Eat to the Beat Songs Ranked

Eat to the Beat is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 28, 1979, by Chrysalis Records. The album was certified Platinum in the United States, where it spent a year on the Billboard 200. Peaking at No. 17, it was one of Billboard’s top 10 albums of 1980. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in October 1979 and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). 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. Eat to the Beat continued in this pop direction. Here are all of Eat to the Beat songs ranked. Here are all of Eat to the Beat songs ranked.

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11. Victor

“This song really wakes you up after Deb’s lullaby “Sound-a-sleep”! This song strikes me as being clever…it gives knowing nods to other music without sounding derivative. Has a Queen-ish vibe to it at times, as far as the guitars go. A little bit of the guitar riff reminds me of The Easybeats’ classic “Sorry”. Lyrics are occasionally primal therapy in nature…these parts are amusing.”

10. Die Young, Stay Pretty

“Nice vocal hooks with a good turn of phrase from Deb (“dried up twig on your family tree”)…you just want to hug Deb and maybe cry a bit for her cynicism! The drum tone is tinny, but I like it in this case. There is a bonus, live version of this song too…in that Deb goes to town with her Caribbean impression.”

9. Slow Motion

“A song inspired by The Supremes…it gives that 1960s black girl group a nod and a wink. Has backing singing here too…not sure if that Debbie doubling up or guest female singers.”

See more: Blondie Albums Ranked

8. Sound-A-sleep

“Bumped this song up in my estimation after two listens…initially gave it a dot in my scoring code but turned that into a small tick on 2nd listen. A lovely, gentle lullaby song. Triangle features, I think. Drum is almost like a heartbeat. Hearing Deb’s first line brought this song back to me, all these years later.”

7. Eat to the Beat

“A high energy song. Once the catchy vocal part hit me, the memory of this song came back to me. Maybe there’s an element of nostalgia here, but how often does nostalgia not hold up? Has harmonica and some bass lines at times.”

6. Accidents Never Happen

“A mid-tempo song. Deb in creepy mode here, I think. Has synthesiser. Bassy. Guitars at the start have a sort of “Candy” vibe to them…the Lou Reed song (I think…hmm). Might be the only song featuring the word “pre-cognition”. Kudos right there!”

5. Union City Blue

“Union city blue – nice drums, lovely soaring vocals by Deb – glassy at times…the way she holds those notes is a delight. The rest of the album stands the test of time.”

See more: Blondie Songs Ranked

4. Atomic

“Atomic” is perhaps my personal favorite Blondie song. Considered by some as one of the last hit disco tracks, opinion varies on exactly what this is about (some say it’s about fellatio, others claim it’s about Harry’s first bisexual experience, but the smartest money’s probably on the idea of a nuclear war with Russia). Despite all this, “Atomic” works on so many levels, because it allows itself to develop from a joyous rapture down to sublime foreshadowing and ends somewhere in between.

3. Shayla

“Shayla – contemplative guitar sounds. A slow tempo song. Has a vaguely Hawaiian vibe, perhaps. Languid and dreamy in any case. Sonic wise, more ferocious than their earlier albums and dangerously close to the eighties sound.”

2. The Hardest Part

“An Easter egg kind of song. Very funky vocals from Deb…a bit of reggae to it, perhaps. A narrative song with some keyboard on it. The track is bassy too…bass fairly skips along here.”

1. Dreaming

“The opening track of the album. Has a bright/harsh sound which is indicative of the album. Not sure if the sound could be better overall. My cd was a 2001 issue. Anyway, Debbie’s vocal melodic hooks really lift this song…she has two main such hooks in this song.”