Blondie — The Curse Of Blondie

Five years after Blondie’s hit-and-miss (mostly miss) comeback No Exit, they return with the aptly titled The Curse Of Blondie, which refers to the various mishaps the band have endured during their career of 20-plus years. The biggest problem with The Curse is that opener "Shakedown" out-and-out blows. It’s one of those semi-rapped, "edgy" songs that attempts to sound modern, but always sounds dated. It’s an awful gateway into an otherwise decent record that probably didn’t need to be made. Single "Good Boys" is almost the answer to Duran Duran’s "Wild Boys" and quotes from Queen’s "We Will Rock You." New wave synths and dance beats abound. Debbie Harry’s voice ain’t what it used to be and it all sounds like what we’ve come to expect Blondie to sound like — albeit without a song as good as "Dreaming."

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