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{{about|the Blondie album|the geometry term|Parallel (geometry)|other uses}}
{{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}
| Name = Parallel Lines
{{Infobox album
| Type = studio
| Artist = [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]]
| name = Parallel Lines
| Cover = Blondie - Parallel Lines.jpg
| type = studio
| Released = {{start date|1978|9|23}}
| artist = [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]]
| cover = Blondie - Parallel Lines.png
| Recorded = June–July 1978 at Record Plant, [[New York City|New York]]
| Genre = [[New Wave music|New Wave]]
| border = yes
| alt = The band members of Blondie standing behind a black and white wall. Debbie Harry (standing center right, with her clenched hands on her hips) is seen wearing a white dress while the rest of the band wears business suits with a black tie.
| Length = 38:11
| released = September 23, 1978
| Label = [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]] (CHR 1192)
| Producer = [[Mike Chapman]]
| recorded = June–July 1978
| studio = [[Record Plant]] (New York City)
| Reviews =
| genre = {{hlist|[[New wave music|New wave]]|[[pop rock]]|[[power pop]]|[[disco]]}}
* [[All Music Guide]] {{rating-5|5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3x62mpv39ffo link]
| length = 39:06
* [[Q magazine|Q]] {{Rating-5|4}}
| label = [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]]
* [[Robert Christgau]] (A) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Blondie link]
| producer = [[Mike Chapman]]
* [[Rolling Stone]] {{Rating-5|4.5}}
| Last album = ''[[Plastic Letters]]''<br />(1977)
| prev_title = [[Plastic Letters]]
| prev_year = 1977
| This album = '''''Parallel Lines'''''<br />(1978)
| Next album = ''[[Eat to the Beat]]''<br />(1979)
| next_title = [[Eat to the Beat]]
| next_year = 1979
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Parallel Lines
| type = studio
| single1 = [[Picture This (Blondie song)|Picture This]]
| single1date = August 1978
| single2 = [[I'm Gonna Love You Too#Blondie version|I'm Gonna Love You Too]]
| single2date = September 1978
| single3 = [[Hanging on the Telephone]]
| single3date = October 30, 1978
| single4 = [[Heart of Glass (song)|Heart of Glass]]
| single4date = January 3, 1979
| single5 = [[Sunday Girl]]
| single5date = May 1979
| single6 = [[One Way or Another]]
| single6date = May 14, 1979
}}
}}
}}


'''''Parallel Lines''''' is the third studio album by [[United States|American]] [[New Wave music|New Wave]] band [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], released in 1979 on [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]] records. Their most popular and best selling effort, ''Parallel Lines'' was the first Blondie album to be produced by [[Mike Chapman]]. The album reached number one in the [[United Kingdom]] in September 1978. It contains several of the best-known Blondie hits, including "[[Heart of Glass (song)|Heart of Glass]]," "[[Hanging on the Telephone]]", "[[Sunday Girl]]" and "[[One Way or Another]]"—six of the twelve tracks were issued as singles, either in the U.S. or the UK. ''Parallel Lines'' is ranked at number 140 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s list of the [[500 greatest albums of all time]].<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/2 The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : Rolling Stone]</ref>
'''''Parallel Lines''''' is the third studio album by American [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], released on September 23, 1978, by [[Chrysalis Records]] to international commercial success. The album reached No. 1 on the [[UK Albums Chart]] in February 1979 and proved to be the band's commercial breakthrough in the United States, where it reached No. 6 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] in April 1979. In ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine, ''Parallel Lines'' was listed at No. 9 in its top pop albums year-end chart of 1979. The album spawned several successful singles, notably the international hit "[[Heart of Glass (song)|Heart of Glass]]".


==History==
==Background==
{{Quote box
In [[Euclidian geometry]], parallel lines are unique in that they don't connect: most, if not all, of the songs in this album are about two people who can't connect in some fashion, usually romantically. Although the inner sleeve for the record features what appears to be lyrics for a song called "Parallel Lines", and even though it is the album title, no such song exists. "Parallel Lines" was a poem written by [[Deborah Harry]], but it was never set to music.
|quote = "Musically, Blondie were hopelessly horrible when we first began rehearsing for ''Parallel Lines'', and in terms of my attitude they didn't know what had hit them. I basically went in there like Adolf Hitler and said, 'You are going to make a great record, and that means you're going to start playing better.'"
|align = right
|width = 25em
|source = —[[Mike Chapman]], in an interview for ''[[Sound on Sound]]'', recalling Blondie's initial musical inexperience<ref name="sound"/>
}}


Blondie's second studio album, ''[[Plastic Letters]]'' (1978), was their last album produced by [[Richard Gottehrer]], whose sound had formed the basis of Blondie's [[new wave music|new wave]] and [[punk rock|punk]] output. During a tour of the [[West Coast of the United States|west coast of the US]] in support of ''Plastic Letters'', Blondie encountered Australian producer [[Mike Chapman]] in California. Peter Leeds, Blondie's manager, conspired with Chrysalis Records to encourage Chapman to work with Blondie on new music. Drummer [[Clem Burke]] recalls feeling enthusiastic about the proposition, believing Chapman could create innovative and eclectic records. However, lead vocalist [[Debbie Harry]] was far less enthusiastic about Chapman's involvement as she knew him only by reputation; according to Chapman, her animosity towards him was because "they were New York. [He] was L.A.". Harry's cautiousness abated after she played Chapman early cuts of "Heart of Glass" and "Sunday Girl" and he was impressed.<ref name=porter>{{cite book|last1=Porter|first1=Dick|last2=Needs|first2=Kris|author-link2=Kris Needs|title=Blondie: Parallel Lives|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=1st|year=2012|isbn=9781780381299}}</ref>
After the worldwide success of the single "[[Heart of Glass (song)|Heart of Glass]]", Chrysalis Records re-issued the album with the extended 12" disco version of the song (5:50) replacing the original (3:52). Subsequent re-issues in the 80s, 90s and 2000s of the ''Parallel Lines'' album usually contain the 12" mix while the original album version has become something of a rarity.


==Recording==
The U.S. DCC Compact Classics Gold CD re-issue of "Parallel Lines" in 1994 [GSZ 1062] included both the original version as well as the extended version as a bonus track. This issue—probably the best packaged with full album lyrics and all original album cover/label artwork—is quite hard to find and has recently commanded a $100/£50 tag on [[eBay]].
In June 1978 the band entered the [[Record Plant]] in New York to record their third album, and first with Chapman.<ref name="porter"/> However, Chapman found the band difficult to work with, remembering them as the worst band he ever worked with in terms of musical ability, although praising [[Frank Infante]] as "an amazing guitarist". Sessions with Chris Stein were hampered by his being stoned during recording, and Chapman encouraged him to write songs rather than play guitar. Similarly, according to Chapman, [[Jimmy Destri]] would prove himself to be far better at songwriting than as a keyboardist, and [[Clem Burke]] had poor timing playing drums. As a result, Chapman spent time improving the band, especially Stein with whom Chapman spent hours rerecording his parts to ensure they were right.<ref name="sound"/> Bassist [[Nigel Harrison]] became so frustrated with Chapman's drive for perfection that he threw a synthesizer at him during recording.<ref name="porter"/> Chapman recalls the atmosphere at the Record Plant in an interview for ''Sound on Sound'':


{{blockquote|The Blondies were tough in the studio, real tough. None of them liked each other, except Chris and Debbie, and there was so much animosity. They were really, really juvenile in their approach to life—a classic New York underground rock band—and they didn't give a fuck about anything. They just wanted to have fun and didn't want to work too hard getting it.<ref name="sound"/>}}
''Parallel Lines'' was ranked 94th in a 2005 survey held by British television's [[Channel 4]] to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. {{RS500|140}}


Chapman took an unorthodox approach when recording with Harry whom he describes as "a great singer and a great vocal stylist, with a beautifully identifiable voice. However&nbsp;... also very moody". Chapman was far more cautious of demanding much from Harry as he saw her as a highly emotional person who would vest these emotions in the songs they made. He remembers Harry disappearing into the bathroom in tears for several hours at a time during recording.<ref name=sound>{{cite magazine|last=Buskin|first=Richard|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun08/articles/classictracks_0608.htm|title=Blondie 'Hanging on the Telephone'|magazine=[[Sound on Sound]]|location=Cambridge|date=June 2008|access-date=July 1, 2014}}</ref> During a day of recording, Harry sang two lead parts and some harmonies, less work than she did previously with Gottehrer. This was due to Chapman encouraging her to be cautious about the way she sang, particularly to recognise phrasing, timing and attitude.<ref name="porter"/>
[[Robert Fripp]] played guitar on "Fade Away and Radiate." Fripp would also appear as a special guest as the band played London's Hammersmith Odeon in early 1980. One of the tracks performed was [[David Bowie]]'s "[[Heroes (song)|Heroes]]" and the recording was issued as the B-side to the UK 12" single "[[Atomic (song)|Atomic]]" the same year.


Blondie recorded ''Parallel Lines'' in six weeks, despite being given six months by Terry Ellis, co-founder of Chrysalis Records, to do so.<ref name="sound"/><ref name="porter"/> For the drums, a traditional set-up was used and Chapman fitted [[Georg Neumann GmbH|Neumann microphones]] to the [[tom-tom drum|toms]], [[snare drum|snare]] and [[Hi-hat (instrument)|hi-hat]], as well as several above the site. When recording, Chapman would start with the bass track, which was difficult to record at the time, by way of "pencil erasing". Chapman explained in an interview for ''Sound on Sound'', "that meant using a pencil to hold the tape away from the head and erasing up to the kick drum. If a bass part was ahead of the kick, you could erase it so that it sounded like it was on top of the kick. That's very easy to do these days, but back then it was quite a procedure just to get the bottom end sounding nice and tight." A combination DI/amp method was used to record Harrison's bass and Destri's synthesizer. Shure SM57 and AKG 414 microphones were used to capture Infante's [[Les Paul (guitar)|Les Paul guitar]].<ref name="sound"/> [[King Crimson]] leader [[Robert Fripp]] makes a guest appearance on guitar on "Fade Away and Radiate".
The album was digitally remastered and re-issued with four bonus tracks by [[EMI]]-Capitol in 2001.

After the basic track was complete, Chapman would record lead and backing vocals with Harry. However, this process was hampered by many songs not being written in time for the vocals to be recorded. "Sunday Girl", "Picture This" and "One Way Or Another" were all unfinished during the rehearsal sessions. When recording vocal parts, Chapman remembers asking Harry if she was ready to sing, only for her to reply "Yeah, just a minute" as she was still writing lyrics down. Chapman notes that many "classic" songs from the album were created this way.<ref name="sound"/>

During the last session at the Record Plant, the band were asleep on the floor only to be awakened at six o'clock in the morning by Mike Chapman and his engineer Peter Coleman leaving for Los Angeles with the tape tracks.<ref name="porter"/> Despite Blondie's belief that ''Parallel Lines'' would resonate with a wider audience, Chrysalis Records was not as enthusiastic; label executives told them to start again, only to be dissuaded by Chapman's assurance that its singles would prove popular.

== Music and lyrics ==
According to music journalist [[Robert Christgau]], ''Parallel Lines'' was a [[pop rock]] album in which Blondie achieved their "synthesis of [[the Dixie Cups]] and [[the Electric Prunes]]".<ref name="Christgau"/> Its style of "state-of-the-art pop/rock circa 1978", as [[AllMusic]]'s William Ruhlmann described it, showed Blondie deviating from [[New wave music|new wave]] and emerging as "a pure pop band".<ref name="Ruhlmann"/> [[Ken Tucker]] believed the band had eschewed the "brooding artiness" of their previous albums for more [[Hook (music)|hooks]] and [[Pop music|pop]]-oriented songs.<ref name="Tucker">{{cite magazine|last=Tucker|first=Ken|author-link=Ken Tucker|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/parallel-lines-19821103|title=Parallel Lines|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=November 3, 1982|access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref> Chapman later said, "I didn't make a [[Punk rock|punk]] album or a New Wave album with Blondie. I made a pop album."{{sfn|Bangs|1980|p=62}} The album's eleven pop songs have refined [[melodics]], and its sole [[disco]] song, "[[Heart of Glass (song)|Heart of Glass]]", features jittery keyboards, rustling [[cymbal]]s by drummer [[Clem Burke]], and a circular rhythm.<ref name="RS2000">{{cite magazine|last=Berger|first=Arion|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/blondie/albums/album/178491/review/6068366/parallel_lines|title=Blondie: Parallel Lines|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=June 8, 2000|access-date=July 25, 2016|page=129|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401183001/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/blondie/albums/album/178491/review/6068366/parallel_lines|archive-date=April 1, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Burke credited [[Kraftwerk]] and [[Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track|the soundtrack to the film ''Saturday Night Fever'']] as influences for the song and said that he was "trying to get that [[groove (music)|groove]] that [[Dennis Bryon|the drummer]] for the [[Bee Gees]] had".<ref name="RS500">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/parallel-lines-blondie-19691231|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Parallel Lines – Blondie|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=November 18, 2003|access-date=June 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220131921/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/parallel-lines-blondie-19691231|archive-date=December 20, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lyrically, ''Parallel Lines'' abandoned what ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's Arion Berger called the "cartoonish [[postmodernist]] referencing" of Blondie's previous new wave songs in favor of a "romantic fatalism" that was new for the band.<ref name="RS2000"/> "Sunday Girl" deals with the theme of teen loneliness. Music critic [[Rob Sheffield]] said that the lyric "dusty frames that still arrive / die in 1955", in "Fade Away and Radiate", is the "best lyric in any rock'n'roll song, ever, and it's still the ultimate statement of a band that always found some pleasure worth exploiting in the flashy and the temporary."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qr8zLwlIOpwC&pg=PA72|title=The Go-Go's: Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's / Blondie: The Platinum Collection|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|location=New York|volume=10|issue=10|date=January 1995|pages=72–74|issn=0886-3032|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

== Title and packaging ==
''Parallel Lines'' took its name from an unused track written by Harry, the lyrics of which were included in the first vinyl edition of the album. The cover sleeve image was photographed by Edo Bertoglio and was chosen by Blondie's manager, Peter Leeds, despite being rejected by the band. The photo shows the male members of the band posing in matching dress suits and smiling broadly in contrast to Harry who poses defiantly with her hands on her hips while wearing a white dress and high heels.<ref name="porter"/> According to music journalist Tim Peacock, the cover became "iconic – and instantly recognisable".<ref name="udiscover"/>

== Release and promotion ==
The album was released by Chrysalis in September 1978,<ref name="udiscover">{{cite web|last=Peacock|first=Tim|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/parallel-lines-blondie-album/|title=How 'Parallel Lines' Led Blondie Straight To The Top|website=uDiscover|date=September 23, 2018|access-date=December 3, 2018}}</ref> to international success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/blondie-mn0000044764/biography|title=Blondie|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=March 16, 2016}}</ref> The album entered the ''Billboard'' album chart the week ending September 23, 1978, at No. 186, reflecting retail sales during the survey period ending September 10, 1978.<ref>{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|title=Top Pop Albums 1955–2001|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbu/page/80|publisher=Record Research Inc.|location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin|year=2001|isbn=0-89820-147-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbu/page/80 80]}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, it entered [[UK Albums Chart|the albums chart]] at No.13, eventually reaching the no.1 spot in February 1979 after the band had scored hits with the singles "Picture This" (UK #12), "Hanging on the Telephone" (UK #5), and "Heart of Glass" (UK #1). "Sunday Girl" was released in the UK as a fourth single from the album in May 1979 and also reached no.1, and ''Parallel Lines'' became the UK's biggest selling album of the year. Blondie embarked on a sold-out tour of the UK and appeared at an autograph signing event for [[Our Price Records]] on [[Kensington High Street]]; according to Peacock, it "descended into [[Beatlemania]]-esque chaos when the band were mobbed by thousands of fans".<ref name="udiscover"/>

''Parallel Lines'' was also a commercial success elsewhere in Europe, Australia, and the United States, where the band had struggled to sell their previous records. "Heart of Glass" became their first number-one hit on the American [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], with help from a promotional video directed by [[Stanley Dorfman]] depicting Blondie in a performance of the song at a fashionable nightclub in New York. The single was "responsible for turning the band into bona fide superstars", Peacock said.

== Reception and legacy ==
{{Music ratings
| title = Retrospective professional ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Ruhlmann">{{cite web|last=Ruhlmann|first=William|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/parallel-lines-mw0000011984|title=Parallel Lines – Blondie|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=June 30, 2014}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Weiner|first=Jonah|url=http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_1357.html|title=Blondie: Parallel Lines|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|location=New York|access-date=July 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818044445/http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_1357.html|archive-date=August 18, 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev3score = A<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|chapter=Blondie: Parallel Lines|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=347|access-date=June 30, 2014|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=[[Ticknor and Fields]]|year=1981|isbn=0-89919-026-X}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{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}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev5score = B<ref>{{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}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev6score = 9.7/10<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web|last=Plagenhoef|first=Scott|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12058-parallel-lines-deluxe-edition/|title=Blondie: Parallel Lines: Deluxe Edition|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=August 1, 2008|access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="qmag">{{cite magazine|title=Blondie: Parallel Lines|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|issue=182|date=October 2001|page=143}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="RS2000"/>
| rev9 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev9score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{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]}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Slant Magazine]]''
| rev10score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name=slant>{{cite web|last=Cinquemani|first=Sal|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/blondie-parallel-lines/339|title=Blondie: Parallel Lines|website=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=October 7, 2003|access-date=June 30, 2014}}</ref>
| rev11 = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev11score = 10/10<ref>{{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}}</ref>
}}
The album was met with universal acclaim from critics.<ref name="udiscover"/> Writing in ''[[The Village Voice]]'' in 1978, Robert Christgau said although Blondie still could not write a perfect hit single, the record was a consistent improvement over ''[[Plastic Letters]]''.<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv10-78.php|title=Consumer Guide|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|date=October 30, 1978|access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> Years later, he wrote in ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' that it was "a perfect album in 1978" and remained so with "every song memorable, distinct, well-shaped and over before you get antsy. Never again did singer Deborah Harry, mastermind Chris Stein and their able four-man cohort nail the band's signature paradoxes with such unfailing flair: lowbrow class, tender sarcasm, pop rock."<ref name="Blender">{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bl/blondie-08.php|title=Blondie: Parallel Lines|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|location=New York|issue=73|date=September 2008|access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' critic [[John Rockwell]] named ''Parallel Lines'' the eighth best album of 1978.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=John|author-link=John Rockwell|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/22/archives/the-pop-life-one-critics-top-10-for-1978.html|title=The Pop Life|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 22, 1978|access-date=May 26, 2020}}</ref> Daryl Easlea from [[BBC Music]], who felt the record combined [[power pop]] and new wave styles, credited Mike Chapman's production and flair for pop songwriting for helping make ''Parallel Lines'' an extremely popular album in the United Kingdom, where it was a number-one hit and charted for 106 weeks during the late 1970s.<ref name=bbc>{{cite web|last=Easlea|first=Daryl|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/mf54|title=Blondie Parallel Lines Review|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|year=2007|access-date=June 30, 2014}}</ref> ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine called the album "a [[crossover (music)|crossover]] smash with sparkling guitar sounds, terrific hooks and [[Thirty-two-bar form#Middle eight|middle-eight]]s more memorable than some groups' choruses."<ref name="qmag"/>

In a retrospective appraisal of 1970s [[post-punk]] albums, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' magazine's [[Sasha Frere-Jones]] said ''Parallel Lines'' may have been "the perfect pop-rock record" and Blondie's best album.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Frere-Jones|first=Sasha|author-link=Sasha Frere-Jones|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-qexhnZaukC&pg=PA137|title=Destination Unknown|magazine=Spin|location=New York|volume=17|issue=11|date=November 2001|page=137|issn=0886-3032|via=Google Books}}</ref> Christian John Wikane from ''[[PopMatters]]'' later called it "a creative and commercial masterpiece by Blondie&nbsp;... indisputably one of the great, classic albums of the rock and roll era."<ref>{{cite web|last=Wikane|first=Christian John|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/blondie-parallel-lines/|title=Blondie: Parallel Lines|website=[[PopMatters]]|date=July 3, 2008|access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> In the opinion of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' critic Scott Plagenhoef, the album popularized "the look and sound of 1980s new wave" with classic songs that showcased the depth and complexity of Harry's sexuality and singing.<ref name="pitchfork"/> Sal Cinquemani from ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' was also impressed by her singing, which he felt varied from "purring like a kitten and then building to a mean growl", and cited "Heart of Glass" as the album's best track because of her "honey-dipped vocal".<ref name="slant"/>

In 2000, ''Parallel Lines'' was voted number 57 in [[Colin Larkin]]'s book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|edition=3rd|year=2000|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=61}}</ref> Three years later, it was ranked at number 140 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]],<ref name="RS500"/> maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and moved slightly down to number 146 in the 2020 revision;<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/blondie-parallel-lines-2-165743/|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=May 31, 2012|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/blondie-parallel-lines-3-1063087/ | title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=December 31, 2023 }}</ref> an accompanying essay said the album was "where punk and New Wave broke through to a mass U.S. audience".<ref name="RS500"/> It has also been placed at number 18 and 45 on ''[[NME]]''{{'}}s 100 Best Albums of All Time (2003)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timepieces.nl/chart/18863/2003-nme-writers-all-time-top-100-albums|title=NME Writers' All Time Top 100 Albums|website=timepieces.nl|date=March 2003|access-date=July 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917003950/http://timepieces.nl/chart/18863/2003-nme-writers-all-time-top-100-albums|archive-date=September 17, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] (2013) lists,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-100-1-1426116|title=The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 100–1|magazine=[[NME]]|location=London|date=October 25, 2013|access-date=October 19, 2020}}</ref> respectively; number 7 on ''Blender''{{'}}s 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time;<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.blender.com/photos/55659/100-greatest-american-albums-all-time.html|title=100 Greatest American Albums of All Time|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|location=New York|access-date=July 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112105049/http://www.blender.com/photos/55659/100-greatest-american-albums-all-time.html|archive-date=November 12, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> number 94 on [[Channel 4]]'s 2005 list of the 100 greatest albums of all time;<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/radiohead-top-c4-albums-poll/027921|title=Radiohead top C4 albums poll|magazine=[[Music Week]]|location=London|date=April 18, 2005|access-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref> and number 76 on ''Pitchfork''{{'}}s list of the best albums from the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/?page=3|title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=June 23, 2004|access-date=August 22, 2017|page=3}}</ref>

===Accolades===
In 2024, "Parallel Lines" was selected for preservation in the [[National Recording Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{Cite web| title=National Recording Registry Inducts Sounds of ABBA, Blondie, The Cars, The Chicks, Juan Gabriel, Green Day, The Notorious B.I.G. and Lily Tomlin| url=https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/national-recording-registry-inducts-sounds-of-abba--blondie--the-cars--the-chicks--juan-gabriel/s/29ee4224-3060-4247-a7a4-7deea2c2f816 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=LOC.gov |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref><ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/abba-blondie-notorious-big-national-recording-registry/ ABBA, Blondie, The Notorious B.I.G. among 2024's additions to National Recording Registry - CBS News]</ref>

== Reissues ==
The album was reissued and [[remaster]]ed in 2001 along with Blondie's back catalog, and featured four bonus tracks: a 1978 demo of "Heart of Glass", a live cover of [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]]'s song "[[Get It On (T. Rex song)|Bang a Gong (Get It On)]]", and two live tracks taken from the ''[[Picture This Live]]'' live album.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deborah-harry.com/discography/parallelal.php|title=Parallel Lines [album]|website=deborah-harry.com|access-date=February 4, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140204202103/http://www.deborah-harry.com/discography/parallelal.php|archive-date=February 4, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

On June 24, 2008, an expanded 30th Anniversary Edition of the album was released,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1045344/blondie-celebrating-30th-birthday-of-parallel-lines|title=Blondie Celebrating 30th Birthday Of 'Parallel Lines'|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=May 20, 2008|access-date=February 4, 2014}}</ref> which featured new artwork<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deborah-harry.com/?p=629|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140204202052/http://www.deborah-harry.com/?p=629|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 4, 2014|title='Parallel Lines' 30th Anniversary collector's edition artwork|website=deborah-harry.com|access-date=February 4, 2014}}</ref> and bonus tracks along with bonus [[DVD]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deborah-harry.com/press/pll.php|title='Parallel Lines' 30th anniversary collector's edition press release (May 2008)|website=deborah-harry.com|access-date=February 4, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140204202128/http://www.deborah-harry.com/press/pll.php|archive-date=February 4, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The liner notes once again featured lyrics to the unfinished "Parallel Lines" song. The ''Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Edition'' included the 7″ single version of "Heart of Glass", the French version of "Sunday Girl" and some remixes, plus a DVD with albums, promo videos and TV performance.

The band also launched a [[Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour|world tour of the same name]] to promote the re-release and celebrate the event.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1045481/blondie-to-fete-parallel-lines-30th-anniversary-with-tour-reissue|title=Blondie To Fete 'Parallel Lines' 30th Anniversary With Tour, Reissue|magazine=Billboard|date=May 7, 2008|access-date=January 31, 2014}}</ref>


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
{{Track listing
;Side one
| headline = Side one
#"[[Hanging on the Telephone]]" ([[Jack Lee]]) – 2:17
| title1 = [[Hanging on the Telephone]]
#"[[One Way or Another]]" ([[Nigel Harrison]], [[Deborah Harry]]) – 3:31
| note1 = [[The Nerves]] cover
#"[[Picture This (song)|Picture This]]" (Destri, Harry, Stein) – 2:53
| writer1 = [[Jack Lee (musician)|Jack Lee]]
#"Fade Away and Radiate" (Stein) – 3:57
| length1 = 2:17
#"Pretty Baby" (Harry, Stein) – 3:16
| title2 = [[One Way or Another]]
#"I Know But I Don't Know" ([[Frank Infante]]) – 3:53
| writer2 = {{hlist|[[Debbie Harry|Deborah Harry]]|[[Nigel Harrison]]}}
| length2 = 3:31
| title3 = [[Picture This (Blondie song)|Picture This]]
| writer3 = {{hlist|Harry|[[Chris Stein]]|[[Jimmy Destri]]}}
| length3 = 2:53
| title4 = Fade Away and Radiate
| writer4 = Stein
| length4 = 3:57
| title5 = Pretty Baby
| writer5 = {{hlist|Harry|Stein}}
| length5 = 3:16
| title6 = I Know but I Don't Know
| writer6 = [[Frank Infante]]
| length6 = 3:53
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title7 = 11:59
| writer7 = Destri
| length7 = 3:19
| title8 = Will Anything Happen?
| writer8 = Lee
| length8 = 2:55
| title9 = [[Sunday Girl]]
| writer9 = Stein
| length9 = 3:01
| title10 = [[Heart of Glass (song)|Heart of Glass]]
| writer10 = {{hlist|Harry|Stein}}
| length10 = 3:54
| title11 = [[I'm Gonna Love You Too]]
| note11 = [[Buddy Holly]] cover
| writer11 = {{hlist|[[Joe B. Mauldin]]|[[Niki Sullivan]]|[[Norman Petty]]}}
| length11 = 2:03
| title12 = Just Go Away
| writer12 = Harry
| length12 = 3:21
}}


{{Track listing
;Side two
| headline = 2001 remastered reissue bonus tracks
#<li value=7> "11:59" (Destri) – 3:19
| title13 = Once I Had a Love (aka The Disco Song)
# "Will Anything Happen" ([[Jack Lee]]) – 2:55
| note13 = 1978 version) (recorded June 3, 1978, at The Record Plant, NYC<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Against the Odds 1974–1982 |type=liner notes |others=[[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] |publisher=[[Capitol Records|Capitol]], [[Universal Music Group|Universal]] |year=2022 |id=00602508760969}}</ref>
# "[[Sunday Girl]]" (Stein) – 3:01
| writer13 = {{hlist|Harry|Stein}}
# "[[Heart of Glass (song)|Heart of Glass]]" (Harry, Stein) – 3:52 (later editions 12" Disco Mix - 5:50)
| length13 = 3:18
# "[[I'm Gonna Love You Too]]" ([[Joe B. Mauldin]], [[Norman Petty]], [[Niki Sullivan]]) – 2:03
| title14 = [[Get It On (T. Rex song)|Bang a Gong (Get It On)]]
# "Just Go Away" (Harry) – 3:21
| note14 = recorded live November 4, 1978, at [[Paradise Rock Club|The Paradise]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts|MA]]
| writer14 = [[Marc Bolan]]
| length14 = 5:30
| title15 = I Know but I Don't Know
| note15 = recorded live November 6, 1978, at the [[Walnut Street Theatre|Walnut Theatre]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]
| writer15 = Infante
| length15 = 4:35
| title16 = Hanging on the Telephone
| note16 = recorded live 1980 in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]
| writer16 = Lee
| length16 = 2:21
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2008 deluxe collector's edition bonus tracks
| title13 = Heart of Glass
| note13 = 7″ single version
| length13 = 4:10
| title14 = Sunday Girl
| note14 = French version) (from "Sunday Girl" 12″ single
| length14 = 3:04
| title15 = Hanging on the Telephone
| note15 = Nosebleed Handbag Remix) (from ''[[Beautiful: The Remix Album]]''
| length15 = 6:14
| title16 = Fade Away and Radiate
| note16 = 108 BPM Remix) (from ''Beautiful: The Remix Album''
| length16 = 5:16
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2008 deluxe collector's edition bonus DVD
| title1 = Heart of Glass
| title2 = Hanging on the Telephone
| title3 = Picture This
| title4 = Sunday Girl
| note4 = live on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2010 ''[[Mail on Sunday]]'' promo bonus tracks
| title13 = What I Heard
| writer13 = {{hlist|[[Matt Katz-Bohen]]|Laurel Katz-Bohen}}
| length13 = 3:15
| title14 = Girlie Girlie
| writer14 = {{hlist|Anthony Davis|Lloyd Douglas|Steve Golding}}
| note14 = [[Sophia George]] cover
| length14 = 3:25
}}


===Notes===
;2001 reissue bonus tracks
* The album version of "Heart of Glass" was replaced with the disco version (5:50 long) on pressings of the album from March 1979 onward. The original length version of "Heart of Glass" appeared on the original US CD release in 1985 (Chrysalis VK 41192, later F2 21192) although the CD artwork proclaimed it was the disco version. Later editions of the Capitol disc had the mistake removed from the inlay but it remained on the disc until its deletion. The 1994 DCC Compact Classics Gold CD release (Capitol Special Markets USA GSZ 1062) features the original version with the disco version as a bonus track.
#<li value=13> "Once I Had a Love (a.k.a. The Disco Song)" (1978 demo) (Harry, Stein) – 3:18
* A promotional CD of the album was given away free with the British newspaper ''[[The Mail on Sunday]]'' on December 5, 2010, including the bonus tracks "What I Heard" and "Girlie Girlie" from the band's 2011 album ''[[Panic of Girls]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blondie.net/blog/free-download-of-mother-now-available/ |title=Free download of "Mother" now available! |website=blondie.net |date=December 5, 2010 |access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref>
# "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" (live) ([[Marc Bolan]]) – 5:30
# "I Know But I Don't Know" (live) (Frank Infante) – 4:35
# "Hanging on the Telephone" (live) (Jack Lee) – 2:21


==Personnel==
==Personnel==
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Parallel Lines''.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Parallel Lines |type=liner notes |others=[[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] |publisher=[[Chrysalis Records]] |year=1978 |id=CHR 1192}}</ref>
* [[Deborah Harry]] – [[vocals]]

* [[Chris Stein]] – [[guitar]], 12-string guitar, E-bow
===Blondie===
* [[Frank Infante]] – guitar
* [[Jimmy Destri]] – [[keyboards]]
* [[Jimmy Destri]] – electronic keyboards
* [[Nigel Harrison]] – [[bass guitar]]
* [[Frank Infante]] – guitar, co-lead vocals on "I Know but I Don't Know"
* [[Chris Stein]] – guitar, [[Twelve-string guitar|12-string]], [[EBow|E-bow]]
* [[Clem Burke]] – [[drums]]
* [[Nigel Harrison]] – bass
* [[Clem Burke]] – [[Premier Percussion|Premier]] drums
* [[Deborah Harry]] – vocals

===Additional personnel===
* [[Robert Fripp]] – guitar on "Fade Away and Radiate"
* [[Robert Fripp]] – guitar on "Fade Away and Radiate"
* [[Mike Chapman]] – production, backing vocals on "Hanging on the Telephone"{{efn|In the documentary ''Blondie's New York... and the Making of Parallel Lines'' (2014), Mike Chapman states his additional vocals were overdubbed to the outro of the song. He also proves this by playing the master track isolated during the interview in his studio.}} and "Heart of Glass"<ref>{{cite web|last1=Spiegel|first1=Amy Rose|last2=Shipley|first2=Ken|url=https://numerogroup.com/blogs/stories/blondie-once-i-had-a-love|title=Blondie: Once I Had a Love|website=[[The Numero Group]]|date=July 2018|access-date=August 21, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Mike Chapman]] – [[record producer]]
* Pete Coleman – production assistance, engineering
* Kevin Flaherty – 2002 reissue producer
* Grey Russell – engineering assistance
* Steve Hall – mastering at MCA Whitney Studio ([[Glendale, California]])
* [[Edo Bertoglio]] – photography
* Ramey Communications – art direction, design
* Frank Duarte – illustration
* Jerry Rodriguez – lettering
* Kevin Flaherty – production (2001 reissue)


==Chart positions==
==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
* UK: 1
{{col-2|valign=Default: top}}
* USA: 6

* Australia: 2
===Weekly charts===
* Sweden: 9
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
* Austria: 24
|+ 1978–1979 weekly chart performance for ''Parallel Lines''
! scope="col"| Chart (1978–1979)
! scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]]){{sfn|Kent|1993|pp=37–38}}
| 2
|-
{{album chart|Austria|24|artist=Blondie|album=Parallel Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Canada|2|chartid=4774a|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|7|artist=Blondie|album=Parallel Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums ([[The Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Pennanen |first=Timo |title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 |language=fi |edition=1st |location=Helsinki |publisher=[[Otava (publisher)|Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-951-1-21053-5}}</ref>
| 11
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|9|id=7815|artist=Blondie|album=Parallel Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Italian Albums (''[[Musica e dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php |title=Classifiche |work=[[Musica e dischi]] |language=it |access-date=May 31, 2022}} ''Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Blondie" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".''</ref>
| 13
|-
{{album chart|New Zealand|3|artist=Blondie|album=Parallel Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|16|artist=Blondie|album=Parallel Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|-
! scope="row"| Portuguese Albums (''Música & Som'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CCQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT140 |title=Hits of the World |magazine=Billboard |volume=91 |issue=23 |date=June 9, 1979 |page=95 |issn=0006-2510 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
| 7
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|9|artist=Blondie|album=Parallel Lines|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|1|date=19790211|rowheader=true|access-date=February 21, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|6|artist=Blondie|rowheader=true|access-date=July 6, 2017}}
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2018 weekly chart performance for ''Parallel Lines''
! scope="col"| Chart (2018)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|29|date=20180616|rowheader=true|access-date=June 16, 2018}}
|-
! scope="row"| UK Physical Albums (OCC)<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/physical-albums-chart/20180615/2/|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
| 33
|-
! scope="row"| UK Vinyl Albums (OCC)<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/vinyl-albums-chart/20180615/9/|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
| 4
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2023 weekly chart performance for ''Parallel Lines''
|-
! Chart 2023 !! Peak Position
|-
| Greek Charts Top 75 Albums Sales<ref>{{cite web |title=Official IFPI Charts Top-75 Albums Sales Chart |url=https://www.ifpi.gr/charts_el.html |website=IFPI |access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref>|| 10
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1978 year-end chart performance for ''Parallel Lines''
! scope="col"| Chart (1978)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1978&cat=a |title=Jaaroverzichten – Album 1978 |language=nl |publisher=[[Dutch Charts]] |access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
| 49
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums ([[British Market Research Bureau Limited|BMRB]])<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Scaping |editor-first=Peter |chapter=Top 200 LPs in 1978 |title=BPI Year Book 1979 |edition=4th |location=London |publisher=[[British Phonographic Industry]] |year=1979 |pages=182–85 |isbn=0-906154-02-2}}</ref>
| 38
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1979 year-end chart performance for ''Parallel Lines''
! scope="col"| Chart (1979)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report){{sfn|Kent|1993|p=431}}
| 12
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Top Albums/CDs (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6920&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6920.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6920 |title=1979 Top 100 Albums |magazine=RPM |volume=32 |issue=13 |date=December 22, 1979 |issn=0315-5994 |via=Library and Archives Canada}}</ref>
| 27
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/album-jahr/for-date-1979 |title=Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1979 |publisher=GfK Entertainment |language=de |access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
| 17
|-
! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=3868 |title=Top Selling Albums of 1979 |publisher=[[Recorded Music NZ]] |access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref>
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (BMRB)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top Albums 1979 |magazine=[[Music Week]] |date=December 22, 1979 |page=30 |issn=0265-1548}}</ref>
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1979/top-billboard-200-albums |title=Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1979 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522180416/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1979/top-billboard-200-albums |archive-date=May 22, 2020}}</ref>
| 9
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1980 year-end chart performance for ''Parallel Lines''
! scope="col"| Chart (1980)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (BMRB)<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/80s/81/Record-Mirror-1981-04-04-OCR.pdf |title=Chart File – Top 100 Albums 1980 |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=April 4, 1981 |page=38<!-- 37 in PDF file --> |issn=0144-5804 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
| 42
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1980/top-billboard-200-albums |title=Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1980 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202132800/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1980/top-billboard-200-albums |archive-date=December 2, 2020}}</ref>
| 40
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications and sales==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for ''Parallel Lines''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Blondie|title=Parallel Lines|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1978|relmonth=09|certref=<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/nirvanas-nevermind-is-one-of-many-classic-albums-that-stalled-at-no-2-on-the-australian-charts-but-why/news-story/18eb7f86d45a49cc3898474a04560157|title=Great albums to only reach number two in Australia|last=Adams|first=Cameron|date=May 13, 2015|work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]]|location=Sydney|access-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Blondie|title=Parallel Lines|type=album|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1978|relmonth=09|certyear=1980|date=June 1, 1980}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Netherlands|artist=Blondie|title=Parallel Lines|award=Gold|certyear=1979|relyear=1978|access-date=5 August 2018}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Blondie|title=Parallel Lines|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1978|id=2866|date=November 11, 1979|access-date=May 23, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Blondie|title=Parallel Lines|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1978|certyear=1979|date=February 6, 1979|salesamount=1,694,353|id=4997-804-2|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/Q/Queen/2006/11/17/2391437.html|title=Queen rules – in album sales|work=[[Jam!]]|date=November 17, 2006|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629073900/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/Q/Queen/2006/11/17/2391437.html|archive-date=June 29, 2012|first=Bill|url-status=usurped|last=Harris}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Blondie|title=Parallel Lines|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1978|certyear=1979|date=June 6, 1979|salesamount=1,500,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite news|title=La pop-star che fa impazzire i teenagers – Arriva Debbie dei Blondie|newspaper=[[La Stampa]]|page=32|date=May 25, 1981|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,32/articleid,1431_02_1981_0140_0032_24802633/|language=it|access-date=March 20, 2021|quote=Tra l'altro, il cosciente tentativo di rendere la loro musicati piii commerciale possibile ha funzionato, dal momento che solo negli Stati, Uniti ne sono state vendute un milione e mezzo di copie}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Yugoslavia|artist=Blondie|title=Parallel Lines|type=album|award=Platinum|salesamount=100,000|relyear=1978|relmonth=09|certref=<ref name=Billboard>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT73|magazine=Billboard|title=Foreign Acts Win Yugoslavia Awards|volume=94|issue=42|page=74|date=October 23, 1982|issn=0006-2510|via=Google Books}}</ref>|salesref=<ref name=Billboard/>}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|nocert=true|salesamount=16,000,000|salesref=<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fmgkb|title=Blondie's New York... and the Making of Parallel Lines|publisher=[[BBC Four]]|date=August 25, 2017|access-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref>{{Disputed inline|date=February 2021}}}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last=Bangs|first=Lester|author-link=Lester Bangs|year=1980|title=Blondie|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=0-671-25540-1}}
* {{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}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=184–185|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}
* {{cite web|last=Olliver|first=Alex|date=September 20, 2017|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-new-york-punk-albums-you-need-in-your-record-collection|title=The New York punk albums you need in your record collection|website=[[Metal Hammer|Louder]]|access-date=February 22, 2020|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027141048/https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-new-york-punk-albums-you-need-in-your-record-collection|url-status=dead}}


{{Blondie}}
{{Blondie}}
{{UK best-selling albums (by year) 1970–1989}}


{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Blondie albums]]
[[Category:1978 albums]]


[[Category:1978 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Mike Chapman]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Record Plant (New York City)]]
[[Category:Blondie (band) albums]]
[[Category:Chrysalis Records albums]]
[[Category:Chrysalis Records albums]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]

[[Category:United States National Recording Registry albums]]
[[de:Parallel Lines]]
[[hu:Parallel Lines]]
[[pl:Parallel Lines]]
[[fi:Parallel Lines]]
[[sv:Parallel Lines]]

Latest revision as of 05:28, 20 July 2024

Parallel Lines
The band members of Blondie standing behind a black and white wall. Debbie Harry (standing center right, with her clenched hands on her hips) is seen wearing a white dress while the rest of the band wears business suits with a black tie.
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 23, 1978
RecordedJune–July 1978
StudioRecord Plant (New York City)
Genre
Length39:06
LabelChrysalis
ProducerMike Chapman
Blondie chronology
Plastic Letters
(1977)
Parallel Lines
(1978)
Eat to the Beat
(1979)
Singles from Parallel Lines
  1. "Picture This"
    Released: August 1978
  2. "I'm Gonna Love You Too"
    Released: September 1978
  3. "Hanging on the Telephone"
    Released: October 30, 1978
  4. "Heart of Glass"
    Released: January 3, 1979
  5. "Sunday Girl"
    Released: May 1979
  6. "One Way or Another"
    Released: May 14, 1979

Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 23, 1978, by Chrysalis Records to international commercial success. The album reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in February 1979 and proved to be the band's commercial breakthrough in the United States, where it reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in April 1979. In Billboard magazine, Parallel Lines was listed at No. 9 in its top pop albums year-end chart of 1979. The album spawned several successful singles, notably the international hit "Heart of Glass".

Background

[edit]

"Musically, Blondie were hopelessly horrible when we first began rehearsing for Parallel Lines, and in terms of my attitude they didn't know what had hit them. I basically went in there like Adolf Hitler and said, 'You are going to make a great record, and that means you're going to start playing better.'"

Mike Chapman, in an interview for Sound on Sound, recalling Blondie's initial musical inexperience[1]

Blondie's second studio album, Plastic Letters (1978), was their last album produced by Richard Gottehrer, whose sound had formed the basis of Blondie's new wave and punk output. During a tour of the west coast of the US in support of Plastic Letters, Blondie encountered Australian producer Mike Chapman in California. Peter Leeds, Blondie's manager, conspired with Chrysalis Records to encourage Chapman to work with Blondie on new music. Drummer Clem Burke recalls feeling enthusiastic about the proposition, believing Chapman could create innovative and eclectic records. However, lead vocalist Debbie Harry was far less enthusiastic about Chapman's involvement as she knew him only by reputation; according to Chapman, her animosity towards him was because "they were New York. [He] was L.A.". Harry's cautiousness abated after she played Chapman early cuts of "Heart of Glass" and "Sunday Girl" and he was impressed.[2]

Recording

[edit]

In June 1978 the band entered the Record Plant in New York to record their third album, and first with Chapman.[2] However, Chapman found the band difficult to work with, remembering them as the worst band he ever worked with in terms of musical ability, although praising Frank Infante as "an amazing guitarist". Sessions with Chris Stein were hampered by his being stoned during recording, and Chapman encouraged him to write songs rather than play guitar. Similarly, according to Chapman, Jimmy Destri would prove himself to be far better at songwriting than as a keyboardist, and Clem Burke had poor timing playing drums. As a result, Chapman spent time improving the band, especially Stein with whom Chapman spent hours rerecording his parts to ensure they were right.[1] Bassist Nigel Harrison became so frustrated with Chapman's drive for perfection that he threw a synthesizer at him during recording.[2] Chapman recalls the atmosphere at the Record Plant in an interview for Sound on Sound:

The Blondies were tough in the studio, real tough. None of them liked each other, except Chris and Debbie, and there was so much animosity. They were really, really juvenile in their approach to life—a classic New York underground rock band—and they didn't give a fuck about anything. They just wanted to have fun and didn't want to work too hard getting it.[1]

Chapman took an unorthodox approach when recording with Harry whom he describes as "a great singer and a great vocal stylist, with a beautifully identifiable voice. However ... also very moody". Chapman was far more cautious of demanding much from Harry as he saw her as a highly emotional person who would vest these emotions in the songs they made. He remembers Harry disappearing into the bathroom in tears for several hours at a time during recording.[1] During a day of recording, Harry sang two lead parts and some harmonies, less work than she did previously with Gottehrer. This was due to Chapman encouraging her to be cautious about the way she sang, particularly to recognise phrasing, timing and attitude.[2]

Blondie recorded Parallel Lines in six weeks, despite being given six months by Terry Ellis, co-founder of Chrysalis Records, to do so.[1][2] For the drums, a traditional set-up was used and Chapman fitted Neumann microphones to the toms, snare and hi-hat, as well as several above the site. When recording, Chapman would start with the bass track, which was difficult to record at the time, by way of "pencil erasing". Chapman explained in an interview for Sound on Sound, "that meant using a pencil to hold the tape away from the head and erasing up to the kick drum. If a bass part was ahead of the kick, you could erase it so that it sounded like it was on top of the kick. That's very easy to do these days, but back then it was quite a procedure just to get the bottom end sounding nice and tight." A combination DI/amp method was used to record Harrison's bass and Destri's synthesizer. Shure SM57 and AKG 414 microphones were used to capture Infante's Les Paul guitar.[1] King Crimson leader Robert Fripp makes a guest appearance on guitar on "Fade Away and Radiate".

After the basic track was complete, Chapman would record lead and backing vocals with Harry. However, this process was hampered by many songs not being written in time for the vocals to be recorded. "Sunday Girl", "Picture This" and "One Way Or Another" were all unfinished during the rehearsal sessions. When recording vocal parts, Chapman remembers asking Harry if she was ready to sing, only for her to reply "Yeah, just a minute" as she was still writing lyrics down. Chapman notes that many "classic" songs from the album were created this way.[1]

During the last session at the Record Plant, the band were asleep on the floor only to be awakened at six o'clock in the morning by Mike Chapman and his engineer Peter Coleman leaving for Los Angeles with the tape tracks.[2] Despite Blondie's belief that Parallel Lines would resonate with a wider audience, Chrysalis Records was not as enthusiastic; label executives told them to start again, only to be dissuaded by Chapman's assurance that its singles would prove popular.

Music and lyrics

[edit]

According to music journalist Robert Christgau, Parallel Lines was a pop rock album in which Blondie achieved their "synthesis of the Dixie Cups and the Electric Prunes".[3] Its style of "state-of-the-art pop/rock circa 1978", as AllMusic's William Ruhlmann described it, showed Blondie deviating from new wave and emerging as "a pure pop band".[4] Ken Tucker believed the band had eschewed the "brooding artiness" of their previous albums for more hooks and pop-oriented songs.[5] Chapman later said, "I didn't make a punk album or a New Wave album with Blondie. I made a pop album."[6] The album's eleven pop songs have refined melodics, and its sole disco song, "Heart of Glass", features jittery keyboards, rustling cymbals by drummer Clem Burke, and a circular rhythm.[7] Burke credited Kraftwerk and the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever as influences for the song and said that he was "trying to get that groove that the drummer for the Bee Gees had".[8]

Lyrically, Parallel Lines abandoned what Rolling Stone magazine's Arion Berger called the "cartoonish postmodernist referencing" of Blondie's previous new wave songs in favor of a "romantic fatalism" that was new for the band.[7] "Sunday Girl" deals with the theme of teen loneliness. Music critic Rob Sheffield said that the lyric "dusty frames that still arrive / die in 1955", in "Fade Away and Radiate", is the "best lyric in any rock'n'roll song, ever, and it's still the ultimate statement of a band that always found some pleasure worth exploiting in the flashy and the temporary."[9]

Title and packaging

[edit]

Parallel Lines took its name from an unused track written by Harry, the lyrics of which were included in the first vinyl edition of the album. The cover sleeve image was photographed by Edo Bertoglio and was chosen by Blondie's manager, Peter Leeds, despite being rejected by the band. The photo shows the male members of the band posing in matching dress suits and smiling broadly in contrast to Harry who poses defiantly with her hands on her hips while wearing a white dress and high heels.[2] According to music journalist Tim Peacock, the cover became "iconic – and instantly recognisable".[10]

Release and promotion

[edit]

The album was released by Chrysalis in September 1978,[10] to international success.[11] The album entered the Billboard album chart the week ending September 23, 1978, at No. 186, reflecting retail sales during the survey period ending September 10, 1978.[12] In the United Kingdom, it entered the albums chart at No.13, eventually reaching the no.1 spot in February 1979 after the band had scored hits with the singles "Picture This" (UK #12), "Hanging on the Telephone" (UK #5), and "Heart of Glass" (UK #1). "Sunday Girl" was released in the UK as a fourth single from the album in May 1979 and also reached no.1, and Parallel Lines became the UK's biggest selling album of the year. Blondie embarked on a sold-out tour of the UK and appeared at an autograph signing event for Our Price Records on Kensington High Street; according to Peacock, it "descended into Beatlemania-esque chaos when the band were mobbed by thousands of fans".[10]

Parallel Lines was also a commercial success elsewhere in Europe, Australia, and the United States, where the band had struggled to sell their previous records. "Heart of Glass" became their first number-one hit on the American Billboard Hot 100, with help from a promotional video directed by Stanley Dorfman depicting Blondie in a performance of the song at a fashionable nightclub in New York. The single was "responsible for turning the band into bona fide superstars", Peacock said.

Reception and legacy

[edit]
Retrospective professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Blender[13]
Christgau's Record GuideA[14]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
Entertainment WeeklyB[16]
Pitchfork9.7/10[17]
Q[18]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[19]
Slant Magazine[20]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[21]

The album was met with universal acclaim from critics.[10] Writing in The Village Voice in 1978, Robert Christgau said although Blondie still could not write a perfect hit single, the record was a consistent improvement over Plastic Letters.[3] Years later, he wrote in Blender that it was "a perfect album in 1978" and remained so with "every song memorable, distinct, well-shaped and over before you get antsy. Never again did singer Deborah Harry, mastermind Chris Stein and their able four-man cohort nail the band's signature paradoxes with such unfailing flair: lowbrow class, tender sarcasm, pop rock."[22] New York Times critic John Rockwell named Parallel Lines the eighth best album of 1978.[23] Daryl Easlea from BBC Music, who felt the record combined power pop and new wave styles, credited Mike Chapman's production and flair for pop songwriting for helping make Parallel Lines an extremely popular album in the United Kingdom, where it was a number-one hit and charted for 106 weeks during the late 1970s.[24] Q magazine called the album "a crossover smash with sparkling guitar sounds, terrific hooks and middle-eights more memorable than some groups' choruses."[18]

In a retrospective appraisal of 1970s post-punk albums, Spin magazine's Sasha Frere-Jones said Parallel Lines may have been "the perfect pop-rock record" and Blondie's best album.[25] Christian John Wikane from PopMatters later called it "a creative and commercial masterpiece by Blondie ... indisputably one of the great, classic albums of the rock and roll era."[26] In the opinion of Pitchfork critic Scott Plagenhoef, the album popularized "the look and sound of 1980s new wave" with classic songs that showcased the depth and complexity of Harry's sexuality and singing.[17] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine was also impressed by her singing, which he felt varied from "purring like a kitten and then building to a mean growl", and cited "Heart of Glass" as the album's best track because of her "honey-dipped vocal".[20]

In 2000, Parallel Lines was voted number 57 in Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums.[27] Three years later, it was ranked at number 140 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[8] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and moved slightly down to number 146 in the 2020 revision;[28][29] an accompanying essay said the album was "where punk and New Wave broke through to a mass U.S. audience".[8] It has also been placed at number 18 and 45 on NME's 100 Best Albums of All Time (2003)[30] and 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2013) lists,[31] respectively; number 7 on Blender's 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time;[32] number 94 on Channel 4's 2005 list of the 100 greatest albums of all time;[33] and number 76 on Pitchfork's list of the best albums from the 1970s.[34]

Accolades

[edit]

In 2024, "Parallel Lines" was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[35][36]

Reissues

[edit]

The album was reissued and remastered in 2001 along with Blondie's back catalog, and featured four bonus tracks: a 1978 demo of "Heart of Glass", a live cover of T. Rex's song "Bang a Gong (Get It On)", and two live tracks taken from the Picture This Live live album.[37]

On June 24, 2008, an expanded 30th Anniversary Edition of the album was released,[38] which featured new artwork[39] and bonus tracks along with bonus DVD.[40] The liner notes once again featured lyrics to the unfinished "Parallel Lines" song. The Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Edition included the 7″ single version of "Heart of Glass", the French version of "Sunday Girl" and some remixes, plus a DVD with albums, promo videos and TV performance.

The band also launched a world tour of the same name to promote the re-release and celebrate the event.[41]

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hanging on the Telephone" (The Nerves cover)Jack Lee2:17
2."One Way or Another"3:31
3."Picture This"2:53
4."Fade Away and Radiate"Stein3:57
5."Pretty Baby"
  • Harry
  • Stein
3:16
6."I Know but I Don't Know"Frank Infante3:53
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."11:59"Destri3:19
8."Will Anything Happen?"Lee2:55
9."Sunday Girl"Stein3:01
10."Heart of Glass"
  • Harry
  • Stein
3:54
11."I'm Gonna Love You Too" (Buddy Holly cover)2:03
12."Just Go Away"Harry3:21
2001 remastered reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Once I Had a Love (aka The Disco Song)" (1978 version) (recorded June 3, 1978, at The Record Plant, NYC[42])
  • Harry
  • Stein
3:18
14."Bang a Gong (Get It On)" (recorded live November 4, 1978, at The Paradise in Boston, MA)Marc Bolan5:30
15."I Know but I Don't Know" (recorded live November 6, 1978, at the Walnut Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)Infante4:35
16."Hanging on the Telephone" (recorded live 1980 in Dallas, Texas)Lee2:21
2008 deluxe collector's edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Heart of Glass" (7″ single version)4:10
14."Sunday Girl" (French version) (from "Sunday Girl" 12″ single)3:04
15."Hanging on the Telephone" (Nosebleed Handbag Remix) (from Beautiful: The Remix Album)6:14
16."Fade Away and Radiate" (108 BPM Remix) (from Beautiful: The Remix Album)5:16
2008 deluxe collector's edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Heart of Glass" 
2."Hanging on the Telephone" 
3."Picture This" 
4."Sunday Girl" (live on Top of the Pops) 
2010 Mail on Sunday promo bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."What I Heard"
3:15
14."Girlie Girlie" (Sophia George cover)
  • Anthony Davis
  • Lloyd Douglas
  • Steve Golding
3:25

Notes

[edit]
  • The album version of "Heart of Glass" was replaced with the disco version (5:50 long) on pressings of the album from March 1979 onward. The original length version of "Heart of Glass" appeared on the original US CD release in 1985 (Chrysalis VK 41192, later F2 21192) although the CD artwork proclaimed it was the disco version. Later editions of the Capitol disc had the mistake removed from the inlay but it remained on the disc until its deletion. The 1994 DCC Compact Classics Gold CD release (Capitol Special Markets USA GSZ 1062) features the original version with the disco version as a bonus track.
  • A promotional CD of the album was given away free with the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday on December 5, 2010, including the bonus tracks "What I Heard" and "Girlie Girlie" from the band's 2011 album Panic of Girls.[43]

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Parallel Lines.[44]

Blondie

[edit]

Additional personnel

[edit]
  • Robert Fripp – guitar on "Fade Away and Radiate"
  • Mike Chapman – production, backing vocals on "Hanging on the Telephone"[a] and "Heart of Glass"[45]
  • Pete Coleman – production assistance, engineering
  • Grey Russell – engineering assistance
  • Steve Hall – mastering at MCA Whitney Studio (Glendale, California)
  • Edo Bertoglio – photography
  • Ramey Communications – art direction, design
  • Frank Duarte – illustration
  • Jerry Rodriguez – lettering
  • Kevin Flaherty – production (2001 reissue)

Charts

[edit]

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Certifications and sales for Parallel Lines
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[73] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[74] 4× Platinum 400,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[75] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[76] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[78] Platinum 1,694,353[77]
United States (RIAA)[80] Platinum 1,500,000[79]
Yugoslavia[81] Platinum 100,000[81]
Summaries
Worldwide 16,000,000[82][disputeddiscuss]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ In the documentary Blondie's New York... and the Making of Parallel Lines (2014), Mike Chapman states his additional vocals were overdubbed to the outro of the song. He also proves this by playing the master track isolated during the interview in his studio.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Buskin, Richard (June 2008). "Blondie 'Hanging on the Telephone'". Sound on Sound. Cambridge. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Porter, Dick; Needs, Kris (2012). Blondie: Parallel Lives (1st ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781780381299.
  3. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (October 30, 1978). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Parallel Lines – Blondie". AllMusic. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  5. ^ Tucker, Ken (November 3, 1982). "Parallel Lines". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  6. ^ Bangs 1980, p. 62.
  7. ^ a b c Berger, Arion (June 8, 2000). "Blondie: Parallel Lines". Rolling Stone. New York. p. 129. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Parallel Lines – Blondie". Rolling Stone. New York. November 18, 2003. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  9. ^ Sheffield, Rob (January 1995). "The Go-Go's: Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's / Blondie: The Platinum Collection". Spin. Vol. 10, no. 10. New York. pp. 72–74. ISSN 0886-3032 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ a b c d Peacock, Tim (September 23, 2018). "How 'Parallel Lines' Led Blondie Straight To The Top". uDiscover. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  11. ^ "Blondie". AllMusic. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2001). Top Pop Albums 1955–2001. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 80. ISBN 0-89820-147-0.
  13. ^ Weiner, Jonah. "Blondie: Parallel Lines". Blender. New York. Archived from the original on August 18, 2004. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Blondie: Parallel Lines". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Blondie". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  16. ^ Weingarten, Marc (September 21, 2001). "Blondie: Blondie / Plastic Letters / Parallel Lines / Eat to the Beat / Autoamerican / The Hunter". Entertainment Weekly. New York. p. 85.
  17. ^ a b Plagenhoef, Scott (August 1, 2008). "Blondie: Parallel Lines: Deluxe Edition". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Blondie: Parallel Lines". Q. No. 182. London. October 2001. p. 143.
  19. ^ Coleman, Mark; Berger, Arion (2004). "Blondie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  20. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (October 7, 2003). "Blondie: Parallel Lines". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  21. ^ Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Blondie". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 49–50. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  22. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 2008). "Blondie: Parallel Lines". Blender. No. 73. New York. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  23. ^ Rockwell, John (December 22, 1978). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  24. ^ Easlea, Daryl (2007). "Blondie Parallel Lines Review". BBC Music. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  25. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (November 2001). "Destination Unknown". Spin. Vol. 17, no. 11. New York. p. 137. ISSN 0886-3032 – via Google Books.
  26. ^ Wikane, Christian John (July 3, 2008). "Blondie: Parallel Lines". PopMatters. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
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Bibliography

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Further reading

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