What if Blondie Had Recorded Parallel Lines in the 1950s?

Parallel Lines is considered by many to be Blondie’s seminal work – and there is very little then and now that can beat it. Yet what if it had been recorded and released in the 1950s, rather than in 1978?  You might say that’s a question that doesn’t need an answer but that hasn’t stopped Argentinian content creator marceve76 from rising to the challenge.

Scroll down and press play while you read this.  It’s audio only – apart from the very cool new version of the iconic album sleeve above.

The result is a total re-imagining of the album.  The band, too, get a slight name change to The Blondies (adding “The” to any band name is what marceve76 does to give them a more 50s vibe). Ironically enough, this is how they were referred to collectively by those involved in the production of the album in 1978.  Producer Mike Chapman said of them in an interview for Sound magazine: “The Blondies were tough in the studio, real tough. None of them liked each other, except Chris and Debbie, and there was so much animosity.”  Perhaps that is the main reason why they finished the album in an astonishing six weeks, rather than the six months they had been given by their label.  Little did they know that this album would propel them to global fame and fortune.

Regardless, these stylised 1950s versions are very good. Whether they are a heartfelt homage to the band or simply a playful retro experiment, they’re executed with flair and imagination. Like any Blondie fan, I went straight to my favorite tracks from the original, to see how they had been interpreted.  "Fade Away and Radiate" is now a walk through a magic plastic land of 1950s suburban angst, replete with tupperware and trembling smiles, pastel kitchens and bottled-up despair. It’s a dreamy distortion - equal parts nostalgia and nightmare - where atomic-age optimism flickers beneath the hum of television static.  The line “Dusty frames that still arrive, die in 1955” is an indicator that this must have been recorded in the latter part of the decade(!).  It did make me wonder why Lana Del Rey didn’t record a version of this track, because this song would have suited her.

The Blondies (the real deal) admitted that the girl bands of the 1950s were an inspiration to them, lyrically at least.  And Picture This sounds very much like a girl group, in this incarnation.  The lyrics have not been changed, which makes you realise how times had, in fact, changed between the 1950s and 1970s.  The line: “I will give you my finest hour, the one I spent watching you shower” on Picture This would certainly have ensured the song’s ban from any airplay in the 1950s!

Naturally, the album’s biggest hit – “Heart of Glass”, their first US Billboard Hot 100 Number 1 – makes an appearance, revivified as a rockabilly romp with twangy strings and a wink to the jukebox era. You can imagine it crackling from a dusty diner radio while someone in a powder-blue Cadillac drums the steering wheel, caught somewhere between heartbreak and a milkshake.

So, yes, a big thumbs up to this. Is it as good or better than the original? It’s only human nature to make comparisons. However, this version isn’t trying to replace the original – it’s offering a new lens, a playful shift in tone and texture that pays homage while confidently doing its own thing. And that, in itself, is worth celebrating.  One can only wonder what Debbie Harry will make of this!  As for me, it has definitely made me want to return to the original band, too, for another listen to their greatest hits.

If you haven’t already pressed “play”, then do it now!