Maps of Music

Picture This Live (1997)

Where the lyrics of Picture This Live take you, and where it was really made.

This live album stitches together two shows from different cities and years, and its track listing gets one of them wrong.

Key places

Philadelphia show, November 1978 (1978)

Live show Walnut Street Theatre — Tracks 7 to 12 of the album were recorded live here on 6 November 1978, and the theatre pin marks the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Dallas show, August 1979 (1979)

Live show McFarlin Memorial Auditorium — Tracks 1 to 6 and 13 to 15 were recorded live here on 5 August 1979. The album prints the year as 1980, which is wrong. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Picture This Live: first live album by Blondie
• Released in 1997 in the United States as a limited edition at full price by Chrysalis Records, an EMI subsidiary
• Part of a series of limited edition albums celebrating EMI's 100th anniversary in 1997
• Contains two performances originally recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show
• Mid-price UK and European release in 1999 with alternate artwork, retitled Blondie Live: Philadelphia 1978 / Dallas 1980

Background

• Blondie had recently re-united and approached Chrysalis Records about recording a new album
• Chrysalis doubted a new Blondie album after 15 years would be marketable, declined, and released this collection of older material in late 1997
• Band members on the album: Deborah Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison, Frank Infante

Recording

• Tracks 7–12 recorded live on 6 November 1978 at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia
• Tracks 1–6 and 13–15 recorded live on 5 August 1979 in Dallas
• The album lists the Dallas show as 1980, the original radio broadcast date
• The album is a stitched-together gig: performances from different nights synced into one apparent concert
• Credits include Cheryl Pawelski (compilation producer), Marc Rashba (executive producer), and Kevin Flaherty (liner notes)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein.
• Originally billed as Angel and the Snake, then Blondie and the Banzai Babies, shortened to Blondie by October 1974.
• The name came from truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry.
• Became regular performers at Max's Kansas City and CBGB, part of the mid-1970s new wave scene.
• Debut album Blondie (1976) was not a commercial success; the band signed with Chrysalis Records in 1977.

Members

• Core members: Debbie Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar), Clem Burke (drums), Jimmy Destri (keyboards).
• Other former members included Gary Valentine, Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, and Fred Smith.
• Clem Burke died of cancer on April 6, 2025.

Career

• Breakthrough came in Australia and the UK with Plastic Letters (1978) and the hit single "Denis".
• Parallel Lines (1978) became their most successful album, selling about 20 million copies worldwide; "Heart of Glass" topped the UK and US charts.
• Further hits included "Call Me", "The Tide Is High", and "Rapture", the first rap-featuring song to reach US number one.
• The band disbanded in 1982 after The Hunter, reformed in 1997, and had their sixth UK number one with "Maria" in 1999.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006; has sold over 40 million records worldwide.
• Pollinator (2017) peaked at number four in the UK; a new album, High Noon, is scheduled for February 26, 2027.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Records

• Sold 22,000 copies in the United States as of 9 August 2005
• Released in the US in 1997 as a limited edition at full price
• UK and European release in 1999 as a mid-price album with alternate artwork
• The 1999 release was retitled Blondie Live: Philadelphia 1978 / Dallas 1980
• Conceived as a compilation of older recordings after Chrysalis declined a new studio album
• Built from radio broadcast recordings, not from a single concert
• Recordings span November 1978 in Philadelphia and August 1979 in Dallas
• The sales count is dated 2005, about eight years after the original release
• The source gives no critic ratings or chart placings for this album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The song "A Shark in Jets Clothing" is joined with "I Know but I Don't Know" on track 11, but it is missing from the track listing of every edition.
• Live versions of "I Know but I Don't Know" and "Hanging on the Telephone" from this album were added as bonus tracks to the 2001 remaster of Parallel Lines.
• "Detroit 442" from the Philadelphia show is not on this album, but it was issued as a bonus track on the 2001 remaster of Plastic Letters.
• The Dallas show is printed as 1980 on the album, though it was recorded in 1979.
• The Discogs note says the band had approached Chrysalis about a new album before this collection was released instead.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact