Blondie (1976)
With the keen sonic guidance of legendary producer Richard Gotterher, Blondie's debut long-player jumps out of the speakers like a girl group of mysterious origin on crank; all manic energy and bravado. It isn't until they slow the tempo for third track "In The Flesh" that one realizes this group might actually have a shot of distinguishing themselves from the rest of the punk pack.
Debbie Harry's vocals are simultaneously sultry and cocksure throughout, aided and abetted by the rock solid support of rhythm section Clem Burke and Gary Valentine while Chris Stein unleashes fiery riffs that act more like sonic glue than most guitarists of the day. His fluid playing absolutely makes "In The Sun" and "Rip Her To Shreds" take flight.
While the material becomes just a tad by-the-numbers on the last half of side two, its Clem Burke's propulsive Keith Moon impersonation that keeps things interesting.
Plastic Letters (1978)
In the year following their debut, the band parts ways with bassist Gary Valentine, who still manages to turn in the album's best song, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear". Sensing a lack of commitment from their label Private Stock, the band buys their way out of the deal in favor of UK label Chrysalis.
The UK, of course, not only already "gets" NYC punk, they "get" Blondie as well, so signing with Chrysalis looks like a shrewd move, even if it might mean less of a presence in the States, where the label had recently parted ways with Warner Brothers in favor of independent distribution.
"Denis" (a gender-bending cover of Randy & The Rainbows' "Denise") and "Presence Dear" both go Top 10 in the UK as the album is certified platinum. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the album briefly scrapes the bottom of the Top 100.
Parallel Lines (1978)
Arriving a mere seven months after Plastic Letters, Blondie's third album is, for all intents and purposes, their American coming-out party. Having parted ways with producer Gottehrer and added new members Frank Infante (guitar) and Nigel Harrison (bass), the band is intent on breaking the U.S. market. Label boss Terry Ellis had consulted Mike Chapman when he was considering signing the band and was now placing the band's future in his lap.
Chapman, of course, had scored dozens of smash hits for the likes of Suzi Quatro, The Sweet, and others with writing partner Nicky Chinn, but that partnership had soured and, like Blondie, Chapman was looking to get his foot in the door of the U.S. market.
Even so, Harry was initially opposed to Chapman producing the record, but after he painstakingly worked with the band to transform an otherwise forgettable reggae number called "Once I Had A Love" into the disco juggernaut "Heart Of Glass", she was fully on-board.
With songwriting assistance from new member Nigel Harrison, Harry also contributed another sure-fire smash "One Way Or Another". Add Jack Lee's manic pop gem "Hanging On The Telephone" and its easy to see why Parallel Lines is considered the band's finest hour (okay, 38 minutes).
Eat To The Beat (1979)
By the time Blondie enter the studio to begin work on their fourth album, they are global superstars and the face of "New York cool".
Even so, those hoping the band would return to the Who-like thrash of their first two albums have much to celebrate as "Dreaming" and "Union City Blue" come out of the gate with confidence and energy to spare.
If there is any flaw to be found, it is the fact that there is no obvious monster hit single to propel the album beyond its initial Top 20 showing.
You can't really blame a band for wanting to ease off of the accelerator a little after having gone full-speed into every brick wall standing between them and the top of the charts since 1976, but you can blame the producer (Chapman), who should have taken the same drill-sergeant he employed so effectively on Parallel Lines, but Chapman, too, was beginning to show signs of exhaustion.
After all, since moving to the States in '75, he'd not only taken Blondie to the top, but The Knack as well, and was still committed to producing one record a year each for longtime UK clients Suzi Quatro and Smokie.
Autoamerican (1980)
If ever there was an album that completely misrepresented the heart and soul of a rock band, it is this album. Known the world over as the album with "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture" on it, it is worth noting that neither of those iconic chart hits is exactly screaming to be taken seriously.
What next, Debbie Harry singing with The Muppets? (Oh, right, she'd done that already!)
On one hand, it may have been refreshing to see the band taking a lighthearted approach for once, but, on the other, doing so at the expense of their career was perhaps a price they hadn't fully considered.
Of course, beginning the album with the moody, cinematic "Europa" was just asking for trouble, too.
The band returns to the disco well, but only with the sub-par "Live it Up" in hand. Here, Harry's vocals fail to take flight as her seductive chanteuse act feels phoned in, as does the jazzy "Here's Looking At You".
My reaction at the time was to openly wonder if the band was trying to get out of their record deal and, revisiting the album now, I stand by those comments. A truly sad affair.
Oh, but it would get worse. Sooooo much worse.
The Hunter (1982)
What happens when a band has run out of gas, material, and are now at one another's throats? Well, that depends which band you're talking about. If its the Ramones, you just get back in the van, but if its Blondie, you put on a brave face, and a wig, and hope folks don't notice the lack of anything even remotely resembling a decent song on this limp cash-in.
If there is any single thing holding the band back on this effort, it is that the confidence that was once the band's hallmark is now preventing them from fully taking stock of their dire situation. Case in point, after submitting "For Your Eyes Only" for the new James Bond film of the same name, the producers politely decline, but offer the band the opportunity to record the Bill Conti-penned theme song. The band take it as a slight and refuse the gig, essentially handing Sheena Easton the biggest hit of her career in the process.
While their tune has all the hallmark Bond flourishes, there is just something missing that this writer has never quite been able to put his finger on. Maybe its the fact that their song seems to be trying just a little too hard to sound like what one expects a Bond theme to sound like rather than marching to their own drum, as they'd done on "Call Me".
Lead-off single "Island of Lost Souls" sounds like "The Tide Is High" performed by a cruise ship lounge act right after someone yells iceberg. Those of us unlucky enough to have bought a ticket for this ride hopped off immediately, watching in sad horror as our once beloved band went down...down...down with the ship.