The new Blondie album, "Panic Of Girls", has been on the release schedule for AGES! Maybe they're working on a track with Sophie Ellis-Bextor? Oh, I kid.Recently, two tracks from the band's forthcoming ninth longplayer appeared on a special cover mounted CD of "Parallel Lines", their evergreen, landmark elpee. This edition of the album was featured in "The Mail On Sunday" in the UK.
A third track, "Mother", is now available to download from the band's official website. Let's take a listen.
Love the shiny, jagged keyboard parts. It's got a nice shimmy to it when the chorus hits. Debbie still sounds like the pouting sex kitten of rock n' roll. Her shouty vitality is exactly how I think of Ms. Harry. The way she delivers the word "mother" must be a bit of nod toward "Psycho".
Pull your finger out, Debbie! We've been waiting.
As much as I loved Blondie, an absolutely horrifying Debbie Harry track date from hell around 1994 made me cold turkey for life. She was dressed almost exactly like Divine from his "I'm So Beautiful" video - a Stephen Sprouse metallic dress and ridiculous platform pumps. I kept waiting for the roadies to set up the band's gear in the sold out club until I realized that this was a track date. What ensued for 35 minutes was the death of Debbie Harry to me. She seemed totally out of it. Just as I had decided to bolt, she ended and the lights went up. That experience ruined Blondie for me, and going forward, I missed the reunion albums and tours. I can never go there again.
ReplyDeleteIs that really the cover? It looks like Francis Bacon got his hands on a copy of Photoshop. One of the worst I've seen in a dog's age!
Funny, I've read similar stories like postpunkmonk's experience, but I've also read some really positive reviews of Blondie's post-reunion shows. Apparently when they're bad, they're pretty bad. I seem to remember hearing that exact same complaint back in ‘81–’82, so maybe that’s just the way Blondie has always been (inconsistent in concert form).
ReplyDeleteI got to see them in the summer of 2000, and I thought they put on an excellent show. Debbie even wore that same silver metallic dress, and I thought she looked good (didn’t notice the shoes, though!). The poor woman is a certified senior citizen now, so it’s probably best not to expect miracles, but the new song “Mother” sounds excellent to my ear—it’s been playing in my head since I heard it on your site this morning.
BTW, @postpunkmonk, I love Divine in that “I’m So Beautiful” video. Maybe Debbie does too! It's an homage! ;-)