When Crud reviewed Blondie’s ‘Live By Request’ a couple of weeks ago it broke our hearts to report that for all its occasional flashes of magic it was a pale, pale imitation of their studio albums. And though it would be difficult to describe any kind of Blondie release thesedays as anything BUT a lumbering, predictable cash-in, this is exactly the kind of record we really wanted to account for: wall-to-wall platinum pop heaven. Only a goof-ball or a man without testicles could find fault with the shimmering, bass pulse and horny synth drill of ‘Heart Of Glass’ whilst only a man without a heart could fail to be crushed by the trouser-tickling sweetness of ‘Denis’, ‘Sunday Girl’ and ‘(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear’.
They had attitude, they had hooks, they had ties you could thread through the eye of a needle, they had a lady we all wanted to have sex with. This digitally remastered Sight and Sound release featuring almost all the bands promotional video shoots in addition to the 20 or so audio tracks compiled from the band’s enviable singles history, is a veritable lesson in getting laid without getting up from your Ipod.
Ask, and thou shalt receive said the lord.