Blondie - Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision

Genre rock Publisher Capitol Records External Links Official Website Capitol Records

Blondie are absolutely one of the best rock bands to ever come out of the United States and they are being honored this year with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Back when genre-hopping was a nascent notion, Debbie Harry and company took on punk, dance/disco, rap, and the burgeoning new wave scene with aplomb and glee, crafting one timeless tune after another and ensuring their legacy with a deft playing and willful abandon.

And, while this new collection, Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision, simply piles on some extraneous material ("Rapture Riders - Blondie vs. The Doors," a "mash-up" of Blondie's "Rapture" and The Doors' "Riders on the Storm," is the ultimate offender here), to the greatness of Chrysalis' lean and mean original The Best of Blondie, the DVD that accompanies this collection makes the package well worth the purchase. Featuring some clips that haven't been seen in ages, it more than makes up for the CD's girth.

This new collection also renders Capitol's repackaging of Chrysalis' original "Best Of" from last year null and void. Not only did Capitol unwisely change the cover art, but they omitted two of the albums' tracks.

What this collection does do is show how some of the band's reunion material is actually quite strong. "Maria," may not rank with the band's top tier work, but as a throwback to New Wave's heyday, the song is rather fetching. When you throw in such chestnuts as "Heart of Glass," "Dreaming," "Rip Her To Shreds," and "Call Me," it all blends into a cohesive whole. But the padding here tends make listening to the album's entirety a bit of a chore. 12 of the band's best is a damn fine number to stick with.

Trust me, if you just want the hits, then buy the remastered version of Chrysalis' original Best Of. But if you want the full macgillicuddy, the whole enchilada, then Blondie's Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision is must have, one-stop shopping.