Blondie 4(0)-Ever/Ghosts of Download [CD/DVD]

Director: Rob Swenson.
Editor: Ryan Ewing.
Photographer: Chris Stein.
In honor of the band's 40th anniversary, Blondie 4(0)-Ever bundles together two full albums in one package: a collection of new material called Ghosts of Download, and Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux, a re-recorded set of Blondie favorites. While 2011's Panic of Girls suggested that Blondie wanted to make room for all of their many influences in their new music, Ghosts of Download is instead an album clearly made with the dancefloor in mind; electronic beats and gleaming synthesized melodies dominate the tunes, and the current EDM scene was a clear influence on these songs, which include guest appearances from Beth Ditto of the Gossip, and Latin EDM artists Systema Solar and Los Rakas. On disc two, Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux contains newly re-recorded versions of 11 of Blondie's best-known sides, and features the full band playing with professionalism and a certain elan (Clem Burke's drumming is as crisp and forceful as ever), while Deborah Harry's vocals are in pleasing form here. ~ Mark Deming