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I have to admit that the whole concept of, “most influential
album,” has troubled my tiny little mind somewhat over
recent weeks. I grasp that most influential does not mean,
“best,” by any stretch of the imagination but in what ways
are my choices influential? Whilst typing this I’m listening
to the new Pagan’s Mind platter and today I was excited to
pick up Lost in Space 1&2 by Avantasia. Are these in any way
influenced by Blondie – a notoriously poor live band?
Certainly it’s difficult to see a link between Eat to the
Beat and Norway’s finest or indeed Tobias Sammet’s mob.
So why then have I chosen this as one of my influential
albums? Heck, it’s not even Blondie’s best - Parallel Lines
is much better on almost any level although it is their last
great record in my opinion. One of the main reasons I have
chosen to write about Eat to the Beat is because it was the
first record I actually saved up for and bought for myself
(with a little help from my granddad). It cost the princely
sum of £3.99 from Woolworth’s in Accrington on a chilly
December day in 1979. There’s something iconic about the
black and white sleeve with Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and
Frank Infante on the front and the rest of the band on the
back and Blondie emblazoned in yellow with a cool x over the
“e” of Blondie. I remain a sucker for good packaging even
today.
I assume that Eat to the Beat (and my general Debbie Harry
fixation) is the root of my love of female fronted bands
which is why I get to review so many of them here at
HardRockHouse. Even then, it is difficult to compare Ms.
Harry as a singer with say, Tarja Turunen, Sharon Den Adel
or their ilk. However what Harry does better than anybody
else is; to be Debbie Harry and that in itself is a thing of
real beauty. Ms. Harry taught both myself and the world
about attitude far more than many of her alleged
contemporaries.
She was also a brilliant song writer especially in tandem
with her the partner Chris Stein and, on Eat to the Beat,
this partnership is represented by the first single
Dreaming, Die Young, Stay Pretty and Sing-A-Long. Dreaming
is just about the perfect pop song powered along by Clem
Burke on drums whose modus operandi has always seemed to be
to just hit them skins as hard as possible – he’d have been
awesome in Rhapsody (of Fire.)
In many ways Blondie were one of the truly great singles
bands of all time and Union City Blues is here as evidence
even though it rather strangely only peaked at No.13 here in
the UK. The aforementioned Dreaming peaked at No.2 whilst
the monster that is Atomic, all Hank Marvin guitars and sexy
vocals cruised into the top spot which, I suppose, taught me
that commercial success isn’t necessarily always bad.
Eat to the Beat will always have a special place in my
musical world even if the bonus tracks on the 2001 CD
reissue are execrable. If you feel the urge to purchase go
for the CD/DVD reissue from earlier this year as Eat to the
Beat was one of the first albums to have videos of all
tracks. Enjoy great songs and arguably the last genuinely
iconic woman of the 20th century.
Let
us know your views on
Eat To The Beat
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Track Listing
Dreaming
The Hardest Part
Union City Blue
Shayla
Eat to the Beat
Accidents Never Happen
Die Young, Stay Pretty
Slow Motion
Atomic
Sound-A-Sleep
Victor
Living in the Real World
Line Up
Frank Infante - Guitars
Jimmy Destri - Keyboards
Deborah Harry - vocals
Chris Stein - Guitars
Nigel Harrison - Bass
Clem Burke - Drums
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