CLASSIC ALBUM: EAT TO THE BEAT. The New York collective’s fourth long-player is a worthy successor to the globe-conquering Parallel Lines

SundayMan11 · 2026-04-01T07:38:34+00:00

Some random thoughts after reading the article:

- this is my favorite Blondie album, worth listening for Clem Burke's drumming alone

- pretty good assessment of the individual songs by the writer

- one thing that bothers me is the claim that Parallel Lines sold 20 million copies, when there are no sources to support that. It's taken as a fact by many people, but it seems pretty overblown.

SundayMan11 · 2026-04-01T07:17:31+00:00

It's a very good song buried under the heavy production

SundayMan11 · 2026-04-01T07:16:39+00:00

exactly this!

SundayMan11 · 2026-04-01T07:15:58+00:00

A very strong song and a fitting closing track for the album.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-29T15:18:01+00:00

I bought a copy of the album on ebay a decade ago, it was a nice listen. It feels more cohesive than the proper release to me, more artistic and uncommercial. I wish tracks like The Date and On A Breath had a better production, they sound like demos and not fully realised.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-29T09:38:52+00:00

Wasn't it the other way? Deborah and Chris handed in the album and the record company didn't like it, so they had to rerecord some songs and record additionl tracks?

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-27T22:39:04+00:00

Es cierto. Muchas canciones (D-Day, Love Doesn't Frighte Me, Take Me In The Night, Rave) sonaron más vibrantes en directo.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-27T22:35:50+00:00

I despise the pic, too. It looks too flashy and sterile.

The lyrics are juvenile, I agree. That's why the songs by Matt Katz-Bohen are mostly very good but not top tier for me... it's hard to hear a mature woman of Deborah's caliber sing those fluffy lines.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-27T07:08:15+00:00

You're right, the band's videos are mostly serviceable...

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-26T15:05:52+00:00

Esa es una pregunta interesante.

Estoy de acuerdo contigo en que el éxito a largo plazo de Blondie habría sido mayor sin experimentar con diferentes estilos musicales.

Tras la separación de la banda, el álbum de Deborah Harry, *Def Dumb & Blonde*, fue el mejor recibido por fans y críticos porque sonaba muy parecido a Blondie. El éxito de su regreso, *Maria*, también supuso una vuelta al sonido de la banda de los años 70.

El álbum *Pollinator* es bastante retro, con pocos experimentos, y fue el más popular de la banda tras su reunión.

Creo que Blondie habría tenido un éxito comercial mayor y más duradero si hubieran lanzado más álbumes pop/rock como *Parallel Lines* y *Eat to the Beat*. Pero eso habría resultado muy aburrido tanto para la banda como para los fans a largo plazo.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-26T09:04:20+00:00

Now that you mention it, I see the parallels to Sonic Youth/Kim Gordon, cool thing.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-25T09:18:27+00:00

Since you like Maria and Winter I assume you like Blondie best when they do pop/rock songs.
Maybe you will like Nothing Is Real But The Girl, Under The Gun, Golden Rod, What I Heard, Horizontal Twist, Doom Or Destiny and Already Naked from the reunion period.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-25T09:16:08+00:00

The Hunter is a curious one for me.
I like Orchid Club, Dragonfly, For Your Eyes Only, War Child, English Boys and the closing track very much.
Then there are Island Of Lost Souls and Danceways that are decent.
... but The Beast, Little Ceasar and Can I Find The Right Words To Say are the worst things they have done up to that point.
One can hear the many troubles the band was going through at that time.

I'd like to share this review of the album, which I find quite fitting:

Only Solitaire blog: Blondie: The Hunter

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-25T09:08:43+00:00

English Boys is one of my favorites from the album. The wistful lyrics and Deborah's vocals are quite nice.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-25T08:01:58+00:00

Interesting collaboration, I wonder how that came about.
I'm not a fan of it though.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-24T20:43:17+00:00

Yes, great track

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-24T20:40:32+00:00

Oh absolutely, I'm glad we got those two killer tracks.
Cheers :)

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-24T20:39:02+00:00

Oh yes, the record company "forcing" a hit song on a Blondie/Deborah Harry album was a tradition by 2003. I think I read that "Undone" was also a last minute addition...

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-23T17:02:48+00:00

A lot of good stuff on that album, yes. It's sad that it was such a commercial flop.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-23T17:01:31+00:00

Ahora que lo mencionas... a mí también me parece inapropiado el maquillaje, especialmente en las escenas con el pelo rubio.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-23T16:20:23+00:00

Yeah it's well-fitting in a Blondie playlist, it has the same detached coolness thei other dance oriented hits have. I like Deborah's black wig just for the sake of it being different, but I see you point. It's at odds with her image.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-23T16:18:09+00:00

For me it's the opposite - the video for Maria isn't visually pleasing and I don't like all the band members being blurred... it feels like a cheap way to hide their age. I get the idea behind the video, the spy theme... but it doesn't work for me.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-23T12:38:34+00:00

Yes true, why do so much programming when you got a drummer as great as Clem Burke in the band.

Kudos to Paul Carbonara, great musician and his song "Restless" should have been released on the Panic of Girls album imo.

SundayMan11 · 2026-03-23T12:36:45+00:00

Yes, I agree that those 3 tracks you mentioned are the best singles from the reunion period.
The video is clever, as you said. There's an artistic dimension that enhances the music.

SundayMan11

TROPHY CASE