Album
BlondieBlondie 4(0)-Ever
It’s one thing to release a “best of” album to celebrate a mile-marker, but it’s a graduated level of impress to release a yin-yang double disc that pairs a rerecorded album of greatest hits with a studio album of new material. For that alone, Blondie’s commemoration of the group’s 40th anniversary raises a bar.
Deluxe Redux: Greatest Hits—the remake half of the package—sounds and feels like a Technicolor blast from the past. Right out of the gate with “Heart of Glass” and through 11 iconic rompers like “Call Me,” this is an extremely rocking collection of hit pop tunes that, to be honest, pleasantly surprise in how catchy and listenable they still are.
In these encore renditions, you can tell Debbie Harry is not the woman of her youth. Her voice is lower and the vibe is a bit different, but altogether it’s a cool thing. “Maria” is a perfect example that shows how time can be gracious: The low end in Harry’s voice has a heartfelt quality that sounds fantastic, and her somewhat limited vocal range is steady with a recognizable timbre that allows all kinds of other instrumental weaving, whether that’s island drumbeats, dirty sax, weird accordion grooves, or the fretboard muscle flexing of Blondie co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein, who really shines with multiple melodic solos on “One Way or Another.”
The second disc, Ghosts of Download, delivers 13 tracks, and all but one are new songs that keep an eye locked in the rearview mirror. The band also covers “Relax,” the 1984 hit by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which was originally banned by the BBC back in the day. Throughout the album, the energy is infectious and the songs feel inspired and fresh, yet they still manage to complement the classic vibes of Deluxe Redux.
The fuzzed-out riffs on “Rave,” the jangle on “Take It Back,” and the acoustic reggae strumming on “Backroom” are just a few of the subtle ways Stein injects life into an album that’s largely dance music—he really knows how to take a song to a special place. Occasionally he scorches through the programming with a strong, searing rock solo ... because he can and it works. It’s a testament to a band with a signature sound but an evolutionary, experimental vision. This is staying power—a classy study in bringing throwback into today. Well done, Blondie and crew.
For over five decades, audiences worldwide have marveled at Baxter’s inimitable and instantly recognizable guitar playing and generational songcraft. His output spans classic records as a founding member of Steely Dan and member of the Doobie Brothers in addition to hundreds of recordings with the likes of Donna Summer, Cher, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and many more. During 2022, he initially unveiled Speed of Heat, showcasing yet another side of his creative identity and introducing himself as a solo artist.
On the Storytellers Edition, his fascinating commentary pulls the curtain back on both the process and the message of the music. This version traces the journey to Speed of Heat and its core inspirations as shared directly by Baxter in the form of detailed anecdotes, candid stories, and insightful commentary on every track.
The 12-songalbum, co-produced by Baxter and CJ Vanston, is a riveting and rewarding musical experience that features a host of brilliantly crafted originals co-written by the guitarist and Vanston, as well as inspired versions of some of the great classics. Along the way, Baxter is joined by guest vocalists and songwriters Michael McDonald, Clint Black, Jonny Lang and Rick Livingstone. Baxter notably handled lead vocals on his rendition of Steely Dan’s “My Old School.” Other standouts include "Bad Move" co-written by Baxter, Clint Black, and CJ Vanston, and “My Place In The Sun”, sung by Michael McDonald and co-authored by McDonald, Baxter and Vanston.
As one of the most recorded guitarists of his generation, Baxter’s creative and versatile playing has been heard on some of the most iconic songs in music history, including “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton and “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer.
The stunningly diverse collection of material on Speed of Heat presents a 360-degree view of the uniquely gifted musician.
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If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
