Review of Blondie: Live By Request

Introduction

Blondie have so far managed to have 20 hit singles, in a career that has lasted 25 years and counting. Except for 17 of those years they had split up, as they disbanded in 1982 at the height of their fame. They reformed in 1999 and have recently recorded a new album which they`ve been touring all over the world.

You`ll probably know them from their songs Heart Of Glass, Sunday Girl, Atomic, Call Me, Denis and The Tide Is High (recently the subject of an awful cover version).

This "Live by request" show was filmed at the John J. College of Law Theatre in New York on May 7th 2004. It`s the standard format where sycophantic callers ring in with their "requests" and the band have conveniently rehearsed the song enough to perform it on TV.... And they have an annoying presenter hanging round the band and talking to the callers.

The tracklist is up above, but it`s interesting that these so called fans didn`t "request" songs like Atomic, Denis, Sunday Girl and Maria.

Video

A 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer greets us, as it was filmed for TV broadcast. It`s a fine transfer, colours are excellent and everything is pin sharp.

This is a concert DVD essentially, so you know what to expect. The band up on stage, playing their hearts out. It`s fair to say that Deborah Harry has grown old incredibly gracefully and still looks great today.

Audio

A choice of DD2.0 stereo, DD5.1 and dts. They are all good tracks, but when you move up to the DD5.1 and dts tracks there`s just that nice little edge to the sound, with some good instrument placement, crisp bass and audience participation. Very nice to listen to.

Features

A pointless gallery, plus 4 extra tracks that were not included in the original broadcast. As ever with these things it`s a shame that they weren`t edited back into the main feature. Nice to hear them though, particularly the acoustic track.

Conclusion

An excellent performance from a still excellent band. The sycophantic phone in parts (with gushing testimony from fans) and the set-up phoney set list are a bit annoying, but in the end it`s all about listening to a great band playing great songs. And it`s not just a by-the-numbers effort either, with some great new interpretations of their songs. The Tide is High still sounds great today, and Rapture still gives the band the chance to all show off.

An absolute must for fans of the band, and highly recommended for more casual fans and those of you with only a passing interest in Blondie. This DVD showcases the band at their best today and they still sound great. I`ll be playing this one a lot!