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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Reviews
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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perservere - it takes work but it's well worth the effort.....,
This review is from: Necessary Evil (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!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Average at first, but great after a few listens,
By
This review is from: Necessary Evil (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
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anticipated Excellence,
By Johnny442 (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Necessary Evil (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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