Track Listing

1. X Offender
2. Rifle Range
3. Look Good In Blue
4. In The Sun
5. Shark In Jet's Clothing
6. Man Overboard
7. Rip Her To Shreds
8. Little Girl Lies
9. In The Flesh
10. Kung Fu Girls
11. Attack Of The Giant Ants
12. Out In The Streets
13. Thin Line
14. Platinum Blonde
15. X Offender
16. In The Sun (2)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18538 in Music
• Released on: 2001-09-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
Recorded in 1976, Blondie's self-titled debut was part of the New York City/CBGB's crowd's initial salvo of punk/new wave, radically different from anything in the American mainstream at the time. While other CBGB scenemakers strove for either artiness (Television) or primitivism (Ramones), Blondiewas always about pure pop, served with a healthy dose of irony. Its early-'60s rock & roll/girl-group roots were never so apparent as on this album--"In the Sun" sounds like a classic slice of sunny '60s West Coast pop, while "In the Flesh" reaches even further back for a '50s ballad feel.
The sly lyrics, Debbie Harry's knowing delivery, and especially Jimmy Destri's gloriously cheesy organ riffs make it apparentthat revivalism was never Blondie's intention; the band simply used the past to hijack the punk present and lay claim to a new wave future. Over the next few years, countless groups would adopt the template laid down on the first couple ofBlondie albums, with varying degrees of success, but, as this recording makes plain, Blondie did it first and best.

Customer Reviews

Classic debut!
This is the first cd from the band Blondie and it is one of the best lps ever. I bought this lp in 1981 and used my school clothes money for it and Plastic Letters. I love every track on here but the hits stand out most. "X Offender" comes in 2 mixes:the original mix which sounds like 2 Debbie's singing at once and the more famous single remix known to all. The original double Debbie mix was put out on the Private Stock label in 1976 and changed when Chrysalis bought out their contract in '77. "In The Flesh" and "Rip Her To Shreds" are the two big hits here. But classic tracks like "Man Overboard","Rifle Range","Little Girl Lies","A Shark In Jets Clothing","Kung Fu Girls" and "The Attack Of The Giant Ants " to name a few already show the group as genre crossing as they would become more later in the 70's. The bonus tracks include the original mix of "In The Sun" and demos "Platinum Blonde","Out In The Streets" and "Thin Line". A Classic debut from the best band ever!

The sound of the 80's.
Wow, an 80's album in the middle of the 70's? Strange but true. Deborah Harry was the architypal 80's vocalist, infusing Blondie's songs with a pop sensibility that was missing from her punk pals Patti Smith and Chrissie Hynde. It's not difficult to imagine Cyndi Lauper, Belinda Carlisle or even the early Madonna singing these tunes. In that sense Deborah Harry was without doubt the most influential American female vocalist of the late 70's/early 80's.

On their first album Blondie perfectly mix 60's bubblegum pop with garage rock and it's the keyboard that makes all the difference (another one of their innovations that would become standard in the 80's). If Blondie can be described as punk it was their humour and irreverence that made them so, subverting classic pop styles with black and ironic humour e.g. 'Rip Her To Shreds' and 'Attack Of The Giant Ants'. It's also interesting to hear the reggae influence of the time on a track like 'Man Overboard'. 'Heart Of Glass' was also originally written as a reggae tune, but by the time Blondie was gaining some success, the producers took it and turned it into a disco hit, the reason being apparently that "Americans don't buy reggae". Other notable tracks reflecting their time include 'Kung Fu Girl' (Bruce Lee movies being huge in the 70's).

Respect must also be given to Chris Stein for his foresight and musical knowledge in knowing what would instantly appeal to an audience overdosed on rock pretentiousness.

Blissful!

An sadly overlooked but brilliant debut!
Although Blondie's self-titled debut LP is probably my least-played album of theirs, I love it as much as any of the others and I am glad I own a copy.
On it's first release in 1977 people called it 'the epitomy of new wave punk -rock' but to be honest this is the most poppy of all Blondie's albums. There are plenty of 60s influenced tunes, but with that unique Blondie style. The album includes three singles: soft ballad 'In The Flesh', dark pop song 'X Offender', and the truly vicious slice of punkiness, 'Rip Her To Shreds'.
The 2001 reissue contains a generous 5 bonus tracks: 3 of the original demos for 'Instant Records', and the two original 'Private Stock' singles- alternative versions of both 'X Offender' and standout album track 'In The Sun'.
In it's ingenuity, 'Blondie' lacks the super-tight arrangements of 1978's 'Parallel Lines', but this doesn't spoil the quality of the songs and the lyrics are a sharp and ironic as any of the band's later work. Overall, this is a real 'fun' album, extremely entertaining from start to finish and sadly often overlooked or forgotten in favour of the later albums, when Blondie were a household name. Every real fan should own this album, but to the unconverted and the newbies: if you want classic Blondie, go for 'Parallel Lines' or possibly 'Eat To The Beat'.