Blondie

In the beginning, Blondie were as much a retro-pop group celebrating the joys of ‘50s and ’60s pop-rock as they were a formidable new wave group emerging from the same New York City CBGB scene as The Ramones, Television, and Talking Heads. Their self-titled debut album was originally released by the independent Instant Records label in 1976 before being picked up by Chrysalis in 1977. Songs like “X Offender” (originally titled “Sex Offender,” which would’ve cost them key radio play), “In the Flesh,” and “Rip Her to Shreds” demonstrate the band’s pop instincts; James Destri’s Farfisa organ plays as important a role in the band’s sound as Deborah Harry’s vocals and Chris Stein’s guitar. “Kung Fu Girls” and “The Attack of the Giant Ants” point toward the group’s B-movie, NYC-hipster underground cachet. Modern versions of the album come with the Instant Records versions of “X Offender” and “In the Sun” and the band demos of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich’s “Out in the Streets,” “The Thin Line,” and “Platinum Blonde.”