Today we catch up with all the junk cluttering our in-box. First, a couple of reissues: Blondie‘s Parallel Lines 30th anniversary set, and War from U2. Blondie was one of the first American punk bands to make an impact at New York’s club CBGB, and they were probably the first to top the charts. When Parallel Lines came out in 1978, Blondie was a slightly different band with a few more musicians but the spotlight remained on lead singer Deborah Harry. And rightly so – Harry was an ultra-hot ex-model who put a beautiful face and a not-bad voice on these polished not-so-punk tunes. “Heart Of Glass,” with its thumping disco beat, hit No. 1 on the charts. And rockers “Hanging On The Telephone” and “One Way Or Another” were worthy follow-ups. Anyhow, the 30th anniversary reissue of Parallel Lines includes extra oddities like a French-language version of “Sunday Girl” and remixes of some of the other songs on the album. Oddly, they didn’t include the original (non-disco) version of “Heart Of Glass,” which appeared on previous CD reissues of the album. Toss in a DVD of videos and you have a so-so package. Unless you don’t already own the album that kicked off American New Wave, you can pass this one up.
30 Days Out 