Been reading some of Chris Steins Blondie tales which made me do a deep dive - always loved the first three albums before they lost it for me. A pretty great band for many reasons and their new wave take won me over from day dot when I was a teenager looking for something more than Foreigner or REO Speedwagon. Clem Bourke is one hell of a drummer and they seemed to have a readiness to try anything that was lacking in any other popular group at the time. What’s ya take on the first 3?

Not a big fan but it's hard to ignore the craft and talent involved from the players; Parallel Lines just has a slight edge and focus that I like, first 2 are a little scrappy.

Would politely disagree that they fell off after 3 albums, I think the first 5 are all strong, Autoamerican might be my fav (though admittedly things do go very wrong on The Hunter).

Big fan of their fourth LP, Eat to the Beat, and I think it is roughly on par with the first three.

That being said, Parallel Lines wins this for me.

that first side of Eat To The Beat is my favorite Blondie, but Parallel Lines wins it from the first 3.


I don't like their debut at all, outside of "Sex Offender." Maybe you needed the seedy, sticky floors of CBGBs to make "In The Flesh" feel like Lee Hazlewood, I dunno. I'll take "Total Control" from The Motels for that vibe; thankfully a much more bombastic Blondie was around the corner.

The self-titled is my favorite, but I have a lot of time for all three of the records in this poll. I love most all of their original run except "Rapture," which will never not be embarrassing.

Eat to the Beat is great.

Parallel Lines is one of my favorite records. First record I ever bought with my own money--I probably thought they'd all be that good.