![]() Moving on, the classic “Heart Of Glass” delves into disco territory but there’s no hate here – Blondie is just showcasing musical diversity. “11:59” starts the second side with a punk progression with oh-so indulgent keys and guitar riffing over each other, immediately followed by another strong track, “Will Anything Happen”. This cut stays in the 80s lane with its sound, while the fan staple “Sunday Girl” is just as effective as it was released 40 years ago. “Pretty Baby” features the addition of spoken word riding a catchy progression, while “I Know But I Don’t Know” closes the first side with a heavier rock vibe and a disruptive duet that overpowers Harry’s own voice. ![]() “Picture This” comes next and reeks of stinky sweet romance, while “Fade Away and Radiate” looms with its experimental sound. Following it is “One Way Or Another”, a classic hit that seems to trade blows with the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” – never has stalking sounded this appealing. The former chugs along with tongue-in-cheek splendor, offering spoken bits (in French no less), while the latter finds a girlish Harry capturing her own rock-goddess essence: “I know a girl from a lonely street/Cold as ice cream but still as sweet.” Just as her band struck an infuriating balance of punk and pop on Parallel Lines, Harry paved the road for multihued, genre-defying female rockers like Madonna, Gwen Stefani, and even Pink.“Hanging On The Telephone” is a cover from another new wave act called The Nerves, but Blondie’s version is more prominent thanks to Debbie Harry’s vocals. The ’60s-girl-group-pop meets ’70s-new-wave of “Pretty Baby” and “Sunday Girl” give Parallel Lines its two most whimsical moments. “Fade Away & Radiate” starts off just as ominous with a coquettish Harry praising some kind of deity the track builds from cool synth tones and lone tom-drum beats to jangly guitars, tight drum fills and multiple chord changes, revealing that Harry’s god is actually a television set. The song’s quick meter shifts and carnival-esque finale add to its sinister vibe. (One can only imagine what disco maven Giorgio Moroder could have done with the track, but the fact is that he probably wouldn’t have changed a single thing.) Harry displays a remarkable range throughout the album, her voice purring like a kitten and then building to a mean growl on tracks like “Hanging on the Telephone” and “Picture This.” Many of the songs find Harry in some state of wont desire: she simultaneously predicts and dreads her lover’s rock stardom on “Will Anything Happen,” and stalks him during the creepy b-section of “One Way or Another” (“I will drive past your house/And if the lights are all down/I’ll see who’s around”). The album’s biggest hit, of course, is “Heart of Glass,” its swirling synths and Chic-like guitar riffs radiating off a drum machine beat and singer Deborah Harry’s sweet, honey-dipped vocal. Originally born out of the New York punk rock scene of the mid-1970s, the band made a surprising shift toward more pop-oriented material on their third album, a deft mix of new wave, pop and disco produced by Mike Chapman. Blondie turned more than a few punk purist heads with Parallel Lines.
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