Autoamerican

Blondie - Autoamerican

List Price: ~~$8.94~~
Our Price: $4.96
You Save: $3.98 (45%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.81 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album

Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Artist: Blondie
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2001-09-11
Music Label: Capitol
Soundtracks:

Europa
Live It Up
Here's Looking At You
The Tide Is High
Angels On The Balcony
Go Through It
Do The Dark
Rapture
Faces
T-Birds
Walk Like Me
Follow Me
Call Me (long version)
Suzy & Jeffrey
Rapture (Special Disco Mix)

Music reviews of Autoamerican

Music Review: Autoamerican:soilidly built...low on gas.
Rating: 3 Stars

In the summer of 1980 Blondie was arguably one of the biggest bands in rock and definitely the biggest band of the punk/new wave CBGB's scene.
Only 5 years prior, Blondie, was the band "least likely to succeed"..clearly, not the most accurate of predictions.

Blondie's fortunes changed virtually over-night from "up and comers" to having the world in their palm. As the 70's closed and the 80's began, Blondie, were at their commercial and artistic peak. Both, "Heart Of Glass" & "Call Me" reached number one in less than a year of one another. And, Although, "Eat to the Beat" did not chart any top 10 singles in the USA..that was not the case in the U.K. Moreover, Eat to the Beat" was
the first "Video LP" to be released commercially for mass consumption...absolutely unheard of at the time and 2 solid years prior to MTV.

Clearly,with all of that said. "Autoamerican" should have been the bands
master-stroke.

However, cracks in the road turned "Autoamerican" into a bumpy ride instead of a smooth cruise down route 66.

In retrospect,it seems, the band or more than likely Chris and Debbie weren't content to repeat the New Wave/Power Pop sheen [courtesy of Mike Chapman]of "Parallel Lines" or "Eat to the Beat" and made a conscious choice to "expand" their sound. Disco dabbles, notwithstanding. Blondie, were at their best performing immaculate pop songs with punky poses. As with so many cases before them perhaps gaining world dominance blurred the bands sensibilities instead of sharpening them.

To wit, Autoamerican starts it's engine with the over-blown and ponderous "Europa". A serious tune-up is in order. Revving things up is the aptly titled "Live it Up" an interesting pastiche of blondiesque disco and power-pop...why this song wasn't released as a single is a total mystery. "Here's Looking At You" is next. Not terrible but somewhat unnecessary, the album hasn't "settled" on a particular sound and yet we're being "treated" to not only a ballad but a campy ballad from yesteryear....perhaps they were channeling the stilletoes. Bust out the surf board! Well, not quite. "The Tide is High" brings us to the mid-point of side one. The first of two number one singles off this album, Blondie doing a lite reggae/calypso. Good song,not great, terrible video. The last two tracks on side one finally find themselves on the right road. Blondie, is in "pop" form with "Angels on the Balcony" and "Go Through It". However, the latter has a little bit of a "nutty" quality to it a'la "Victor" from "EaT To The BeaT"

Side two, begins with "In the Dark" a redux "Live it Up". Disco Blondie treads itself out again...a little thin but a far better opener than the absurd "Europa". The 2nd number one off "Autoamerican" is next, "Rapture".
I've always liked this song the "rap" is terribly dated but it's still a killer tune and the band sounds crisp and tight and dare I say "funky".Cool video too. A sharp turn is taken with "Faces"...a "torch" song of sorts from the days of yore. Unlike "Here's Looking at You" this song doesn't come off as a campy throwaway, the playing and singing are far more committed..thus, a believable performance by both Debbie and band. The next two songs work very well back to back and are sonically "classic" Blondie. Both "T-Birds" & "Walk Like Me" tap into the 60's girl group sound that Blondie had always been closely associated with...the latter being the more aggressive and "punky" of the two. Debbie delivers a strong vocal performance on "Walk Like Me" with plenty of attitude and Chris Stein offers some cool surf/spaghetti western guitar riffs. Sadly, Blondie's closer, "Follow Me" [like their opener] is rotten and crosses the finishing line at 30mph instead of 80.

Although there are more good cuts than bad on "Autoamerican" the placing of the bad weaken the album overall. Furthermore, there aren't as many great album tracks on this LP as in previous. "Rapture" & "The Tide is High" are good but they're not nearly as strong as "Atomic" & "One way or Another" or "non-hits" such as "Pretty Baby" & "Little Girl Lies". In summation, I'd say "Autoamerican" is a more "experimental" though weaker, "Eat to the Beat"

Regarding the bonus tracks, we have unedited "Disco" versions
of "Call Me" and "Rapture" The other track is "Suzy & Jeffrey" another song in the "Angels On The Balcony" vein. Had this song been included on "Autoamerican" it would've been a stronger and more cohesive album.

Nevertheless, "Autoamerican" was the last classic [or at least semi] Blondie album. By 1982, the band would release their anemic final album "The Hunter", play their last shows that summer and finally
break-up by the end of the year.

Full Track Listing:

1)Europa
2)Live it Up [best song on "side-one"]
3)Here's Looking at You
4)The Tide is High
5)Angels on the Balcony
6)Go Through It

Side Two

1)Do The Dark
2)Rapture
3)Faces
4)T-Birds
5)Walk Like Me [best song on "side-two"]
6)Follow Me

Bonus Tracks:
Call Me [original long version]
Suzy & Jeffrey
Rapture ["Disco" Remix]

15 Tracks in total.

Line up:
Clem Burke:Drums
Frank Infante:Guitar
Nigel Harrison:Bass
Jimmy Destri:Keyboards
Chris Stein:Guitar
Deborah Harry:Vocals

Autoamerican: released winter of 1980
6 out of 10 stars

More Autoamerican free music reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6

Description of Autoamerican

Blondie Photos

More from Blondie

Blondie - Greatest Hits
Parallel Lines
Blondie

Eat to the Beat (CD+DVD)
Plastic Letters
The Hunter

Alternative Rock CDs

Music Genres

Bestsellers in Alternative Rock CDs

Bouncing Souls - Maniacal Laughter
Release date: 1996-01-26; Music CD
Best price: $30.00

Blondie - Parallel Lines
Release date: 1994-07-29; Music CD
Best price: $149.98

Doors - L.A. Woman
Release date: 1993-04-09; Music CD
Best price: $99.99

Amon Duul - Phallus Dei
Release date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Price in other shops: ~~$18.98~~

Tangerine Dream - Melrose
Release date: 1990-10-02; Music CD
Best price: $74.98

Tangerine Dream - Private Music of Tangerine Dream
Release date: 1992-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: ~~$11.98~~

Ska Explosion [VHS]
Cleopatra; Release date: 1995-02-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: ~~$16.98~~

Little Earthquakes [VHS]
Atlantic / Wea; Release date: 1992-11-10; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops: ~~$16.98~~

Exile
by Geoffrey Oryema
Music CD
Best price: $4.95

Soundgarden - Louder Than Live [VHS]
A&M Video; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $202.44