Eat to the Beat

The primarily pop album includes a diverse range of styles in the songs: rock, disco, new wave, punk, reggae, and funk, as well as a lullaby. "Atomic" and "The Hardest Part" fused disco with rock. Blondie's first two albums were new wave productions, followed by Parallel Lines which dropped the new wave material, exchanging it entirely for rock-inflected pop.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/parallel-lines-mw0000011984|title=Parallel Lines - Blondie | Songs, Reviews, Credits|access-date=23 May 2021|website=AllMusic}} Eat to the Beat continued in this pop direction.

Three singles were released in the UK from this album ("Dreaming", "Union City Blue" and "Atomic"). "The Hardest Part" was released as the second single from the album in the USA instead of "Union City Blue" (though a remix of "Union City Blue" would be released in the US in 1995). According to the liner notes of the 1994 compilation The Platinum Collection, the song "Slow Motion" was originally planned to be the fourth single release from the album, and producer Mike Chapman even made a remix of the track, but following the unexpected success of "Call Me", the theme song to the movie American Gigolo, these plans were shelved and the single mix of "Slow Motion" remains unreleased. An alternate mix of the track entitled The Stripped Down Motown Mix did, however, turn up on one of the many remix singles issued by Chrysalis/EMI in the mid-1990s.

Blondie's first video album was produced in conjunction with this record, featuring a music video for each of the album's twelve songs. It was the first such project in rock music.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rip-her-to-shreds.com/archive_press_magazines_discoveries_sept1999.php |title=Once More (Into The Bleach): Blondie Returns For Its Fifteenth Round |access-date=2014-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014556/http://rip-her-to-shreds.com/archive_press_magazines_discoveries_sept1999.php |archive-date=2013-12-03 |url-status=dead }} Most of the videos were filmed in and around New York. One of the exceptions was the "Union City Blue" music video, which was filmed at Union Dry Dock, Weehawken, New Jersey. Each video was directed by David Mallet and produced by Paul Flattery. The video was initially available as a promotional VHS in 1979 and subsequently released on videocassette and videodisc in October 1980.McCullaugh, Jim. "SelectaVision Catalog Adds 'Eat To Beat'" Billboard October 11, 1980: 10

Unlike the rest of Blondie's original albums, Eat to the Beat was not remastered in 1994. It was later digitally remastered and reissued by EMI-Capitol in 2001, with four bonus tracks and candid sleeve notes by Mike Chapman:

{{blockquote|They wanted to try anything. And I was right there with them. We also had a title for the album at a very early point, so we had a concept of sorts: Eat to the Beat. I tried to have Debbie explain exactly what it meant to her, but in her normal fashion she simply confused me and I was forced to give it my own interpretation. ... [Drugs] found their way to the studio and presented us with yet another obstacle. The more drugs, the more fights. It was becoming a real mess. ... The music was good but the group was showing signs of wear and tear. The meetings, the drugs, the partying and the arguments had beaten us all up, and it was hard to have a positive attitude when the project was finally finished. ... Was this the record that the public was waiting for, or was it just the waste of seven sick minds? I had never experienced this kind of emotional rollercoaster before, and I have never forgotten the sounds, smells and tastes that came with it. I guess that was what they meant: Eat to the Beat.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Blondie-Eat-To-The-Beat/release/927584|title=Blondie – Eat To The Beat (2001, CD)|access-date=May 23, 2021|website=Discogs.com}}}}

The 2001 remaster was again reissued in 2007 (June 26 in the USA; 2 July in the UK) without the four bonus tracks. Included instead was a DVD of the long-since deleted Eat to the Beat video album, marking the first time it had been made available on the DVD format.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Ruhlmann|first=William|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/eat-to-the-beat-mw0000011468|title=Eat to the Beat – Blondie|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=July 28, 2020}}

| rev2 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|chapter=Blondie|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|location=London|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3score = B{{cite magazine|last=Weingarten|first=Marc|title=Blondie: Blondie / Plastic Letters / Parallel Lines / Eat to the Beat / Autoamerican / The Hunter|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|location=New York|date=September 21, 2001|page=85}}

| rev4 = Q

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Blondie: Eat to the Beat|magazine=Q|location=London|issue=182|date=October 2001|page=143}}

| rev5 = Rolling Stone

| rev5score = N/A{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Debra Rae|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/blondie/albums/album/210132/review/6067915/eat_to_the_beat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626131046/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/blondie/albums/album/210132/review/6067915/eat_to_the_beat|title=Further Listening|date=November 29, 1979|access-date=January 14, 2025|archive-date=June 26, 2007|url-status=dead}}

| rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev6score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book|last1=Coleman|first1=Mark|last2=Berger|first2=Arion|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-link=Christian Hoard|chapter=Blondie|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA85|access-date=September 23, 2011|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/85 85–86]}}

| rev7 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev7score = 7/10{{cite book|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|chapter=Blondie|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|publisher=Vintage Books|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=49–50}}

| rev8 = Uncut

| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Blondie: Eat to the Beat|magazine=Uncut|location=London|page=90|quote=[A] consistent thrill-ride of imaginative, hyperactive pop.}}

| rev9 = The Village Voice

| rev9score = A−{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv11-79.php|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide|newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York|date=October 29, 1979|access-date=September 7, 2016}}

}}

Reviewing Eat to the Beat in 1979, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau felt that the record was not "a tour de force" like Blondie's previous album Parallel Lines and expressed reservations about "the overarching fatalism" of its lyrics, but noted that he liked "the way the lyrics depart from pop bohemia to speak directly to the mass audience they're reaching. And Debbie just keeps getting better." Debra Rae Cohen of Rolling Stone found the album "not only ambitious in its range of styles, but also unexpectedly and vibrantly compelling without sacrificing any of the group's urbane, modish humor."{{cite magazine|last=Cohen|first=Debra Rae|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/eat-to-the-beat-100953/|title=Eat To The Beat|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=New York|issue=305|date=November 29, 1979|access-date=July 28, 2020}} A review in People observed that the band sounded "less raw but still fresh."{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-eat-to-the-beat-vol-12-no-22/|title=Picks and Pans Review: Eat to the Beat|magazine=People|location=New York|volume=12|issue=22|date=November 26, 1979|access-date=July 28, 2020}} David Hepworth, writing in Smash Hits, praised it as a "brasher, more rocking follow-up... as hard and shiny as glass and I love it."{{cite magazine|last=Hepworth|first=David|author-link=David Hepworth|title=Albums|magazine=Smash Hits|location=London|volume=1|issue=22|date=October 4–17, 1979|page=29}} Eat to the Beat was voted the 17th best album of 1979 in The Village Voice{{'}}s year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.{{cite news|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres79.php|title=The 1979 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll|newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York|date=January 28, 1980|access-date=November 2, 2020}}

In a retrospective review, William Ruhlmann of AllMusic viewed Eat to the Beat as a "secondhand" version of Parallel Lines, finding that its similar attempts at "rock/disco fusion" were less effective, while "elsewhere, the band just tried to cover too many stylistic bases." In contrast, BBC Music writer Chris Jones opined that Blondie had successfully expanded on the sound of Parallel Lines on Eat to the Beat, which he said "still sounds box fresh today", praising Mike Chapman's production expertise and the album's musical diversity.{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Chris|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/jrqv/|title=Blondie Eat To The Beat Review|publisher=BBC Music|date=July 11, 2008|access-date=November 2, 2020}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Dreaming

| writer1 = {{hlist|Deborah Harry|Chris Stein}}

| length1 = 3:02

| title2 = The Hardest Part

| writer2 = {{hlist|Harry|Stein}}

| length2 = 3:37

| title3 = Union City Blue

| writer3 = {{hlist|Harry|Nigel Harrison}}

| length3 = 3:19

| title4 = Shayla

| writer4 = Stein

| length4 = 3:51

| title5 = Eat to the Beat

| writer5 = {{hlist|Harry|Harrison}}

| length5 = 2:35

| title6 = Accidents Never Happen

| writer6 = Jimmy Destri

| length6 = 4:10

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title7 = Die Young Stay Pretty

| writer7 = {{hlist|Harry|Stein}}

| length7 = 3:37

| title8 = Slow Motion

| writer8 = {{hlist|Laura Davis|Destri}}

| length8 = 3:25

| title9 = Atomic

| writer9 = {{hlist|Harry|Destri}}

| length9 = 4:35

| title10 = Sound-A-Sleep

| writer10 = {{hlist|Harry|Stein}}

| length10 = 4:12

| title11 = Victor

| writer11 = {{hlist|Harry|Frank Infante}}

| length11 = 3:19

| title12 = Living in the Real World

| writer12 = Destri

| length12 = 2:38

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2001 CD reissue bonus tracks

| title13 = Die Young Stay Pretty

| note13 = live BBC 12/31/79, recorded live New Year's Eve '79 at The Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland

| writer13 = {{hlist|Harry|Stein}}

| length13 = 3:27

| title14 = Seven Rooms of Gloom

| note14 = live BBC 12/31/79, recorded live New Year's Eve '79 at The Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland

| writer14 = Holland–Dozier–Holland

| length14 = 2:48

| title15 = Heroes

| writer15 = {{hlist|David Bowie|Brian Eno}}

| note15 = live 1/12/80 at the Hammersmith Odeon, UK

| length15 = 6:19

| title16 = Ring of Fire

| writer16 = {{hlist|June Carter Cash|Merle Kilgore}}

| note16 = live

| length16 = 3:30

}}

1. "Eat to the Beat"
2. "The Hardest Part"
3. "Union City Blue"
4. "Slow Motion"
5. "Shayla"
6. "Die Young Stay Pretty"
7. "Accidents Never Happen"
8. "Atomic"
9. "Living in the Real World"
10. "Sound-A-Sleep"
11. "Victor"
12. "Dreaming"

Bonus videos on side two of videodisc release

1. "Heart of Glass"
2. "Picture This"
3. "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"
4. "Hanging on the Telephone"

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Eat to the Beat.{{cite AV media notes |title=Eat to the Beat |type=liner notes |others=Blondie |publisher=Chrysalis Records |year=1979 |id=CHE 1225}}

• Clem Burke – drums
• Jimmy Destri – keyboards, backing vocals on "Die Young Stay Pretty" and "Victor"
• Nigel Harrison – bass guitar
• Deborah Harry – vocals
• Frank Infante – guitars, backing vocals on "Die Young Stay Pretty" and "Victor"
• Chris Stein – guitars

• Ellie Greenwich – backing vocals on "Dreaming" and "Atomic"
• Lorna Luft – backing vocals on "Accidents Never Happen" and "Slow Motion"
• Donna Destri – backing vocals on "Living in the Real World"
• Mike Chapman – backing vocals on "Die Young Stay Pretty" and "Victor", count-in vocal on "Living in the Real World"{{cite AV media notes |title=Against the Odds 1974–1982 |type=liner notes |others=Blondie |publisher=Capitol, Universal |year=2022 |id=00602508760969}}
• Randy Hennes – harmonica on "Eat to the Beat"

• Mike Chapman – production
• Dave Tickle – engineering
• Peter Coleman – engineering
• Steve Hall – mastering at MCA Whitney Studios (Glendale, California)
• Kevin Flaherty – production (2001 reissue)

• Norman Seeff – photography, design
• John Van Hamersveld – typography, design
• Billy Bass – art direction

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Eat to the Beat}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Blondie|title=Eat to the Beat|type=album|award=Platinum|certyear=1981|relyear=1979|certref={{cite magazine|url=https://i.imgur.com/HmFDCnW.jpg|title=Platinum and Gold Albums 1980|magazine=Kent Music Report|issue=341|date=January 5, 1981|via=Imgur}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Blondie|title=Eat to the Beat|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=1980|relyear=1979|access-date=June 1, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1979|region=Denmark|artist=Blondie|title=Eat to the Beat|certyear=1980|award=Gold|certref={{cite web |url=https://honormusicawards.com/blondie-eat-to-the-beat-1980-danish-gold-record-award/|date=20 December 2020|title=Blondie "Eat To The Beat" 1980 Danish Gold Record Award}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|source=oldchart|artist=Blondie|title=Eat to the Beat|type=album|award=Gold|id=2898|relyear=1979|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601191552/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=2898|archive-date=2019-06-01|access-date=June 1, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Blondie|title=Eat to the Beat|type=album|award=Platinum|certyear=1979|relyear=1979|date=October 25, 1979|id=2002-804-2|salesamount=500,000|salesref={{cite book|title=Million Selling Records from the 1900s to the 1980s: An Illustrated Directory|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL120558W/Million_selling_records_from_the_1900s_to_the_1980s|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1985 |publisher=Arco Pub.|quote=Blondie's second big-selling album, again produced by Mike Chapman. It was No 1 in Britain on the first week of release, and sold over half million, in addition to a million or more in the U.S.A.|isbn=0668064595|page=470}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Blondie|title=Eat to the Beat|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1979|certyear=1980|date=July 10, 1980|access-date=June 1, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{Reflist}}

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• {{cite book |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |edition=illustrated |location=St Ives, N.S.W. |publisher=Australian Chart Book |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}

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{{Blondie|state=expanded}}

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Category:1979 albums

Category:1979 video albums

Category:Albums produced by Mike Chapman

Category:Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios

Category:Albums recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo

Category:Albums with cover art by John Van Hamersveld

Category:Blondie (band) albums

Category:Chrysalis Records albums