By Vinnie Apicella

Hot on the heels of last year's impressive comeback "No Exit", Debbie Harry and the rest of the original Blondie waste no time in capturing the full effect of their live performance, one that's been a long time coming. Getting things started with two lost classics in the form of "Dreaming" and "Hanging on the Telephone", all by themselves show that little of the luster has been lost in spite of the vindictiveness of those passing years. The first of the new material, the ska-flavored "Screaming Skin" flares up next before giving way to the all time club favorite "Atomic"-and can't you just feel the vibration as the dance beats pulsate through the speakers? Magnificent indeed… Now not to take a track by track analysis here in a half-hearted attempt to capture the full essence of the resuscitated supergroup, but deserving of mention is another new one, the flavorfully done "Forgive and Forget", an atmospheric tilt that blows gently in the wind that would go well with flickering strobe lights amidst a shadowy background… a song with so much going on and one of her prettier performances without a doubt. Everyone's all time favorites and past hits will of course make their way as we near the end of this seventeen song marathon which might also surprise some with the few ambiguous titles added in the set to spice things up even further. "Live" is a culmination of a twenty something year history all featured in an impressive setting stirred with ambiance and emotion that shows Blondie's "highlights" still glistening now as well as any time before!

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