Oh, your hair is beautiful tonight....

Remix albums aren’t usually this bad. Nor or compilations. Especially connected to a seminal artist like Blondie. Yet Once More Into The Bleach is neither a normal remix nor a compilation. Billed nebulously as Debbie Harry slash Blondie, Once More is a thrown-together hodgepodge of Blondie songs seemingly re-recorded by only Harry (and thus credited to just her), a couple true Blondie recordings, and a half-album retrospective of Harry’s solo singles. Now where to start with how bad this is?

Well, the first “half” of the set includes Blondie songs. As I said, I assume they were re-recorded since besides “Heart Of Glass” and “Atomic”, they’re credited in the liner notes to “Debbie Harry”. While the vocals are mostly on the mark if so, the mixes included are awful. From the disjointed “Denis” to the annoying “telephone” sound effects on “Call Me”, these mixes scream late 80’s. “Rapture”’s iconic bassline is swamped by clangy post-production, and “The Tide Is High” ramps up the pseudo-reggae factor to laughable levels. Surprisingly included is the original 12” disco version of “Heart Of Glass”, and the shorter “Atomic”, both the best that Blondie had to offer, but also available a million other ways unsurrounded by this crap. And tacked on the end is a French Version on “Sunday Girl” which is totally unnecessary.

After Blondie the band splintered in 1982, Harry carried on a solo career that seemed more based on her persona than any musical vision. The usual overblown star excess is piled on in droves in muddled messes like the Chic-produced but un-funky “Backfired”, which is itself a feat. For the “best” of her work, it all sounds like toss-off filler, with “The Jam Was Moving”, “Rush Rush”, and the silly (and not in a good way) “French Kissin’ In The USA” appearing more as background music for a brand than anything else. “In Love With Love” was an almost passable hit at the time, but this collection even manages to put the crappier mix of the song on here. “Feel The Spin” comes the closest to even matching the quality of her band work, though it’s too dated and flighty.

Thankfully Harry reunited (somewhat) with Blondie to produce a couple reasonable albums. As for Once More Into The Bleach, if you’re looking for a piece of product, here you go. By all means run away if you’re looking for good Blondie music, and Harry’s early solo work isn’t much to write home about.

Grade: D-
Best Cuts: “Heart Of Glass”, “Atomic”
Weakest Links: just about everything else

Once More Into The Bleach hit #50 on the UK albums chart and #46 as an album on the Club Play Chart.
"Denis" hit #50 in the UK.
"Call Me (1988 Remix)" hit #61 in the UK.
"The Jam Was Moving" made #82 on the pop singles chart US.
"In Love With Love" made #70 pop, #1 dance, and #45 in the UK.
"Rush Rush" hit #105 pop, #28 dance club play, and #87 in the UK.
"French Kissin' In The USA" hit #57 pop, #44 dance singles sales, and #8 in the UK.
"Feel The Spin" made #5 dance singles sales.
"Backfired" made #43 pop, #29 dance club play, #71 R&B, and #32 in the UK.
"Heart Of Glass" hit #1 pop, #58 dance club play, and #1 in the UK.
"Atomic" hit #39 pop and #1 in the UK.

Listen: "Feel The Spin" [Click here to listen]

Buy: You can pick up a copy of Once More Into The Bleach at sites like here or here.

Watch: Let's start with classic Blondie. Here's "Heart Of Glass"....