Blondie’s 1979 record titled, “Eat to the Beat,” unfolds into this musical journey filled with rock, punk, pop, and new wave. I’ve already known Blondie from witnessing past photos of their performances at CBGB’s, or even their popular hits such, “Call Me,” and “One way or Another.” And, I remember specifically falling in love with this record when I first discovered it back in my college days.I still remember when I came across it for the first time, my instincts kicked in without me thinking about it. Just the cover impressed me enough, where it looks as if something is being put into place. GET THAT RECORD NOW, NO EXCEPTIONS.

I didn’t test it out, or knew any of the tracks, but I’ve gotten that feeling where you know, you’re going be in for something, and it’s not going to be dull, that’s for sure.And the best part was I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. The best part was I didn’t even know what new wave was! I’ve never heard of it, not even how certain artists were musically centered around this genre such as the Talking Heads, Television, and so on. And, let me just add that this period, along with my university days, were when I discovered so much music that never came across my mind, or I’ve never even heard of. But what’s great is how I’m continuing to search for great music. There’s so much in this world that we as a society don’t even know that has been recorded, out into the market for so much of a period, then just disappears into the world of the unknown.  

The album kicks off with one of my all time favourite songs, “Dreaming.” A powerful, up-lifitng drum beat, where I started asking myself if drummer Clem Burke is not human, but a magician! And just by listening to Debbie Harry’s soft, but beautiful vocal tone sounds as if you’re in a dream, and reliving a movie. “Union City Blue,” has such a great melody, where the beginning of the track is like as if you’re rising up onto the surface of the ocean, and the sound becomes much more clearer. “Eat to the Beat,” has such a great full swing punk twist, and close to the middle of the song, there’s a HARMONICA SOLO. I was expecting a, but a harmonica, hey, I’ll take it! And, we can’t forget about “Atomic.” In the first twelve seconds of the song, you sense that something is building up with an intensity. But then at one point, you just hear Frank Infante’s simple melodic spaghetti western line, perfectly incorporating itself into the beat of the song. Just amazing!