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Autoamerican

Blondie - Autoamerican Audio CD

A fair review of the Blondie "Autoamerican" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Blondie reviews here, or go back to the Blondie tabs.

Band: Blondie
Title: Autoamerican
Rating:

Release Date: 2001-09-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Europa 2: Live It Up 3: Here's Looking At You 4: The Tide Is High 5: Angels On The Balcony 6: Go Through It 7: Do The Dark 8: Rapture 9: Faces 10: T-Birds 11: Walk Like Me 12: Follow Me 13: Call Me (long version) 14: Suzy & Jeffrey 15: Rapture (Special Disco Mix)

Autoamerican:soilidly built...low on gas.

Only 5 years prior, Blondie, was the band "least likely to succeed". In the summer of 1980 Blondie was arguably one of the biggest bands in rock and definitely the biggest band of the punk/new wave CBGB's scene. . clearly, not the most accurate of predictions.

Blondie's fortunes changed virtually over-night from "up and comers" to having the world in their palm. As the 70's closed and the 80's began, Blondie, were at their commercial and artistic peak. Both, "Heart Of Glass" & "Call Me" reached number one in less than a year of one another. And, Although, "Eat to the Beat" did not chart any top 10 singles in the USA. . that was not the case in the U. K. Moreover, Eat to the Beat" was
the first "Video LP" to be released commercially for mass consumption. . . absolutely unheard of at the time and 2 solid years prior to MTV.

Clearly,with all of that said. "Autoamerican" should have been the bands
master-stroke.

However, cracks in the road turned "Autoamerican" into a bumpy ride instead of a smooth cruise down route 66.

In retrospect,it seems, the band or more than likely Chris and Debbie weren't content to repeat the New Wave/Power Pop sheen [courtesy of Mike Chapman]of "Parallel Lines" or "Eat to the Beat" and made a conscious choice to "expand" their sound. Disco dabbles, notwithstanding. Blondie, were at their best performing immaculate pop songs with punky poses. As with so many cases before them perhaps gaining world dominance blurred the bands sensibilities instead of sharpening them.

To wit, Autoamerican starts it's engine with the over-blown and ponderous "Europa". A serious tune-up is in order. Revving things up is the aptly titled "Live it Up" an interesting pastiche of blondiesque disco and power-pop. . . why this song wasn't released as a single is a total mystery. "Here's Looking At You" is next. Not terrible but somewhat unnecessary, the album hasn't "settled" on a particular sound and yet we're being "treated" to not only a ballad but a campy ballad from yesteryear. . . . perhaps they were channeling the stilletoes. Bust out the surf board! Well, not quite. "The Tide is High" brings us to the mid-point of side one. The first of two number one singles off this album, Blondie doing a lite reggae/calypso. Good song,not great, terrible video. The last two tracks on side one finally find themselves on the right road. Blondie, is in "pop" form with "Angels on the Balcony" and "Go Through It". However, the latter has a little bit of a "nutty" quality to it a'la "Victor" from "EaT To The BeaT"

Side two, begins with "In the Dark" a redux "Live it Up". Disco Blondie treads itself out again. . . a little thin but a far better opener than the absurd "Europa". The 2nd number one off "Autoamerican" is next, "Rapture".
I've always liked this song the "rap" is terribly dated but it's still a killer tune and the band sounds crisp and tight and dare I say "funky". Cool video too. A sharp turn is taken with "Faces". . . a "torch" song of sorts from the days of yore. Unlike "Here's Looking at You" this song doesn't come off as a campy throwaway, the playing and singing are far more committed. . thus, a believable performance by both Debbie and band. The next two songs work very well back to back and are sonically "classic" Blondie. Both "T-Birds" & "Walk Like Me" tap into the 60's girl group sound that Blondie had always been closely associated with. . . the latter being the more aggressive and "punky" of the two. Debbie delivers a strong vocal performance on "Walk Like Me" with plenty of attitude and Chris Stein offers some cool surf/spaghetti western guitar riffs. Sadly, Blondie's closer, "Follow Me" [like their opener] is rotten and crosses the finishing line at 30mph instead of 80.

Although there are more good cuts than bad on "Autoamerican" the placing of the bad weaken the album overall. Furthermore, there aren't as many great album tracks on this LP as in previous. "Rapture" & "The Tide is High" are good but they're not nearly as strong as "Atomic" & "One way or Another" or "non-hits" such as "Pretty Baby" & "Little Girl Lies". In summation, I'd say "Autoamerican" is a more "experimental" though weaker, "Eat to the Beat"

Regarding the bonus tracks, we have unedited "Disco" versions
of "Call Me" and "Rapture" The other track is "Suzy & Jeffrey" another song in the "Angels On The Balcony" vein. Had this song been included on "Autoamerican" it would've been a stronger and more cohesive album.

Nevertheless, "Autoamerican" was the last classic [or at least semi] Blondie album. By 1982, the band would release their anemic final album "The Hunter", play their last shows that summer and finally
break-up by the end of the year.

Full Track Listing:

1)Europa
2)Live it Up [best song on "side-one"]
3)Here's Looking at You
4)The Tide is High
5)Angels on the Balcony
6)Go Through It

Side Two

1)Do The Dark
2)Rapture
3)Faces
4)T-Birds
5)Walk Like Me [best song on "side-two"]
6)Follow Me

Bonus Tracks:
Call Me [original long version]
Suzy & Jeffrey
Rapture ["Disco" Remix]

15 Tracks in total.

Line up:
Clem Burke:Drums
Frank Infante:Guitar
Nigel Harrison:Bass
Jimmy Destri:Keyboards
Chris Stein:Guitar
Deborah Harry:Vocals

Autoamerican: released winter of 1980
6 out of 10 stars

.

Blondie Conquers All
It was; at the time the only Blondie I had, where I actually went into the store and bought it when it first came out. I have owned this album in every imagineable format since its release in 1980. Full of all this is Blondie glory, there isn't a genre not covered on Autoamerican. From the hip hop stops of "Rapture", the reggae tune of "The Tide Is High" - jazz on "Faces" , 40s style "Here's Looking At You" and straight up rock on "Walk Like Me" and "TBirds. " This is definitive Blondie, and it contains my all time fav Blondie track "Angels On The Balcony. Plus the whole thing starts with a space age alien soundtrack called "Europa. " Plus the remaster has the excellent B-side "Suzy & Jeffrey" which I have never to this day gotten tired of hearing.
.

Blondie Enters the 80s with a couple killer singles and a good album
amazon. Watch Video Here: http://www. amazon. com/review/R16DBWBU4G6BD7 .

Autopilot
Once a band gets momentum fans will buy their albums without having heard a thing from them, all based on the band's reputation for strong, consistent albums. Frequently the first album or two of a great band - like Blondie - doesn't sell so well regardless of how good it is because the band hasn't yet established themselves as a recognizable "brand name".

This was the case with Blondie up to this point. "Blondie", "Parallel Lines" and "Eat to the Beat" were all excellent albums, and Blondie topped it off with the #1 single of its year, "Call Me". On the strength of that history, and two popular singles from this album, fans bought "Autoamerican" in droves.

That turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing, one that killed Blondie's career. The reason the next album, "The Hunter" died on the vine was not so much that it was a bad album; its lackluster sales were due to Blondie losing its fan base because of how destitute "Autoamerican" was, killing what would have been repeat sales for Blondie's next album.

The fact that one of the two hits on "Autoamerican" was a cover, not an original, should have served fair warning that the band was running dry after a good string of winners. Apart from the two hit singles the only memorable number is "Angels on the Balcony". Better to pick up that one track on the compilation "Blonde and Beyond".

It's as though Blondie said, "Okay, we've got another album to do. We can't repeat the same formula. What can we do?" A commendable approach to inspiring creativity, but in this case the well was running dry. Blondie lost their direction and stylistic cohesion, and for all the expensive production values the songwriting sounded like leftovers from previous sessions. Blondie is often remembered as an 80s band, but the truth of the matter is that they didn't make it out of the 70s intact.

Compilations don't do this band justice - celebrate Blondie with "Eat to the Beat", "Parallel Lines" or "Blondie" instead. The long version of "Call Me" is a must have for any fan but it's available on any number of CDs. No need to suffer through the disappointment of an album that should have been titled "Autopilot".
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They don't make 'em like they used to
I remember seeing the video for "Rapture" before MTV even existed, and watching people dance to "T-Birds" on American Bandstand. I was 15 years old when I bought this at the local record store. In many ways, this was a first love in terms of rock music, and I appreciate it now even more than I used to. A very fun album to listen to--it doesn't try to raise your consciousness or make a statement. Instead, the emphasis here seems to be on creating fantastic aural environments, and it does so spectacularly. Every song is like a room decorated in a different style, from the 40's inspired "Here's Looking at You" to the Carribbean rythyms of "Tide is High" to the Latin horns on "Go Through It. " And just like the T-Bird Debbie loves so much, it's a classic.

You can see a complete list of all Blondie discography, or go back to the Blondie tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.