Forget what you’ve heard. Because it’s wrong. Samson were not just some mediocre band where Bruce Dickinson (or as he was known at that time, Bruce Bruce) got his start before being cherry picked by their touring mates Iron Maiden. Samson (along with Saxon) was the band to unquestionably pioneer the NWOBHM sound back in the late 70s. Released a mere month after Saxon’s self-titled LP in June of ‘79. So if you’re curious to hear the very beginnings of the NWOBHM sound, this is the perfect place to start. It’s meat and potatoes blue collar rock through and through. A pub rock band trying to play Mach II Deep Purple. And mostly succeeding out of energy, passion and massive amounts of the musical equivalent of duct tape.
Want to know another thing? Bruce Bruce wasn’t their best fit at singer. He was too theatrical. Too cheesy for their blue collar sound. And it’s all there on tape. Bruce joined just after Samson had recorded Survivors in 1979. He’s even on the album cover! Standing on a pile of dead bodies of the past with his other three band mates. But just a tad too late to be on the recordings themselves. But, after the success of Samson’s second album Head On, they decided to re-record Survivors with Bruce Bruce on vocals. And it just sounds off. It’s Bruce being Bruce. And while that works in Maiden, his vocals overshadow the songs here. Paul Samson’s no nonsense approach just fits better. Interestingly, Bruce himself was quick to realize this and started plotting his escape to Iron Maiden (who Samson was touring with) almost from the very beginning.
Cool song!!! I sort of see what u mean. "Tomorrow Or Yesterday" is certainly the most mid-paced and proggy song on Survivors. I like it a lot, but it's not really representative of the album as a whole. Check out this song with Bruce Bruce on vocals and some great pics of Dickinson back in the day...
I was not prepared for this result either. That AutoAmerican would reign supreme. As I mentioned earlier, I figured it would be either their self-titled debut or Parallel Lines. But, it turns out that Blondie has THREE essential albums. Each one perfectly captures a phase of their career - Punk, New Wave and Art Pop.
Blondie's debut is one of the most important Punk albums from the first wave. Right up there with The Ramones' debut, Nevermind The Bollocks and Marquee Moon. Somehow Punk became shoehorned in the mid-90s with Pop Punk, and a lot of people no longer think of Blondie as punk. Let me state this clearly - those people are idiots. Coming in with this vision in 1976, Blondie was one of the bands that invented Punk. Along with The Ramones, Blondie made the past new again. Fresh. And in the process re-breathed life into an art that had become bloated and stale. In short, Blondie are punk as fuck, thank you very much.
Then with Parallel Lines, Blondie trail blazed New Wave along with Devo, The Cars and Magazine. It's intentionally colder and more robotic than their debut. Processed. Less flesh. More fantasy. Synthesizers spearheading the way. Just incredible that two years after jumpstarting punk they were once again out front.
For their third phase, they had no peer. They were alone. With Siouxsie and her Banshees up front furiously taking notes in long hand. Epic, sweeping, lush and cinematic. Ambitious AND accessible. It’s larger than life. After this, Blondie had nothing more to prove and so *POOF* they disappeared into the firmament of 80s college radio.
Both Plastic Letters and Eat To The Beat are good (but not great) albums that have their requisite essential singles and then stuff that feels like B-sides. Very listenable but decidedly NOT statement albums.
And then there's my love for Debbie Harry's Kookoo (with Blondie co-founder and boyfriend Chris Stein in tow). While not a perfect execution, teaming up with the funk masters of Chic was an inspired idea that works way better than the critics give it credit. It's aged well and gives a fun, funky twist to the Blondie oeuvre. I include it here because it feels more like a Blondie album than anything that would come afterwards (when they were either listlessly fulfilling contractual obligations with The Hunter or becoming a nostalgia act in the 90s). There have been times over the past month that this album has really hit the spot. Not much else like it (either before or since), and thus a very welcome addition to the Blondie experience.
Here are all the 1978 punk albums I've heard according to RYM, roughly ranked.
Great
1. Chairs Missing - Wire
2. Germfree Adolescents - X-Ray Spex
3. The Scream - Siouxsie And The Banshees
4. Road To Ruin - Ramones
Quite Good
5. Give 'Em Enough Rope - The Clash
6. More Songs About Buildings And Food - Talking Heads
7. The Modern Dance - Pere Ubu _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
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