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A mere fifteen years since the last record that bore the name of the former and current Blondie singer, Necessary Evil is a welcome and barely anticipated surprise. Wider in scope than the consciously nostalgic sound of her revived band, Necessary Evil is very much Harry’s record, despite the input of up and coming New York production team Super Buddha. Single "Two Times Blue" is a solid slab of radio friendly eighties New Wave, while "Dirty and Deep" sounds contemporary enough to appear on radio next to the present day divas that are its subject. Better still are less obvious moments. "Jen Jen" evokes nothing as much as Talking Heads (or their admirers) taking on West African funk, the Chris Stein-penned number barely connected with Harry. Her inexplicably underrated voice is stretched on the bleakly impressive ballad "What Is Love", almost European in its gloom. Less elegant are the edgy "Whiteout" and "You’re Too Hot", its subject self-explanatory. Given her current status as a bohemian pensioner and national treasure, it’s guaranteed to gross out the kids. Not that she should care. Every skinny tied hopeful or mini-skirted wannabe is Debbie’s child in some way. --Steve Jelbert
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It comes as no surprise that the latest outing by Deborah Harry is a sonic assault on the listener - having been a fan of both DH and Blondie since 1975 (small kid back then!), I've grown up to realise that DH never releases an immediately accessible album when it comes to solo work. Her single releases are always radio friendly but act as no clue to the main work of the album.
The latest is the most complex and diverse collection of songs so far in her solo catalogue. However, all is not lost - give it time and you will find that the album starts to make sense and ..... even sounds cohesive if you can manage to leave your finger off the skip button on second listen!
Forget the classic 80's pop of the opener "Two Times Blue" the all familiar "Blondie" pop sound starts and finishes here - it's a great track and deserves its rightful place as the first act, however, it all goes true DH thereafter with an amazing range of musical styles fusing together as you travel an intelligent sonic soundscape which crosses all genres, it abuses your ears;('School for Scandal', 'Necessary Evil') has you relaxing;('If I Had You', 'What is Love', 'Needless to Say') makes you feel uncomfortable;('You're Too Hot', 'Charm Redux'), makes you want to dance; ('Deep End', 'Whiteout' and the fantastic experimental tribal funk of 'Jen Jen') and then back to chilling with the lyrically ironic 'Paradise'.
This is not a pop, punk, rock or alt album - it's a 100% Deborah Harry album and it's well worth the time and effort, musics leading lady never fails to challenge her own boundaries and styles and in so doing, brings the listener a truly unique experience unmatched by any of the competition, past, future and present!
Welcome back Deborah Harry - it's been too long.
Main reasons to buy: Jen Jen, Deep End, Whiteout & Needless to Say - 100% Fantastic
Summary: Buy, Perservere and most of all, Enjoy!
The latest is the most complex and diverse collection of songs so far in her solo catalogue. However, all is not lost - give it time and you will find that the album starts to make sense and ..... even sounds cohesive if you can manage to leave your finger off the skip button on second listen!
Forget the classic 80's pop of the opener "Two Times Blue" the all familiar "Blondie" pop sound starts and finishes here - it's a great track and deserves its rightful place as the first act, however, it all goes true DH thereafter with an amazing range of musical styles fusing together as you travel an intelligent sonic soundscape which crosses all genres, it abuses your ears;('School for Scandal', 'Necessary Evil') has you relaxing;('If I Had You', 'What is Love', 'Needless to Say') makes you feel uncomfortable;('You're Too Hot', 'Charm Redux'), makes you want to dance; ('Deep End', 'Whiteout' and the fantastic experimental tribal funk of 'Jen Jen') and then back to chilling with the lyrically ironic 'Paradise'.
This is not a pop, punk, rock or alt album - it's a 100% Deborah Harry album and it's well worth the time and effort, musics leading lady never fails to challenge her own boundaries and styles and in so doing, brings the listener a truly unique experience unmatched by any of the competition, past, future and present!
Welcome back Deborah Harry - it's been too long.
Main reasons to buy: Jen Jen, Deep End, Whiteout & Needless to Say - 100% Fantastic
Summary: Buy, Perservere and most of all, Enjoy!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By D. Cowan
Format:Audio CD
When i first played this album I couldn't really remember any of the tracks except Two Times Blue, which I'd heard already on Debbie's myspace page but after a few listens, the tracks start to jump out.
Lead single Two Times Blue is a great pop song which deserves a single release and radio play. It sounds a bit like the Blondie UK number 1 hit Maria, which is no bad thing.
Other top tracks are the melodic If I Had You, the quirky Love With a Vengeance, a spikey You're Too Hot a punky Whiteout and a romantic Needless to Say. I love Deborah's vocal gymnastics at the start of You're Too Hot. Her voice has matured a little, in the same way that Joni Mitchell's has, though she still sounds fantastic and you can't mistake her for anyone else. I'm happy that Deborah Harry is still making music and I do really like this album. It sounds very 'current' and makes the most of new technology which is good to hear, as the production on an album like Debravation sounds quite dated to me now. Buy it and keep it in your player for a while, it's a grower...in a good way
Lead single Two Times Blue is a great pop song which deserves a single release and radio play. It sounds a bit like the Blondie UK number 1 hit Maria, which is no bad thing.
Other top tracks are the melodic If I Had You, the quirky Love With a Vengeance, a spikey You're Too Hot a punky Whiteout and a romantic Needless to Say. I love Deborah's vocal gymnastics at the start of You're Too Hot. Her voice has matured a little, in the same way that Joni Mitchell's has, though she still sounds fantastic and you can't mistake her for anyone else. I'm happy that Deborah Harry is still making music and I do really like this album. It sounds very 'current' and makes the most of new technology which is good to hear, as the production on an album like Debravation sounds quite dated to me now. Buy it and keep it in your player for a while, it's a grower...in a good way
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Johnny442
Format:Audio CD
Fourteen years since her last solo outing, Necessary Evil can't arrive soon enough. The first single from the album, "Two Times Blue", is a gorgeous slice of pop of the kind that only Ms Harry could produce and is accompanied by an equally gorgeous video available on her web site. Other tracks which can be heard from the album include "What is Love" available on the "True Colors" CD from this summer's tour and "If I had you" which can be found on Debbie's MySpace page. From what I've heard so far it appears that Debbie hasn't gone for the easy option of producing a "safe" album but has adopted an eclectic approach to this record. It's fantastic that she continues to make music, push boundaries and doesn't allow convention to dictate her way. Here's hoping the album is the hit that it deserves to be. Go Debs!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Debbie at her best!
Brilliant album with rich sound and some beautiful tracks as well as some meaningful ones! Beautiful harmonies which is to be expected from the consummate artiste that she is. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr F Morvan
5.0 out of 5 stars
FUN!!!
As others already said, this CD is one which takes a few listens to appreciate. Quite a lot of art is like that and some of the best doesn't communicate immediately. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2011 by Mart
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even better than the two Blondie reformation albums
Though it takes a few listens to get into, it doesn't take long to realize that Deborah Harry's 2007 release, `Necessary Evil', is the best pop thing she has recorded since 1989's... Read more
Published on 5 Jun 2010 by B. S. Marlay
4.0 out of 5 stars
bezerk pop mayhem from a true musical legend
deborah harrys fifth solo headline outing is that rare thing, a rock record with a sense and sound all of its own. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2009
1.0 out of 5 stars
disappointing
A very disappointing and unpredictable album. Deb's voice is still answering her and maintaining its uniqueness, however, the music is artificially assembled in the studio. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2007 by Lu
3.0 out of 5 stars
She's still got it...sporadically
She's 62, it's fourteen years since her last solo album and Blondie are doing great business on the revival circuit. Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2007 by IWFIcon
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre....again
AS with any Blondie/Deborah Harry album you get great songs but they are outweighed byt he so-so songs and downright BAD songs. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2007 by J. Evans
3.0 out of 5 stars
what the !
being a big blondie /debbie harry fan i was a bit disapointed with this latest effort from the queen of pop! Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2007 by oliver twisted
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Fabulous
Deborah's new album from start to finish is superb, opening with the first single from the album 'Two Times Blue' a pop perfected masterpiece. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2007 by Matthew Bell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deborah Harry - Necessary Evil
Necessary Evil is Debbie Harry's 5th solo album: Koo Koo (1981), Rockbird (1986), Def Dumb & Blonde (1989) and Debravation (1993). Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2007 by thereviewers
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