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Title: Blondie, From Punk to the Present: A Pictorial History by Allan Metz, Chris Stein, Victor Bockris ISBN: 1-892477-23-8 Publisher: Musical Legacy Publications Pub. Date: August, 2002 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.31 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: An overdue Christmas present for Blondie fans
Comment: Full disclosure: I have an article reprinted here ("Blondie: Once More Into The Bleach," DISCoveries, 9/99). That said, I'm pleased at how this project turned out. I read it in two subzero vacation days here, and couldn't put it down once.
From Punk To Present works well as a photo essay, scene history, and critical overview (including the band's triumphant '99 comeback). This is a Christmas present for the Blondie/Deborah Harry fan - and long overdue.
The best selections put Blondie in context of its often-turbulent times. Kudos here to Robert Betts's interviews with longtime scene photographer Roberta Bayley (whose nonchalance wins points for charm ); Victor Bockris (whose censored High Times interview elicits some candid admissions about Harry's struggles with drugs); Francois Wintein, for his freewheeling interview with drummer Clem Burke (a great subject, as I can attest); and original bassist Gary Valentine.
Being a collector type myself, I also appreciated the forays into less-obvious terrain, including Harry's work with the Jazz Passengers ("Private Lesson: Debbie Does Jazz"), and the reunited band's bid for radio acceptance ("No Exit In Sight: The Rebirth Of Blondie" -- which reminds us of the skewed promotional logic that prevails in the music business. For anyone writing off Harry's '80s and '90s solo work as chopped liver, Daniel Porter provides a thoughtful, balanced assessment.
I would have liked tighter editing of the academic pieces, and interweaving of photos into the lengthier selections, just to give the reader's eyes a break. (Of course, printing budgets play a role in these decisions, so that's hardly a knock.) That said, this book's sprawling nature is part of its charm; it's not aimed at the attention-span-starved armchair quarterback, but the bug-eyed fan who owns those "New Zealand"-only disco mixes. There's nothing like a fan's book for fans; now let's see an updated version to accompany the new Blondie album!
Rating: 4
Summary: Ink the Flesh
Comment: A labor of both love and lust, this hanging-on-the-telephone-book sized compilation feels like a fansite that somehow sneaked off the web and onto a printing press. An overemphasis on their 1999 comeback and fuzzy photos gets it docked a star, but it's hard to argue with such woozily wondrous excess, both the author's and the band's.
Rating: 5
Summary: Blondie,From Punk to Present
Comment: If you are a Blondie fan or just someone who wants to know all about the band that started it all this is the book for you.Excellent!...
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Title:Curse of Blondie ASIN: B0000B00IO Publisher: Sony Int'l Pub. Date: 22 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $22.99 |
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Title: Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie by Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Victor Bockris ISBN: 0306808587 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde by Cathay Che ISBN: 0233999574 Publisher: Andre Deutsch Ltd Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title:VH1 Behind the Music - Blondie ASIN: B00004STDP Publisher: Uni/Beyond Pub. Date: 14 December, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $22.49 |
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Title:Good Boys [Australia CD] ASIN: B0000ARLDM Publisher: Sony Int'l Pub. Date: 11 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $12.99 |
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