is suffused with the
girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
sound of that era.
Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...
told an interviewer in 1978 that the band never intended to be
retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
and when some journalists described them that way, it was "quite a shock". Likewise she rejected any attempt to brand the music as pop, insisting that Blondie played
new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...
. The album was first digitally remastered by
Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
UK in 1994. In 2001, the album was again
remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...
ed and reissued, this time along with five bonus tracks. "
Out in the Streets Out in the Streets is a song written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. It was first recorded by the American girl group the Shangri-Las in 1965 and released as their fifth single. The song was produced by Shadow Morton, arranged by Artie Butler and ...
" (
The Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "Give Him a Gre ...
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
), "The Thin Line" and "Platinum Blonde" are three of five tracks from a 1975 demo recorded by
Alan Betrock Alan Betrock (1950  – April 9, 2000) was an American music critic, publisher, editor, author and record producer. Initially a music critic, Betrock founded the influential '' New York Rocker'' magazine in 1976 and the publishing house Sh ...
; all five were first issued on the 1994 compilation '' The Platinum Collection''. Bonus track "Platinum Blonde" was the first song that Harry wrote. Original single versions of "X Offender" and "In the Sun" are both sides of Blondie's first single, issued on Private Stock, and are different mixes from the album versions. The two Private Stock versions are both remastered from vinyl.


Critical reception

Reviewing ''Blondie'' in 1977 for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'',
Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and non-fiction book writer. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...
called the album "a playful exploration of Sixties pop interlarded with trendy nihilism" and found that all the songs "work on at least two levels: as peppy but rough pop, and as distanced, artless
avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
". He noted that Harry performed with "utter aplomb and involvement throughout: even when she's portraying a character consummately obnoxious and spaced-out, there is a wink of awareness that is comforting and amusing yet never condescending." He also noted that Harry was the "possessor of a bombshell zombie's voice that can sound dreamily seductive and woodenly Mansonite within the same song". Giovanni Dadomo of ''
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'' gave the album a two star rating, calling it a "pretty dumb affair" and that "nobody here seems to really be trying very hard.". Dadomo went on to state the production had " an almost totally bland lack of depth and colour" finding the main highlight to be "there's plenty of Farfisa and sometimes Blondie sounds a little bit like Jim Morrison." In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' included ''Blondie'' at number 401 on its list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
.


Track listing


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Blondie''.


Blondie

*
Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...
– vocals *
Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild Style'', and write ...
– guitars, bass on "X Offender" *
Gary Valentine Gary Joseph Knipfing (born November 22, 1961), better known by his stage name Gary Valentine, is an American actor and comedian. He is the older brother of actor Kevin James. He starred as Danny Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007 ...
– bass guitar, guitar on "X Offender" * Clement Burke – drums *
Jimmy Destri Jimmy Destri (born James Mollica, April 13, 1954, Brooklyn, New York City, United States) is an American musician. Background Destri is of Italian descent. His father was a novelist who also wrote screenplays and eventually advertising copy to ...
Farfisa Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...
organ,
grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, RMI piano,
Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
synthesizer


Additional personnel

*
Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. In 1997, he co-founded the Orchard with longtime business partner Scott Cohen, an independent music distribution company. His career began as ...
– production * Rob Freeman – engineering * Don Hunerberg – engineering assistance *
Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bisho ...
– mastering at
Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...
(New York City) *
Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" ...
– background vocals on "In the Flesh" and "Man Overboard" * Micki Harris – background vocals on "In the Flesh" and "Man Overboard" * Hilda Harris – background vocals on "In the Flesh" and "Man Overboard" *
Marty Thau Marty Thau (December 7, 1938 – February 13, 2014) was an American rock 'n' roll entrepreneur and music producer. He was best known as the founder of indie punk— new wave label Red Star Records in 1977, and for being the manager of the New York ...
– cocktail music *
Craig Leon Craig Leon (born 7 January 1952) is an American-born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England.International Who’s Who in Classical Music 2005'', Routledge, 2005. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many ...
– production ("X Offender", "In the Sun"); remix engineering * David Perl – art direction, design * Shig Ikeda – photography *
Alan Betrock Alan Betrock (1950  – April 9, 2000) was an American music critic, publisher, editor, author and record producer. Initially a music critic, Betrock founded the influential '' New York Rocker'' magazine in 1976 and the publishing house Sh ...
– original producer of "Out in the Streets", "The Thin Line" and "Platinum Blonde" * Kevin Flaherty – production (2001 reissue)


Charts


Certifications


References


Sources

* {{Authority control 1976 debut albums Blondie (band) albums Albums produced by Richard Gottehrer Private Stock Records albums Chrysalis Records albums Albums produced by Craig Leon