Aug 092019
 

Full Albums features covers of every track off a classic album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

blondie parallel lines covers

It’s been a mere 41 years since Parallel Lines was released, a fact that finds this writer flat on his back. How can it possibly be that long? But is is and it was, 1978 being a particularly good year for Blondie, themselves already far from spring chickens.

Debbie Harry, astonishingly already 33, just two years younger than Mick Jagger (and two older than Ronnie Wood), was the mother hen of the band, together with her partner, Chris Stein, half a decade younger. The pair of them and drummer Clem Burke, were the heart of the band, and the only omnipresent members, rounded out at that time by keyboardist Jimmy Destri, guitarist Frank Infante, and bassist Nigel Harrison. Of course they all hated each other and all hated their producer, Mike Chapman, drafted in for this record to widen their appeal.

This would be the band’s third album, the first two having been helmed by Richard Gottehrer, who maximized their punky charm and promise, turning them into the counter-intuitive leaders of the pack at and from Max’s Kansas City and CBGB’s. Chapman, an Australian, had produced UK chart toppers like the Sweet, exiled Music City maven Suzi Quatro, and Mud; he was immensely successful, but looked down upon by any serious musician or fan.

In truth, they didn’t actually all hate each other, Stein was allegedly far too stoned to know much of what was going on, but there was no love lost elsewhere, not least as Chapman felt that Infante was the only one up to it, musically. Burke could not keep time, it seemed; Destri couldn’t play; and whatever Harrison could or couldn’t do, Chapman’s criticism was enough to have Harrison throw a synthesiser at him. But Harry could sing, that much Chapman could sense, carefully restricting her involvement to both protect her voice and prevent costly meltdowns, weeping in the restroom.

Despite all of this, Parallel Lines still came in a full 4 months ahead of schedule, and, amazingly, this line-up and Chapman went on to make four more albums before the band’s 1982 disintegration. It wasn’t until 15 years later they reformed, the original trio with (for a while) Destri, augmented by any number of additional sidemen. They still play on.
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Mar 142011
 

The Stray Cats led a rockabilly revival in the early ‘80s, infusing the ’50s genre with a punk sensibility to create a movement that persists today. Following the breakup of the Cats in 1984, bassist Lee Rocker has continued to pursue music, both as backup for musical luminaries like George Harrison, Carl Perkins and Keith Richards, and as a solo artist. For his latest release, The Cover Sessions EP, he recorded six tracks by artists like the Beatles, Elton John and the Allman Brothers.

Rocker’s result, while enjoyable, doesn’t break much ground. He gives the opening track, The Beatles “Come Together,” the biggest makeover. Stripping the song of its trademark bass riff, he powers it instead with harmonica and a quick guitar pulse over a steady shuffle beat. Together, it complements John Lennon’s proto-rap verses surprisingly well. He deconstructs the chord progression in the chorus as well, without losing the punch of the original. Continue reading »