Disco de Deborah Harry: “Most Of All: Best Of”

My title sums up my feelings about this compilation: I bought it specifically for the single edits, most of which are unavailable elsewhere on CD. That being said, there's a lot of misinformation in people's reviews of this CD but it's mostly irrelevent. Others have expressed their opinions of Deb's solo work, so I'll weigh-in with mine:

Koo Koo: Sort of a musical-concept album. If you like Chic, you may find it appealing.

Rockbird: More what you would expect a mid-80s Deb solo to sound like (some great songs, like the title track).

Def, Dumb, and Blonde: A very ambitious album, most fans' fave, understandably.

Debravation: My personal fave, has a darkish quality albeit with some bright moments.

Misc singles:

Rush Rush: Used factory-programmed synth sequencers prior to Berlin; "nonsense" lyrics are thinly-veiled drug references (which cost it airplay on some stations).

In Love With Love: SAW mix (I like the original better)

Liar Liar: One of my top-5 Deb singles (conspiciously missing from this and all DH albums for legal reasons, the same thing that killed it as a single and prevented it from being included on Def, Dumb and Blonde, for which it was originally recorded.)

Well, Did You Evah: Great, goofy duet from Mr. and Mrs. America

Feel the Spin: Great song, though I always preferred the single edit (which was the flipside of Free to Fall) to the 12-inch-only single release.

Minus Blondie, Debbie Harry released four solo albums. Even the best of them ("Def Dumb and Blonde") were spotty, and frankly, "Koo Koo" was horrendously over-rated on release. That album is represented here by its two main singles, "Backfired" and "The Jam Was Moving," and frankly, they are the most dated sounding songs on the album.

On the other hand, when the songs were on and the producer was sympathetic, the best of these singles rates with the best of Blondie. "Most Of All" peels three astonishing songs right off the top, with the energetic dance song "I Want That Man" (written special for Debbie by the then red hot Thompson Twins), the glorious pop "French Kissin' In The USA" and the TV show "Wiseguy" featured Blondie-styled "Brite Side." In fact, that song and "In Love With Love" prove what a dynamic songwriting team Debbie and Chris Stein were.

The album also includes a few non-album tracks, like the fab duet with Iggy Pop, Cole Porter's "Did You Evah'" (from the musical "High Society"). Originally recorded for the "Red Hot and Blue" AIDS awareness benefit series (and why in heaven's name is that broadcast NOT on DVD?!?!), Debbie and Iggy are obviously having a fine romp. Not so noteworthy is the pale imitation of Madonna's "Into The Groove," otherwise titled "Feel The Spin," recorded for "Krush Groove." As soundtrack movie songs go, Giorgio Moroder's "Rush Rush" from "Scarface" is a better track, and Debbie shows who really influenced the blonde ambitioned one with the superior "I Can See Clearly." And any additional cuts from all the albums would have been a better utilization of disc space than three versions of "I Want That Man." ("Liar Liar" from "Married To The Mob" or "My Last Date" from "Debravation" would have suited my tastes more.)

Given that the solo discs are hard to find (though both "Debravation" and "DD&B" have recently been re-issued), "Most Of All" suffices for a solid post-Blondie CD of Debbie Harry's best.

PS: Solo Album ratings are:

"Koo Koo" - 2 stars

"Rock Bird" - 3 1/2 stars

"Def Dumb and Blonde" - 4 stars

"Debravation" - 3 stars

The actual songs featured on this CD are:

1. I Want That Man (original)

2. French Kissin

3. Brite Side

4. Sweet and Low (single remix edit)

5. Free to Fall

6. Well Did You Evah!

7. I Can See Clearly

8. Strike Me Pink

9. Communion (7" edit)

10. Backfired

11. In Love With Love (SAW remix)

12. Rush Rush

13. The Jam Was Moving

14. Feel the Spin

15. Maybe for Sure

16. Rockbird

17. I Want That Man (almighty definitive mix radio edit)

18. I Want That Man (D-Bop's 11.59 vocal mix radio edit)

For some reason, the track-listing for Donna Summer's "All Systems Go" album has been displayed for this product.

Since it's hard to get all 4 Debbie(Deborah) Harry solo albums this is an excellent item to get an impression of the Blondie leadsinger Debbie Harry solo. Together with the Deborah Harry collection and this Most of all the best of cd. You get what you need: all Deborah Harry UK hits with non album tracks like Rush,Rush, Feel the spin and Well did you Evah!

Even for a fan (who owes usually every album): a must have!

It is true that Deborah Harry's post Blondie recording career, like their final album, `

', has been a little uneven - though it has always been nothing short of interesting. This `Best of' compilation, from the years before Chrysalis Records unceremoniously dumped her, does her no services. Apart from misrepresenting the 12 years between 1981's `

' and 1993's `

' as nothing but middle of the road tracks and dance tunes, it leaves out important rarities that real fans would be hoping for.

There is no sign of her excellent version of `Liar Liar' from the movie, `

, nor her version of `Summertime Blues' from the film, `

', of `

' from the film of the same name, or any of the numerous side projects she did with other artists. It would even have been nice to find the version of `Brite Side' that ran over the closing credits of the TV show, `Wiseguy', when she was in it - instead of the album version from 1989's `

' - but, alas...

That aside, the real problem is that the list of songs featured on this disc are all `safe' insights into her career that in no way reflect the eclectic mix of music that makes up most of her solo recordings - and indeed, the new music from Blondie. There is no rock - aside from perhaps `Rockbird', though that is pretty light-on in presentation - and rock was still very much an important part of her solo work before Blondie reformed.

Fortunately, `Rush Rush' (from `

') made it into the selection, as did her duet with Iggy Pop on `Well Did You Evah!' from the 1990 `

' AIDS benefit compilation album. There is also a mildly interesting Stock, Aitkin, Waterman remix of `In Love With Love' (the original appearing on `

') and the track `Feel The Spin' from the 1985 film, `Krush Groove', along with two additional remixes of `I Want That Man' (original on `Def, Dumb and Blonde').

All in all, some great tracks from Deborah, and there are a few essential tracks for aficionados, but this is a desperately unimaginative insight into this section of her career. A better bet is to buy the full solo albums.