Blondie emerged from the New York punk underground as part of the New Wave with the subversive pop sensibilities of their endearing, ironic, genre-blending, eponymous debut. Richard Gottehrer produced the album which draws together such diverse musical elements as girl group doo-wop, salsa, funk, surf, Broadway, and monster movies with the energy of punk rock. The band was able to find a perfect balance that at the same time celebrated and caricatured pop music. Debbie Harry stands out as one of the most engaging frontwomen in history: her style, charm, wit, ferocity, and deadpan delivery delivering the drama to these vibrant and quarky pop nuggets. 'Blondie' was released on Private Stock Records; but when the album didn't chart, the band bought their contract and signed with Chrysalis Records. The album was re-released a year later. It peaked at number fourteen in Australia and went gold in the UK reaching number seventy-five on the album chart.
http://www.blondie.net/
'X Offender' was released as a single with 'In the Sun' in June of 1976. Bassist Gary Valentine originally wrote the song about being arrested when he was eighteen for having sex with his younger girlfriend. Debbie Harry rewrote it from the perspective of a prostitute who falls in love with her arresting officer.
"My vision in blue
I call you from inside my cell
And in the trial, you were there
With your badge and rubber boots
I think all the time how
I'm going to perpetrate love with you
And when I get out
There's no doubt I'll be sex offensive to you "
Debbie Harry wrote 'Little Girl Lies'
"She loves you right now, so don't close your eyes
She'll be talking and laughing with six other guys
Flirtatious and cute, she'll take you the route
Telling Little Girl Lies
He loves her so much, he don't wanna lose her
And there's no other girl he likes to ball better
But he's busy tonight, "We'll make it tomorrow"
He's telling his Little Girl Lies"
Harry and Stein wrote the girl group homage 'In the Flesh', which became their first hit when it made it to number two in Australia. Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich sang backup vocals.
"Went walking one day on the lower east side
Met you with a girlfriend
You were so divine
She said; "Hands off this one sweetie, this boy is mine"
I couldn't resist you
'Look Good in Blue' was written by keyboardist James Destri and Harry wrote 'Man Overboard'
"You look good in blue
It matches your skin, your eyes dripping with pain
If it's alright with you
I could give you some head and shoulders to lie on"
"Said lower the boats he's sinking in a sea of love
Lower the boats he's sinking in a sea of love
Yeah i've been sailing the sea of love experiencing romance
With what i know he never stood a chance no!"
Chris Stein wrote the celebratory surf rock of 'In the Sun'
"Surf's up
In the sun, I'm waiting for the day
Having fun, in warm far away
Moonlight nights, water seems so clear
Ooh city lights while I'm still waiting here"
The snappy 'West Side Story' raveup 'A Shark in Jet's Clothing' was written by Destri.
"We're meeting in a neutral zone
The last car on the train
The love you brought shaking up my bones
And crawling through our veins
We always met at the edge of a blade
And we left at the end of the fight
Of all the girls you've played and you laid
Why did this one have to be white?
They're gonna get ya at 12 o'clock high
Got their sights set low on you
You better believe me, I wouldn't lie
We better quit before you're through"
The gossipy 'Rip Her to Shreds' was another Harry and Stein number. It peaked at number eighty-one in Australia
"Oh, you know her, 'Miss Groupie Supreme'
Yeah, you know her, 'Vera Vogue' on parade
Red eye shadow! Green mascara!
Yuck! She's too much
She looks like she don't know better
A case of partial extreme
Dressed in a Robert Hall sweater
Acting like a soap opera queen"
Stein co-wrote 'Rifle Range' with Ronnie Toast.
"I was all alone with the scent of a bone
and my heart was stuck in this emptiness zone.
I had not a care, though I wanted to hear
the voice of a maiden who was playing down there..."
'Blondie'
full album:
Side One
1. "X Offender" Deborah Harry, Gary Valentine 3:14
2. "Little Girl Lies" Harry 2:07
3. "In the Flesh" Harry, Chris Stein 2:33
4. "Look Good in Blue" Jimmy Destri 2:55
5. "In the Sun" Stein 2:39
6. "A Shark in Jets Clothing" Destri 3:39
Side Two
7. "Man Overboard" Harry, Stein 3:22
8. "Rip Her to Shreds" Harry, Stein 3:22
9. "Rifle Range" Stein, Ronnie Toast 3:41
10. "Kung Fu Girls" Harry, Valentine, Destri 2:33
11. "The Attack of the Giant Ants" Stein 3:34
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