Blondie 4 0 Ever: Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux / Ghosts of Download

Ghosts of Download doesn't seem available for separate download from the greatest hits (re-done) release, but at least if you buy the physical media on Amazon, the auto-rip perk gets you the 3 extra new songs which come with the new release digital (but not the physical). At least this worked for me on the 3 disc deluxe version. By making the re-recorded iconic singles and new material part of one atomic release, Blondie seems to dare us to compare the pop music of yesteryear to the pop music of now, which is something of a hall-of-mirrors exercise, given Blondie way back then were quintessential raiders of the retro, themselves. On the do-over (or the "deluxe-redux") you will be able to tell the difference between older Debbie and younger on songs like Rapture and Atomic, but the 2014 renditions are still very enjoyable. For other songs I was much more impressed at how subtle the differences are between then and now. A re-imagined (as opposed to re-issued) "Maria" might have made it better; however, Destri (who wrote it) wasn't there to contribute, so they probably felt that inappropriate. The unique part of the deluxe (3 disc) physical release is a DVD concert, with sound and video quality much like a home movie, and I'm not sure it's even proper stereo. However, it is Blondie at a small club just a year after their 1st album; how cool is that? They had at least 2 cameras to both pan the band and get right up under Debbie while she sang. This lead to a fair amount of head shots (and at one point she leers into the camera as if to say this is too much). Debbie did some serious aerobics on some songs, expletives were dropped occasionally, and sound systems were adjusted in the middle of the concert. The new CD has many songs that seem credible as radio hits. However, it has yet to receive a metacritic rating (unlike Panic of Girls, their last CD, which got mixed reviews). As Blondie are Rock and Roll Hall of Famers one has to wonder at this oversight of music critics. What you get is a wide mix of up-tempo songs which despite their variety seem pretty characteristically Blondie. On some songs there are Tejano flavoring and Spanish rapping by featured Latino artists (Sugar on the Side and I Screwed Up). There are also crunchy reggae beats (Euphoria, Backroom), retro dance tunes (e.g., Rave, Winter, Take Me in the Night), and other less pigeonhole-able tracks (e.g., Winter, Make a Way, Take me in the Night). "Relax" (the Frankie goes to Hollywood cover) is a multi-movement, multi-textured pop epic (just under 6 minutes), and Blondie does a great job at both distorting and reprising the original. Mile High (which I guess is mostly Debbie's) might be a nod to Lady Gaga or Kesha in the sense that it deconstructs a lot of EDM cliches, even while melody and haunting vocal convey the virtues of having fun. Or is it just something about Debbie's voice that does that?

It’s great

Blondie's only truly sub-par album was The Hunter in 1982, slapped together to meet a contract requirement. Since then Deborah Harry has released spotty solo albums (a really good one though is Def Dumb & Blonde, get it if you don't have it), and in the late 1990s Blondie staged a comeback with the album No Exit. Since then their albums have gotten increasingly better: Curse of Blondie was more disciplined and focused than No Exit, and Panic of Girls improved slightly over Curse.Ghosts of Download though is something of a leap ahead. It's probably Blondie's best album since Eat to the Beat. The album is full of hooks and many of the songs here would be hits if Blondie were at their commercial height: "A Rose By Any Name", "Sugar On The Side", "Drag Me Around", "Rave", "Winter", "Mile High", and possibly "Take Me in the Night". That's 7 tracks out of 13 that sound like they could have been hits. "Rose" slinks along with a seductive groove; "Rave" and "Mile High" are quality dance tracks; "Sugar" is infectious latin pop; "Winter" sounds like classic Blondie and would have sounded right at home on 'Parallel Lines'; and "Take Me In The Night" is a catchy pure pop song.Most of the remaining tracks are just as strong even when they don't sound like potential singles: "I Screwed Up", like many of the songs on this album, has a latin pop flavor. It features a rap done in Spanish by Los Rakas. "Euphoria" slinks along with a subtle hook and "Take It Back" revs up the dance floor with lyrics about a fight or a breakup.To my ears "Make A Way" and "Backroom" don't work as well. I can still hear they're very quality tracks, and others will probably really like these songs. For me "Make A Way" has too dis-jointed of a melody, and "Backroom" is a bit plodding in its pace.The only real mis-fire - and again I'm sure others will actually like it - is the remake of "Relax". While Blondie clearly does something totally new with it, I think "Prism" (one of the bonus tracks) would have been a better choice for the regular album, with "Relax" as a bonus cut instead.Over-all though 'Ghosts of Download' is a very, very good album.

CDs includes new recordings of:Heart Of Glass,One Way Or Another,Call Me,DVD includes:- Live CBGB '77 DVD,- Vintage GIG Poster,- Chris Stein Photo Prints,Blondie ~ Ghosts of Download includes:- A Rose By Any Name (fearuring Beth Otto),- Sugar On The Side,This collection came completely sealed in original plastic.

La raccolta con gli inediti la consiglio per un ascolto tutto di un fiato.

Curioso disco, que combina un CD con nuevas canciones (Ghost of Download) y un segundo CD de grandes éxitos, similar a "The best of Blondie", de 1981, pero con algunos cambios y temas regrabados. Como se suele decir, no están todas las que son, pero todas y hasta la última de las canciones merecen la pena. Indispensable para los fans de Blondie y nostálgicos del Pop clásico de los setenta y ochenta.

esta reseña es de un combo con TRES discos, los cuales merecen calificaciones muy distintas.1) CD redux delux: es un greatest hits, que han sido remasterzados o re-grabados. Oyendolo, nunca puedes estar seguro de qué le han hecho a cada track, y dependiendo de cual reseña leas, hay quienes dicen que la nueva version es grandiosa, y hay quienes dicen que no se distingue de la oriiginal. En mi opinion, a) si no tienes nada de Blondie y quieres sus éxitos, mejor busca una compilacion con las versiones originales. Las nuevas versiones no aportan mucho. b) si eres fan de Blondie, este disco te servirá para completar tu colección. algunos pocos tracks se oyen mas frescos, eso es todo.2) DVD live at CBGB 1977: es una presentacion en vivo, en un lugar que fuera iconico de la escena del rock/punk. la calidad del sonido y la toma (si, una aburrida toma la mayor parte) son de una calidad inferior... similar a la que obtienes con tu cel. este disco tambien, El track list del concierto esta lleno de rarezas y no sus exitos, por lo que creo que vale la pena solo para los fans.3) CD ghosts of download: para quienes quieren los exitos de Blondie, not good. PERO los fans de Blondie, ésta es una joyita inesperada. Blondie presume sus habilidades y su falta de temores a explorar nuevos terrenos, incluyendo un track en español, una rockumbia, y canciones nuevas en versiones frescas. Y si lo anterior les suena raro, acuérdense de las extrañas reacciones iniciales que ellos obtuvieron cuando sacaron "Autoamerican" con tracks en rap y reggae. El gran éxito que despues tuvo este disco, ya es historia :-)- yo consegui el pack por cien pesos en Amazon méxico y creo que, con ese precio tan accesible, es un must-buy. para cualquier fan.

L'album Gost of download est pas mal même le titre "Relax", mais pour moi les meilleurs chansons sont bien les 3 titres qui ne figurent pas sur l'album et qui sont à télécharger. Je crois même que c'est le principe essentiel de cet album sinon pourquoi choisir un tel nom? Mais ma plus grande surprise est bien le CD Greatest hits deluxe redux car même si la voix de Debbie Harry n'est plus toute fraîche (car elle a quand même 69 ans en 2014!) on ne peut qu'être ému de l'entendre rechanter "Heart of glass", "Call me" ou encore "One way or another". Et les vrais fans de Blondie me comprendront j'en suis sûr car depuis tout ce temps, le groupe s'est construit une vraie personnalité malgré les changements de style, Blondie restera à jamais Blondie... Et c'est très rare de nos jours avec d'autres groupes qui apparaissent et qui disparaissent aussitôt. J'ignore vraiment quand est ce qu'ils vont s'arrêter vu leur âge de chacun et j'imagine certainement la joie des fans quand ils sortent un nouvel album. En tout cas, je ne regrette pas d'avoir acheté ce coffret que du Bonux!