BLONDIE : LIVE BY REQUEST

  1. Dreaming
  2. Hanging On The Telephone
  3. Accidents Never Happen
  4. The Tide Is High
  5. Good Boys
  6. Undone
  7. Rip Her To Shreds
  8. One Way Or Another
  9. Rapture
  10. X Offender
  11. Call Me
  12. Union City Blue
  13. Heart Of Glass
    Bonus Tracks (Not Aired In The Original Live Broadcast) :
  14. The Dream's Lost On Me
  15. End To End
  16. Hello Joe
  17. (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear

Label : Warner Vision Australia

Length : 92 minutes

Venue : John Jay Theatre, New York City, New York, USA

Recording Date : May 7, 2004

Release Date : September 14, 2004

Ratio : 16:9

Review (AllMusic) : Live by Request is Blondie's entry in the A&E series, and it's got some truly excellent moments as well as some cringe-inducing ones. It should be said that this is not the original Blondie: only Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, and the incomparable Clem Burke remain from the original band. Even Jimmy Destri, who had been involved in the No Exit album, is gone again, but the band really hits on all cylinders, with lots of extended solos ("Rip Her to Shreds," "Rapture") and tons of energy. Debbie Harry can't hit all the high notes she used to, but she still sounds (and looks!) great, especially when you consider she was nearly 59 at the time of recording in 2004. The faults of the album don't lie in the playing of the band; it's the obnoxious and overdone audience participation. Having the audience sing along is almost always a bad idea, and it happens far too often on Live by Request. Then there's the typically devoid-of-rhythm audience clap along that accompanies "The Tide Is High," which is largely rescued by a very cool keyboard solo. Another problem is the prevalence of the false-ending-that-leads-to-more-soloing concept, which is okay once but gets pretty tiresome quickly. Since it is a "Live by Request" set, they stick to their classic repertoire, only dipping into the recent No Exit for an acoustic "The Dream's Lost on Me," which is performed with just acoustic guitar and mandolin, and "Good Boys," another recent single. Blondie have always been a great live band, and most of this performance proves that they still are. If they'd have just stuck to playing rather than pandering, this could have been a great set. As it stands, it's still a pretty strong set from a great American band, and perfect for those who enjoyed the original broadcast.