Great Rock Albums of 1979: Blondie- Eat to the Beat

There's no denying it, it is a fact that 1979 was the year for Blondie. They began the year with their 1978 release "Parallel Lines" which included the number 1 hit single "Heart of Glass." One of the few songs to successfully make the rock-disco crossover that year. Debbie Harry became a common fixture on the walls of many teenage boys, including mine. Then they ended the year with "Eat to the Beat," also a good album. Along with "Get the Knack" and "The Long Run" by the Eagles, this was also one of the albums that first greeted me when I came home on leave from that no contact with the outside world three month period I call boot camp.

 

 

 

Debbie Harry

 

 

 

 

 

I won't go into a compare/contrast with "Parallel Lines" the way I did with Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" album. "Eat to the Beat" took Blondie into a more new wave direction. The hard rock sound is still there but it seems more melodic this time around. There are some very good tracks like the singles, "Dreaming" and "Atomic" and I really like "Accidents Never Happen." It is a good album on its own and kept Blondie at the top of the rock music hill for 1979 and early 1980.

Track Listing:

1. Dreaming

2. The Hardest Part

3. Union City Blues

4. Shayla

5. Eat to the Beat

6. Accidents Never Happen

7. Die Young, Stay Pretty

8. Slow Motion

9. Atomic

10. Sound Asleep

11. Victor

12. Living in the Real World

Blondie

Deborah Harry- vocals

Chris Stein- lead guitar

Jimmy Destri- keyboards, backing vocals

Nigel Harrison- bass

Frank Infante- guitar, backing vocals

Clem Burke- drums

"Eat to the Beat" was the second of two great albums from Blondie and the reason why 1979 was their year. Many boys like me first listened to them because they liked the lead singer, but stayed with them because of the music. It was something great to come home from boot camp to.

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Great Rock Albums of 1979: Blondie- Parallel Lines

Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson were the first rock ladies to tingle my teenage hormones and Deborah Harry from Blondie was definitely the second. I still have nice memories of when I first saw her on the old Midnight Special show in the mini skirt and green tights. The band played their most popular hit, "Heart of Glass" and while I class the song as one that's not bad, it wasn't the song that I was thinking about.
Musically, while most people will say that "Heart of Glass" was their best song, it wasn't the song that attracted me to them in that way. That honour belongs to another single from the album, "One Way or Another." For me, that song proved to me that Blondie could rock. Furthermore, there are song other cool rock type songs like "11:59" and "Will Anything Happen." The rest of the album contains some good to passable rock tunes which makes this it all around, a pretty good album.

Track Listing:

1. Hanging on the Telephone

2. One Way or Another

3. Picture This

4. Fade Away, Radiate

5. Pretty Baby

6. I Know But I Don't Know

7. 11:59

8. Will Anything Happen

9. Sunday Girl

10. Heart of Glass

11. I'm Gonna Love You Too

12. Just Go Away

Blondie

Deborah Harry- vocals

Frank Infante- guitars

Chris Stein- guitar, 12 string guitar and ebow

Jimmy Destri- keyboards

Nigel Harrison- bass

Clem Burke- drums

I admit, it was the fabulous look of Deborah Harry which first got me into Blondie and I know I wasn't the only teenage boy guilty of this. But beyond the sex, there is some really good music from "Parallel Lines" and it is easy to see why it went so high in the album charts and why it's considered Blondie's most popular album. So, here's a photo of Deborah Harry so those who aren't old enough to remember her in her prime can see what the fuss was all about.

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To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London