{"id":13064,"date":"2023-01-04T08:20:58","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T08:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=13064"},"modified":"2023-01-04T08:20:58","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T08:20:58","slug":"against-all-odds-a-box-set-serves-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2023\/01\/04\/against-all-odds-a-box-set-serves-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"against all odds A BOX SET SERVES JUSTICE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

against the odds <\/strong>A BOX SET SERVES JUSTICE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

says Norman Warwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saby Reyes-Kulkarni is a long-time contributor at <\/em>Paste. He believes that a music journalist\u2019s job is to guide readers to their own impressions of the music. You can find him on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and Substack at <\/em>feedbackdef.substack.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s hard to imagine now, but the term \u201cpunk\u201d didn\u2019t originally refer to a sound so much as an outlook. When the punk movement blossomed in Lower Manhattan in the early \u201970s, bands as disparate as The Ramones, Television (left) <\/em><\/strong>and Patti Smith were all unified by a commitment to creative independence. The scene they emerged from incubated the efforts of musicians who had little in common with the more stylistically uniform definition of punk that we think of today. Most notable among these were groups like Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and, of course, Blondie\u2014all of whom drew from art rock, disco, hip-hop, funk and reggae on their way to helping launch the new wave genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blondie (right)<\/em><\/strong> , in particular, crafted such slick, slinky pop hits\u2014\u201dHeart of Glass,\u201d \u201cRapture,\u201d \u201cThe Tide Is High,\u201d etc.\u2014that it\u2019s hard to find a place for the iconic New York outfit within the anti-commercialist code of ethics their peers would come to represent. We certainly can\u2019t fault anyone (especially people who didn\u2019t live through the period) for locating Blondie right next to groups like The Cars and The Go-Go\u2019s, whose musicianship is similarly easy to overlook in favor of their fizzy outer surface. But if you sit down with Blondie\u2019s classic-era catalog from start to finish\u2014six albums spanning their formation in 1974 to their breakup in 1982\u2014you find a creatively restless unit who aren\u2019t so easy to pigeonhole under the new wave banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If Blondie\u2019s hits don\u2019t exactly\u00a0misrepresent<\/em>\u00a0them, the hits don\u2019t tell the whole story, either. Moreover, it took Blondie about three albums for their sound to gel.\u00a0Against the Odds<\/em> (right)<\/em><\/strong>, the first-ever Blondie box set, broadens our understanding of the band\u2019s progression over time by giving us access to the first recording Blondie ever did, a basement session organized by journalist Alan Betrock, founder of the\u00a0New York Rocker<\/em>\u00a0magazine (which at one time boasted Yo La Tengo\u2019s Ira Kaplan as a contributor). In the liner notes, Betrock recalls in hilarious detail how green Blondie were as a live act: \u201cThey just couldn\u2019t play live. They\u2019d stop in the middle of a song; amps would go out; the guitar would go out; strings would break and they wouldn\u2019t have extra ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a pleasant shock, then, to discover that this ramshackle early session offers a crystal-clear glimpse of all the elements that made Blondie stand out from the start\u2014much clearer, in fact, than the band\u2019s 1976 self-titled debut. The first sound we hear is a set of harmony \u201cooh\u201d\u2019s from frontwoman Debbie Harry on a cover of the 1965 Shangri-Las single \u201cOut in the Streets.\u201d Guitarist\/co-founder Chris Stein, then-bassist Gary Valentine and drummer Clem Burke soon join in with a reggae-inspired groove. Next, an embryonic version of \u201cHeart of Glass\u201d titled \u201cThe Disco Song\u201d still manages to startle in spite of its crudeness. (Both these versions have been available as reissue bonus content for years, but they make a much bigger impact in proper chronological order.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not unlike the Bad Brains classic Black Dots<\/em>, which was recorded in a similar setting, the ambience of the recording hits you like a blast of fresh air that immediately sheds light on who this band actually was. Within seconds, we can hear the pluck of young musicians cleverly subverting girl-group tropes, with enthusiasm outweighing proficiency in a way that\u2019s pleasant to listen to. In other words, we can hear Blondie\u2019s punk<\/em> roots on record more than ever before. All of a sudden, the creative moves the band would later become more adept at executing make sense. Depending on your perspective, the first half or so of Blondie\u2019s original catalog is either frustratingly disjointed or boldly eclectic\u2014or both. If you\u2019ve never experienced Blondie as an album band, then you\u2019re in for a heap of surprises, for better or worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLittle Girl Lies,\u201d for example, fuses classic \u201950s-style pop with the kind of psychedelia one finds on the first few Grateful Dead albums. And before the band kicks into an uptempo, Springsteen-esque boogie, \u201cLove at the Pier\u201d hints ever so briefly at prog with an intro that wouldn\u2019t sound out of place on Yes\u2019 Fragile<\/em> or even a Frank Zappa record. \u201cNo Imagination,\u201d the next track on the same album, recalls the bombastic theatricality of early Genesis and Queen. \u201cHanging on the Telephone\u201d captures quintessential 1980s production values two years ahead of the curve, while \u201cAtomic\u201d merges proto-electronica with garage surf. The examples\u2014of fresh genre inversions, clever musical twists and quirky decisions\u2014are so plentiful they could fill this review, not to mention the myriad qualities that made Harry a once-in-a-generation figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Harry (left)<\/em><\/strong> possessed a unique, instantly recognizable voice that was at once sturdy and delicate. She could shift from her smoky lower register to an angelic falsetto with ease, which gave her vocals a three-dimensional quality. And her ability to toy with conventional notions of vacuity and coyness was so effective that it\u2019s impossible for even the most superficially minded listener to miss the point. You\u00a0know<\/em>\u00a0she\u2019s satirizing glamor, even as she embodies glamor to a tee. And her fierce intelligence pretty much singlehandedly destroys the false dichotomy between outer \u201cbeauty\u201d and inner substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With all that said, does\u00a0Against the Odds<\/em>\u00a0make the main albums any more enjoyable to listen to than they already were? Unless you prefer the new (and arguably much-needed) mastering job, the answer is: not really. If you\u2019re a casual fan with little interest in putting on your historian\u2019s hat, or going on an archeological dig, or engaging in the meta-exercise of re-contextualizing familiar songs, then\u00a0Against the Odds<\/em>\u00a0just isn\u2019t for you. For anyone else, though, this package delivers in spades, especially when it comes to its abundance of photos and commentary. The liners here just make for a great read, and one is struck by just how stunning Blondie (right)<\/em><\/strong> were to\u00a0look at<\/em>\u00a0as a band. Meanwhile, a separate book of album covers and memorabilia honors the collector-type fan quite nicely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost 50 years later, the art direction behind some of the band\u2019s now-iconic album covers and photo shoots still feels remarkably modern. When music journalists tried to drape a blanket of mythology around the early-2000s New York scene, later chronicled in the book Meet Me in the Bathroom<\/em>, they were all\u2014journalists and bands alike\u2014chasing something that Blondie have an undisputed right to claim. The difference, though, is that while Blondie positively oozed cool, they never sacrificed substance in the pursuit of style and, in fact, cultivated a visual aesthetic with a great deal of craft. They\u2019re one of those rare bands where image isn\u2019t actually secondary to the art, but rather an essential component of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against The Odds<\/em>\u00a0captures that art in its totality. The sounds and images included here were lovingly curated from Chris Stein\u2019s personal archive (including 100 tape reels), which sat in his barn in Woodstock, New York, for 20 years. Listeners should look before they leap to see how far they want to delve into the nitty gritty, but the attention to detail here is undeniable. As far as box sets go,\u00a0Against the Odds<\/em>\u00a0is a textbook example f how to do justice to a band\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The prime source for this article was a piece by Sabi Reyes Kulkarni for Paste on line magazine. Check out the magazine on line for scores of similar thought-provoking work.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our occasional re-postings Sidetracks And Detours are confident that we are not only sharing with our readers excellent articles written by experts but that we are also pointing to informed and informative sites readers will re-visit time and again. Of course, we feel sure our readers will also return to our daily not-for-profit blog knowing that we seek to provide core original material whilst sometimes spotlighting the best pieces from elsewhere, as we engage with new genres and practitioners along all the sidetracks & detours we take.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em><\/strong>This article was collated by Norman Warwick, (right) a weekly columnist with Lanzarote Information and owner and editor of this daily blog at Sidetracks And Detours.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norman has also been a long serving broadcaster, co-presenting the weekly all across the arts programme on Crescent Community Radio for many years with Steve Bewick, and his own show on Sherwood Community Radio. He has been a regular guest on BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio Four.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a published author and poet Norman was a founder member of Lendanear Music, with Colin Lever and Just Poets with Pam McKee, Touchstones Creative Writing Group (for which he was creative writing facilitator for a number of years) with Val Chadwick and all across the arts with Robin Parker.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Monday to Friday,<\/em><\/strong> you will find a daily post here at Sidetracks And Detours and, should you be looking for good reading, over the weekend you can visit our massive but easy to navigate archives of over 500 articles.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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e mail logo <\/em><\/strong>The purpose of this daily not-for-profit blog is to deliver news, previews, interviews and reviews from all across the arts to die-hard fans and non- traditional audiences around the world. We are therefore always delighted to receive your own articles here at Sidetracks And Detours. So if you have a favourite artist, event, or venue that you would like to tell us more about just drop a Word document attachment to me at <\/em><\/strong>normanwarwick55@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a> with a couple of appropriate photographs in a zip folder if you wish. Being a not-for-profit organisation we unfortunately cannot pay you but we will always fully attribute any pieces we publish. You therefore might also. like to include a brief autobiography and photograph of yourself in your submission.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We look forward to hearing from you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sidetracks And Detours is seeking to join the synergy of organisations that support the arts of whatever genre. We are therefore grateful to all those share information to reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

correspondents                                Michael Higgins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Alan Laless<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Steve Bewick<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Gary Heywood Everett<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Steve Cooke<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Susana Fondon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Graham Marshall<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seamus Kelly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Peter Pearson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Catherine Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                            Aj The Dj Hendry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hot Biscuits Jazz Radio                      www.fc-radio.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AllMusic  <\/strong><\/a>                                          <\/strong>https:\/\/www.allmusic.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

feedspot                                              https:\/\/www.feedspot.com\/?_src=folder<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jazz In Reading                                  https:\/\/www.jazzinreading.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jazziz                                                 https:\/\/www.jazziz.com
<\/a>Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues                https:\/\/rvjazzandblues.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rob Adams                                         Music That\u00b4s Going Places<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lanzarote Information                        https:\/\/lanzaroteinformation.co.uk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all across the arts                                 www.allacrossthearts.co.uk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rochdale Music Society                     rochdalemusicsociety.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lendanear                                           www.lendanearmusic<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agenda Cultura Lanzarote<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larry Yaskiel \u2013 writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lanzarote Art Gallery                  https:\/\/lanzaroteartgallery.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodreads                                        https:\/\/www.goodreads<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

groundup music                                  HOME | GroundUP Music<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joni Mitchell newsletter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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songfacts                                           en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/SongFacts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Against The Odds\u00a0captures that art in its totality. The sounds and images included here were lovingly curated from Chris Stein\u2019s personal archive (including 100 tape reels), which sat in his barn in Woodstock, New York, for 20 years. Listeners should look before they leap to see how far they want to delve into the nitty gritty, but the attention to detail here is undeniable. As far as box sets go,\u00a0Against the Odds\u00a0is a textbook example of how to do justice to a band\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13064"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13075,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13064\/revisions\/13075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}