Making Tracks: The Rise Of Blondie
by Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Victor Bockris
Our Price: $49.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Chris Stein, Debbie Harry, Victor BockrisEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-08-21
ISBN: 0306808587
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Book Reviews of Making Tracks: The Rise Of Blondie
Book Review: Definitely worth having
Summary: 5 Stars
To begin with, this book is not easy to buy. The book is not registered out of print but none of the major book sellers have it in stock. There are used copies (one of which I purchased), but they start at prices well above the list price for new copies and can range over a hundred dollars. This is both a reflection of supply and the fact that the book is a collectible for fans.
As a second point, the book was written around 1980 and ends during the Autoamerican period. Of course it is quite a understatement to say that there have been a lot of developments since that time with the band. An update would certainly be worthwhile.
When the book was written operates on another level. At the time the book came into being Blondie was at the height of its initial popularity. (In fact the year when the book was ultimately published, 1982, saw what looked like the final demise of the band). It is not difficult to imagine (without trying to diminish the quality of the book) that the publisher and author saw this book as a means of cashing in on the band's rise to fame. It is even easier to believe that no one associated with the book could have foreseen that decades later music enthusiasts would still be interested in the subject, nor that the overlap of Blondie's rise with the history of the entire early Punk scene would have such significance in the history of popular music. Thus the book has no pretensions of being a fully detailed history like England's Dreaming. The story is told but things are never described too comprehensively the way a full fledged musical history would be written. Enough information and anecdotes are provided to present the basic picture and to keep the narrative moving, but the book makes no attempt at being exhaustive.
That being said, while fans may yearn for more detail on every subject, the story is still incredibly interesting. The primary voice of the narrative is Deborah Harry's, and the book is written in a style that is both disarmingly honest and, more importantly, very funny. The book expresses a very vivid and quirky sense of humor that is extremely entertaining, so much so that I read the book cover to cover in a few hours. The book also includes dozens of rare photographs that would make the book worthwhile for fans even if the writing were less adroit. When these attributes are combined, it makes the book something fans of the Blondie should not miss.
Summary of Making Tracks: The Rise Of Blondie
In the photographs of Chris Stein and words of Debbie Harry, Making Tracks details the story of Blondie, whose career propelled them from the depths of the Bowery to international renown as the hottest rock group in the world. Victor Bockris aided in the formation of the text and selection of photographs, which also provides an intimate portrait of the unique collaboration between Debbie and Chris.
Debbie Harry is probably the single most interesting and important woman in the history of rock. Well, maybe not, but all rock bios should start with hyperbole, and if anyone deserves hyperbole, it's Harry. This photo book/biography works wildly well in both its media. Chris Stein's pictures of Harry, Blondie, and the New York rock scene are not only fun in a nostalgic way, they're damn good pictures that you can stare at for hours--even without having taken the drugs that inspired them. And the story of Debbie Harry's life, as written by Harry and rock critic Victor Bockris, is two steps past weird. Who knew that Debbie was a flower child in the '60s and saw the Doors, Janis Joplin and the Velvet Underground live at some of their most celebrated shows? Or what about Debbie's stint in the psychedelic folk band Wind in the Willows? Or that Debbie was 35 years old when Blondie hit it big? Her career crosses and overruns so many moments and people in rock history that reading her bio is like driving through rock & roll heaven. And, frankly, the fact that the book is full of photos of the cutest rock star in history doesn't hurt. A must for fans of Harry and historians of rock. --James DiGiovanna
Reference Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Reference Books
The Great Song Thesaurusby Roger Lax, Frederick Smith
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1989-02-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $174.48
The New Oxford History of Music: Volume IV: The Age of Humanism 1540-1630Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1968-12-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $102.77
Price in other shops:
The Oxford Companion to Popular Musicby Peter Gammond
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1991-04-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $27.86
Price in other shops:
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music (Oxford Paperback Reference)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1996-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.75
Price in other shops:
Musical Involvement: A Guide to Perceptive Listeningby Donald J. Funes, Stephen E. Squires
Harcourt College Pub; Published: 1991-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $101.94
Compact Discs Yearbook 2000/ 1, The Penguin Guide to (Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music)by Ivan March, Edward Greenfield, Robert Layton
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2000-10-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops:
Listening to Musicby Jay Zorn
Prentice Hall College Div; Published: 1994-12-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Guitar (2nd Edition)by Frederick Noad
Alpha; Published: 2001-08-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.46
Price in other shops:
DJing for Dummiesby John Steventon
For Dummies; Published: 2007-01-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsessionby Daniel J. Levitin
Penguin Audio; Published: 2007-08-16; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $15.50
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegunby Robert Greenfield
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2011-11-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.43
Price in other shops:
Just Kidsby Patti Smith
Ecco; Published: 2010-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops:
Blondie: Live 1978RED Distribution; Release date: 2006-05-16; DVD
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Picture This: Debbie Harry and Blondie with DVDSanctuary Publishing, Ltd.; Published: 2004-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $27.00
Price in other shops:
Blondie - Greatest Hits (CD+DVD)Release date: 2006-03-07; Music CD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Blondie, from Punk to the Present: A Pictorial History (Musical Legacy Series, 1)by Allan Metz
Musical Legacy Pubns; Published: 2002-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $99.95
Blondie - VH-1 Behind the MusicRED Distribution; Release date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
Deborah Harryby Cathay Che
Fromm Intl; Published: 2000-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.86
Price in other shops:
Blondie: Unseen 1976-1980by Roberta Bayley
Plexus Publishing; Published: 2007-04-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.96
Price in other shops:
New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation with Blondie, Iggy Pop, and Others, 1974-1981by Gary Valentine
Da Capo Press; Published: 2006-10-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.43
Price in other shops: