Lumping a new album in with a re-recorded greatest hits package is the ultimate insult.
It says: Our new record’s rubbish, so we had better give you some of the songs that made you like us in the first place as well. Only re-recorded so they don’t sound as good. Yeah, thanks.
Ghosts of Download (released as a two-CD package with ‘Blondie 4(0) Ever’) deserves better. Debbie Harry’s voice still sounds top notch, the band still embrace new styles with the eagerness of teenagers and the songs – especially the ace A Rose By Any Name, a duet with Gossip’s Beth Ditto – are great.
Like this? Try these: The Best of Blondie (1981); Gossip, Standing in the way of Control
By Andrew Greenhalgh
twitter: @adjgreenhalgh
Thirty three and a third: Record reviews by Andrew Greenhalgh 