Blondie Parralel Lines

Blondie turned to British pop producer Mike Chapman for their third album, on which they abandoned any pretensions to new wave legitimacy (just in time, given the decline of the new wave) and emerged as a pure pop band…

This terrific live footage of Blondie shows the band playing a collection of songs from their first two albums, Blondie & Plastic Letters - it pre-dates their big success of Parallel Lines. Some punkers would say it shows the band at their peak…

Blondie is an American rock band founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk scenes of the mid-late 1970s. Its first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of Parallel Lines in 1978. Over the next three years, the band achieved several hit singles including "Heart of Glass", "Call Me", "Rapture" and "The Tide Is High" and became noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles incorporating elements of disco, pop, reggae, and early rap music.

The Best of Blondie (released in Germany and the Netherlands as Blondie's Hits) is the first compilation album by the band Blondie. Released in October 1981, the album peaked at #4 in the UK, #30 in the US, and became their only #1 album in Australia. The album was issued in several versions with different track inclusion and running order which varied slightly between North American and international editions of The Best of Blondie, highlighting the popularity of particular songs in different countries. The US and Canadian editions included "One Way or Another", which was not issued as a single in Europe. The international version of the album included three songs that were not on the US release: "Denis", "Picture This" and "Union City Blue".

Although Blondie made several first-rate albums, most of their best songs were released as singles, which makes The Best of Blondie an essential collection. The Best of Blondie glosses over their punk roots – very little from the first album, apart from the vicious "Rip Her to Shreds" and the seductive "In the Flesh" – but the band's pop hits are among the finest of their era and encapsulate all of the virtues of new wave. Apart from genuine chart hits like "Heart of Glass," "One Way or Another," "Dreaming," "Call Me," "Atomic," "The Tide Is High," and "Rapture," Best of Blondie picks up several of the group's best album tracks, like "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" and "Hanging on the Telephone." The Best of Blondie isn't all you need to know, but it is an excellent introduction to one of the best new wave bands.