Parallel Lines by Blondie

Parallel Lines, Blondie's third album, came out on Chrysalis in 1978, and it's the sound of an American band turning its edge into pure, gleaming pop. Mike Chapman produced it at the Record Plant, and the sound glints from end to end without losing the attitude underneath.

It's a record that pulls off an impressive trick: it's new wave, power pop, post-punk and straight pop rock all at once, and every song sounds like a single. "Hanging on the Telephone" crackles with nervous, jittery energy, "One Way or Another" stalks along on a menacing, circling riff, "Picture This" and "Sunday Girl" shimmer with girl-group sweetness, and "Pretty Baby" swoons. Then there's "Heart of Glass", which rides a pulsing, disco-flavored beat and a cool, floating vocal, and became the album's international smash.

It was a hit with critics and buyers alike right out of the gate. In Britain it went to number one in February 1979, and in America it finally broke the band, climbing to number six on the Billboard 200 that April and landing at number nine on the year-end pop albums chart for 1979.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.