Search - Blondie :: Best of Blondie

E. L. from MELBOURNE, FL
Reviewed on 11/25/2019...

This is a great selection of songs, but I wished they used the original versions instead of special mixes, (Blondie & Rapture as well as the original version of Call Me) As for One Way or Another, should have used that song first, (least favorite song!) The cover art is also great.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Sinead M. (bookworm) from SAN JOSE, CA
Reviewed on 10/17/2006...

great CD

Kate R. from FRANKLIN, TN
Reviewed on 8/7/2006...

Great collection.

Get the updated collection instead

Greg Brady | Capital City | 04/20/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Blondie, depending who you ask, were a seminal punk/new wave act from New York that managed to place the new sound onto the charts and help usher out disco and bring in the MTV age. Held down by blonde bombshell Debbie Harry (where they got their name)and sometime boyfriend guitarist Chris Stein, the band managed a string of hits in the late 70s/early 80s (particularly in the U.K. where they had their biggest chart success). Along the way, the band helped bring more mainstream consciousness of reggae ("The Tide is High") and rap ("Rapture") as well as glances back at 60s girl groups ("In the Flesh") and doo-wop ("Denis" was a gender switched version of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 Top 10 hit "Denise"). They also influenced many female musicians of the day and later including Madonna, Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads, Annie Lennox, and Gwen Stefani.



PROS:

Very nearly everything on here is at least good, and "One Way or Another" and "Call Me" are some of the best pop singles ever in my opinion.



CONS:

So why the 3 star rating only? As many others have noted, there's a better sounding (remastered), more comprehensive package out there (19 songs instead of 12 including all the songs on this package). Those extra songs include the band's 1999 comeback smash "Maria" (a U.K. #1 and Top 40 in the U.S.), the band's final U.S. top 40 hit from their first time together (1982's "Island of Lost Souls"), U.K. #2 "Denis" plus "Picture This" (a #12 U.K. charter).



BOTTOM LINE:

Get "Greatest Hits" (ASIN:B00006IM9Q) instead. Better sound, better song selection..If you find yourself really loving that one, move on to their album "Parallel Lines" (remastered with some bonus material) as your next one from Harry's band."

I never get tired to listening to this album

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 06/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If the number of times I listen to it each year means anything, "The Best of Blondie" is the best greatest hits CD in my collection. Yes, the New Wave classics like "Dreaming," "Hanging on the Telephone," "One Way Or Another" and "Call Me" are here, but like with most artists the songs I really seem to enjoy are those great songs that never got a lot of air play, like "Atomic," "Sunday Girl" and my personal favorite, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear." Yes, it would be nice to have a bit more representation from the punk stage of vocalist Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein (e.g., "I'm Not Living in the Real World"), but you do get the proto-rap hit "Rapture." What else can I say, except that pretty much everybody I know has this CD and loves it."