| The Curse of Blondie | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 13, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2003 | |||
| Genre | New wave,post-punk revival | |||
| Length | 65:19 | |||
| Label | Sanctuary Records (United States) Epic Records (United Kingdom) | |||
| Producer | Steve Thompson (except "Good Boys", produced byJeff Bova) | |||
| Blondie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Curse of Blondie | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 UK slipcase cover | ||||
The Curse of Blondie is the eighthstudio album from the Americanrock bandBlondie. It was released in October 2003, and peaked at #36 in theUK.
Towards the end of 2002,Beyond Music abruptly closed down following a dispute,[1] and Blondie signed withSony Music.The Curse of Blondie had the working titlePhasm 8, which was also the name of the tour they were doing before the release.Craig Leon, who had also produced their previous hit albumNo 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.[citation needed] Leon ultimately did not produce the album, which was largely helmed bySteve Thompson withJeff Bova producing one track, "Good Boys".
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 thendance-pop ("Good Boys", "Undone", "The Tingler"). Other incursions areJapanesetraditional music ("Magic (Asadoya Yunta)"),reggae ("Background Melody (The Only One)"),jazz ("Desire Brings Me Back", "Songs of Love (For Richard)") andrap ("Shakedown"). The track "Hello Joe" is an homage toJoey Ramone, and includes a reference to "Blitzkrieg Bop" ("hey ho, ¡hola Joe!" instead of "hey ho, let's go!").
The album was released with various bonus tracks in some territories, while the US edition included themusic video for the single "Good Boys". The album was also re-released in 2004 in US on DualDisc format.[2] The CD side contained the normal album, while the DVD side included:
The album was also released in Indonesia as a Cassette Tape.
The onlysingle from the album was "Good Boys", which peaked at #12 in theUK[3] and was a dance hit in the USA. Promo singles of "Undone" were sent to radio, but no official release was made.[4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 63/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Blender | [7] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[9] |
| The Guardian | [10] |
| PopMatters | 5/10[11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| Slant Magazine | [13] |
| Stylus Magazine | B+[14] |
| Uncut | [15] |
The Curse of Blondie gained mixed reviews, some critics called it a good or very good album, while others said it was a downfall for the band.[16] Critics highlighted the band's songwriting and soundcrafting ("a pop masterclass",Uncut), as well as the maturity in which they experiment with different genres as "they never pretend they’re something they’re not, such as young" (Blender). Following its release in 2003, Blondie embarked into a two-year long international world tour, playing more than 160 gigs in Europe, Asia, the three Americas and Oceania. TV performances includedThe Today Show,TheLate Show with David Letterman,The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,Good Day Live,Top of the Pops, and specials "Women Rock!" and "VH1 Divas Live". Blondie also performed atLive by Request and subsequently releaseda CD/DVD of the performance.
Despite the relative success of the "Good Boys" single, the album performed poorly, peaking at #36 in the UK and #160 in the United States. As of August 9, 2005 it has sold 34,000 copies in United States.[17]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shakedown" |
| Chris Stein | 5:05 |
| 2. | "Good Boys" |
| Griffin | 4:18 |
| 3. | "Undone" | Harry |
| 4:28 |
| 4. | "Golden Rod" | Harry | Leigh Foxx | 5:23 |
| 5. | "Rules for Living" | Jimmy Destri | Destri | 5:12 |
| 6. | "Background Melody (The Only One)" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 7. | "Magic (Asadoya Yunta)" |
| TraditionalOkinawan folk song | 4:05 |
| 8. | "End to End" |
| Stein | 3:59 |
| 9. | "Hello Joe" |
| Stein | 4:06 |
| 10. | "The Tingler" | Harry | Stein | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Last One in the World" | Destri | Destri | 4:31 |
| 12. | "Diamond Bridge" | Harry | Destri | 4:07 |
| 13. | "Desire Brings Me Back" | Carla Olla | Gretchen Langheld | 5:31 |
| 14. | "Songs of Love" | Langheld | Langheld | 6:43 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Good Boys" (Giorgio Moroder single mix) |
| Griffin | 4:06 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "The Tide Is High" (live atSummer Sonic 03) |
| 4:35 |
| 16. | "Rapture" (live at Summer Sonic 03) |
| 7:16 |
Blondie | Additional musicians
|
Production and design
| Chart (2003–04) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] | 83 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[19] | 113 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] | 84 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] | 37 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[22] | 36 |
| USBillboard 200[23] | 160 |
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