Blondie: Eat To The Beat - 1979
"The more drugs, the more fights. It was becoming a real mess. The music was good but the group was showing signs of wear and tear. The meetings, the drugs, the partying and the arguments had beaten us all up, and it was hard to have a positive attitude when the project was finally finished. Was this the record that the public was waiting for, or was it just the waste of seven sick minds?" - Mike Chapman
After the phenomenal success of Parallel Lines that saw Blondie move from being a “cultish” power pop/punky band to being a darling of mainstream radio and seemingly permanent fixture in the charts, they tried, in many ways, to return to a spiky, punky sound for this, their fourth album.
The pop, hook-laden singalong sound of that stream of hit singles from the previous album was replaced by a more industrial, almost grungy, “post-punk”-ish tone on many tracks, as if they were trying to say “hey, we’re punks after all, guys…”. In a lot of ways, I prefer it to Parallel Lines. It is definitely the most punk/new wave of the group's albums. Yes, there are still a couple of disco-rock dabblings, but overall it is an album of harsh riffs and clashing soundscapes.
Union City Blue was a mid-paced piece of new wave rock which was also a hit, but a lesser one. Once again, though, Chris Stein and Debbie Harry’s instinct for a captivating chorus was clear. Shayla sees Debbie in classic torch-song influenced new wave ballad territory, a bit like Fade Away And Radiate on the previous album. Her voice is beautifully haunting on this. Eat To The Beat is a wired-up, frantic punky drum-driven rocker. Accidents Never Happen has that typically 1979 guitar intro, like something by The Police or Joe Jackson, a great rumbling bass line and one of those effortless Harry vocals and more great Clem Burke drums.
Die Young Stay Pretty has some of those vague reggae hints that were so de rigeur at the time and an instantly appealing chorus. There is also a quirky keyboard intro riff. Slow Motion has an ethereal vocal from Debbie and a 60s-style backing but a little bit of a muffled production. There is a bit of mystery to these songs, though, which was somehow lacking on Parallel Lines. This is where I find myself liking this album more. There is a strange sadness to this track, under the surface.
The afore-mentioned Atomic, with its thumping beat, magnificent bass hooks and hypnotic guitar riff is just superb, let’s be honest. It soars. Disco rock at its finest. Sound-A-Sleep is another of those airy, dreamy Fade Away slowies that Debbie did so well. Her voice floats effortlessly over a pounding bass note. Very atmospheric and evocative. Victor, on the other hand, is the complete opposite, a raucous mess, if I’m brutally honest. Bizarre backing vocals and a shrieking nonsense of a vocal from Debbie. The album and its ambience could have done without it.
The album finishes with an improvement in the punky thrash of Living In the Real World. In conclusion, though, this was Blondie's last really good album and, although Parallel Lines was obviously the best one, this definitely had its positive points. I have read some reviews dismissing it out of hand, which I feel is ill-considered. It was not bad at all. Despite that, though, it would never be as good for Blondie as it was in those glory years of 1978-1979.
The bonus tracks are all live cuts - the appealing white reggae of Die Young Stay Pretty; an impressively urgent cover of The Four Tops' Seven Rooms Of Gloom; an ethereal, sensual cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" and an enthusiastic, unexpected cover of Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire.
