The Curse of Blondie

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Blender
Robert Christgau
Uncut
Rolling Stone

The Curse Of Blondie is the eighth studio album from the US rock band Blondie. It was released in October 2003, and peaked at no.36 in the U.K..

The band departed from bankrupt Beyond Records and signed with Sony Music. The Curse of Blondie had the working title Phasm 8, which was also the name of the tour they were doing before the release. Craig Leon, who had also produced their previous hit album No Exit, started work on the album, but it was four years in the making as the only demo tapes of the album had disappeared from luggage at a UK airport, and so had to be re-recorded. Leon ultimately did not produce the album, which was largely helmed by Steve Thompson. Jeff Bova produced one track, "Good Boys", which was also the album's only single.

The album incorporates a rock-inspired arrangement style more reminiscent of Blondie's earliest recordings. Rhythms played include mostly rock ("Golden Rod, "Rules For Living", "End To End", "Hello Joe" "Last One In The World", "Diamond Bridge") and then dance pop ("Good Boys," "Undone", "The Tingler"). Other incursions are Japanese traditional music ("Magic (Asadoya Yunta)"), reggae ("Background Melody (The Only One)"), jazz ("Desire Brings Me Back," "Songs Of Love (For Richard)") and rap ("Shakedown"). The track "Hello Joe" is an homage to Joey Ramone, and includes a reference to "Blitzkrieg Bop" ("hey ho, hola Joe instead of hey ho, let's go). It gained mixed reviews, some called it a good or very good album, and others said it was a downfall for the band. It performed poorly in sales, with 40,000 copies sold in the USA.

The only hit single from the album was "Good Boys", which peaked at no.12 in the UK and was a dance hit in the USA. Promo singles of "Undone" were sent to radio, but no official release was made.

Track listing

1. "Shakedown" (Ashby, Harry, Stein) - 5:05
2. "Good Boys" (Griffin, Harry) - 4:18
3. "Undone" (Bartock, Harry, Vitale) - 4:28
4. "Golden Rod" (Foxx, Harry) - 5:23
5. "Rules For Living" (Destri) - 5:12
6. "Background Melody (The Only One)" (Destri, Harry) - 3:54
7. "Magic (Asadoya Yunta)" (Ashby, Harry, Traditional) - 4:05
8. "End To End" (Ashby, Harry, Stein) - 3:59
9. "Hello Joe" (Ashby, Harry, Stein) - 4:06
10. "The Tingler" (Harry, Stein) - 3:52
11. "Last One In The World" (Destri) - 4:31
12. "Diamond Bridge" (Destri, Harry) - 4:07
13. "Desire Brings Me Back" (Langheld, Olla) - 5:31
14. "Songs Of Love (For Richard)" (Langheld) - 6:43

• Bonus Track UK Release

15. "Good Boys (Giorgio Moroder Single Mix)" - 4:06

• Bonus Tracks Japan Release

15. "The Tide Is High (Live at Summer Sonic 2003)" - 4:35
16. "Rapture (Live at Summer Sonic 2003)" - 7:16

• DualDisc

The CD side contained the normal album, while the DVD side included:

1. Entire album in 5.1 Surround Sound and Stereo
2. "Good Boys" music video
3. Photo gallery
4. CD-ROM content
5. ROM content

Credits

Blondie

• Debbie Harry - vocals
• Jimmy Destri - keyboards
• Chris Stein - guitar
• Clem Burke - drums

with:

• Leigh Foxx - bass
• Paul Carbonara - guitar

Production

• Steve Thompson - Producer, Mixing
• Jeff Bova - Producer
• Tom Weir - Engineer, Mixing
• Danny Bernini — Engineer
• Howie Bend — Programming
• Allen Kovac - Executive Producer
• James Mazlen — Programming, Musician
• Sean Spuehler — Programming
• Christina Ingram — Mixing
• Jinsoo Kim — Mixing
• Jimmi K. Bones — Musician
• Ross Peterson — Assistant Engineer
• Craig Leon - Producer (selected bed tracks only)
• Kevin Griffin - Additional production
• Roy Hendrickson - Engineer
• Paul Logus — Engineer
• George Marino - Mastering
• Randy Nicklaus — Producer, Mixing
• Robert Roth - Art Direction, Photography

• Kitty Boots - Stylist
• Gretchen Langheld — Musician, Composer
• Marla Belt - Make Up
• John Goodmason — Engineer

Chart peaks

Year	Country	Position
2003	United Kingdom	36
	Australia	83
	Germany	84
	France	113
	United States	160