Necessary Evil - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Anyone hoping for the 62-year-old Debbie Harry to sit up and act her age will be sorely disappointed by the former Blondie vixen's sixth solo album (and first in 14 years). Viscerally contemporary, Necessary Evil harnesses youthful exuberance from across the charts, and Harry and her team of producers and songwriting partners do radio-ready rock, pop, and soul-lite with a la mode savvy to spare. Big-time sing-alongs ("Two Times Blue," "You're Too Hot") rub elbows with spare, distorted guitar lines piled in arena-sized stacks ("Love with Vengeance," "Charm Redux," and the especially vivacious "Whiteout"). "The Devil's dick is hard to handle," Harry growls in "School for Scandal," encapsulating the attitude of shameless defiance coursing through this and other lean, mean, up-tempo numbers like the half-rapped, full-lipped "Dirty and Deep." Between the reversed hip-hop break bisecting "Charm Alarm," the title track's stolen riff from Rage Against the Machine's "Know Your Enemy," and Harry's bits of Internet imagery, this album won't dare let go of its of-the-moment moxie. Gumdrops like the flaccid "What Is Love" and closer "Paradise" are irrevocable but few; in all, the occasional slice of tripe strangely sweetens Harry's otherwise surprising longevity, ready to rock and salty as ever. --Jason Kirk

Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

NECESSARY addition to Debbie's Discography! October 9, 2007
22 out of 28 found this review helpful

In the past 30 years, Deborah Harry has not only established herself as the coolest woman in the universe, but also as the most adventurous recording artists ever. Throughout her career with Blondie, The Jazz Passengers, and her other four solo albums, she has pretty much tackled every musical genre that's out there.
With NECESSARY EVIL, Debbie doesn't waste time trying to prove what she can do. We already know. It's a solid pop album that offers up some diverse musical landscapes, but does not zig zag all over the place like her last two solo albums ("Def Dumb & Blonde" & "Debravation") and the last two Blondie releases ("No Exit" & "Curse of Blondie"). The sequencing of the songs on NECESSARY EVIL is perfect. The infectious grooves and melodies blend together wonderfully. "Two Times Blue" starts the album as a luscious pop wonder which is followed by the harder hitting "School for Scandal", which shows that age is no barrier for delivering cool, sexy lyrics. "If I Had You" is a power ballad that gives a nod to the girl group sound of the sixties, or more obviously, Blondie's earliest material of the same nature. "You're Too Hot" is a hypnotic sizzler with only six words ever sung (or shouted) that takes the album to a boiling point. This song has stayed in my head non-stop since I saw her perform it on the True Colors Tour back in June! "Whiteout" is a sublime pumping track that is equally addictive as "You're Too Hot". Two stand-out ballads are "Needless to Say" and the album closer "Paradise" (a beautiful song told from the perspective of a suicide bomber!).
What's most remarkable about NECESSARY EVIL is that Deborah Harry seems to be having fun on the record. That's pretty amazing for someone who has been in the business as long as she has. The fact that she keeps challenging herself as a songwriter and vocalist is pretty much unheard of. Not mentioning any names, but most performers in her age range stick to what they know and don't stray too far from the format. Deborah Harry never does this and that is why she is the greatest female rock icon out there.
Realistically NECESSARY EVIL will not get the promotion it needs and therefore will probably not be the commercial success it deserves to be, but that's all so unimportant. As I said with "The Curse of Blondie", what is most important is that she's made another great album that will hold up over time. It's a great addition to her discography and one she should definitely be proud of. As a life long fan of DEBORAH HARRY, I am thrilled by NECESSARY EVIL and can only hope she keeps making music forever!

5 out of 5 stars

The return of THE one and only New York Diva!! October 9, 2007
14 out of 17 found this review helpful

I have seen some good and some odd reviews of this cd but to me as a fan of Ms. Harry since 1979 it is always a welcome site to see a new cd as either Blondie or Jazz Passengers or as a solo act-- you know you are going to get something new and different to hear.

When I first played the cd I was a bit taken back with some of the songs-- There are some that I would have left off (Charm Redux and Heat Of The Moment) but then I read an interview with VH1- their Track by Track series and in that Debbie goes through each track and gives you an idea of the song's origin or meaning or the fact that some of the instrumentals through out the cd is to break up the theme of some songs or add a different feel to others and I am thinking that here is a woman who has busted her butt for over 30 years and she can basically set this cd up as she wished. The new Billboard interview also lets you know that she recorded the cd basically with her own money and really is set up for her fans and not sure how well it will actually sell but wanted to make a cd for herself and fans alone. Be damned with what others think I guess.

So here is what I think of Necessary Evil. The lead track "Two Times Blue" is to me not even the best track on the cd. It is a "Maria" type pop hit that has such a killer hook -- try and find the Nickel And Dime radio remix because that is THE best version of the track. Now for the most part on the cd Debbie is much more aggressive sexually lyrically and vocally than the last 2 Blondie cds. "School For Scandal" is pure Alternative Rock that smolders with her delivery. The best track on the new cd is the 3rd song "If I Had You"-- flawless from the intro to the end of the song. It is heart on sleeve/honest Debbie vocals shining all through the song. This song is a huge hit if the label or radio could find a way of finding each other. The second best track is the title track "Necessary Evil" and it's cock rock guitars and Debbie's smarty vocal performance. This needs a really solid remix to run up the dance chart."You're Too Hot" starts out with a new Debbie persona-- Black Gospel Debbie just going all Gospel at the intro and then it breaks into a flat out yelling/chant of a vocal with heavy guitars all through the song. Listed on the credits-- Debbie played guitar on the song. Then you get 2 lovely ballads- "What Is Love" with it's killer hook but odd break off to a bit of chanting and the super personal "Needless To Say". The tracks "Dirty And Deep" and "You're Too Hot" are companions and so is the "Needless To Say" and "Heat Of The Moment" as well. So that should be obvious. The cd from 1-14 are produced by Super Budda.
The bonus tracks or tracks 15-17 are produced by Chris Stein and Bill Ware from Jazz Passengers. They are sort of Middle Easteren/African influenced and a different in scope and feel from the first 14 tracks. "Jen Jen" is basically an instrumental with chants and a New Order type guitar running through the song-- think of the b-side to "Strike Me Pink"--- 8 1/2 Rhumba and you get the idea of the song. The next bonus song- "Naked Eye" is a classic Stein/Harry written track-- a song of love about leaving your mark on your partner -- good or bad. The last track is the female suicide bomber track "Paradise" and it was hard to get into the lyrics when Debbie is singing almost as a wind /saxapohone instrument . Written by Roy Nathanson from The Jazz Passengers and it sounds more POP jazz in style. Listen a few times like I had to and it will grow on you.

So for me on the whole the cd is a fascinating look at the mind of Deborah Harry. Since a child I have been fascinated in what she has to think and say musically and to me is one of the few artists you can hear thinking as the songs progress. Like I said before some will LOVE this cd or think it is ODD but to me it is never boring ever.

4 out of 5 stars

It's Debbie Harry....kneel down and worship. October 9, 2007
8 out of 12 found this review helpful

Debbie Harry's last solo release was 14 years ago. In that time she has toured with a jazz band, reformed with Blondie to international acclaim (her home country, the USA, being the least responsive), been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and finally seems to be getting the respect and admiration she deserves as both an artistic genius and a cultural icon. It is now common knowledge that many of today's most popular female stars, like Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Courtney Love were most likely lip-syching in the mirror to Blondie 45's with a hairbrush-microphone, and even pop-tarts like Paris Hilton, Hillary Duff, Pink, Ashlee Simpson and Lindsay Lohan admit to drawing on Debbie for everything from musical style to attitude to fashion sensibilty. A much more confident woman now than she was 14 years ago, you can hear the difference from her last release, with a strong commanding prescence in every track on "Necessary Evil". Starting off with the radio-friendly "Two Times Blue", the CD continually startles its listener with each track delving into new unexpected genres of music. Some of the tracks are good, some are bad and some are very, very strange. But the fact that she is releasing such a cool, youthful and artistic CD should be cause for you to bow down and kiss the floor Debbie has set her high-heeled feet on. She may be more confident, but she's still that same beautiful weirdo with the herky-jerky dance moves who appeared on "The Muppet Show" three decades ago.

5 out of 5 stars

Necessary harry - She's Too Hot! October 9, 2007
8 out of 13 found this review helpful

It's been just far too long since Deborah Harry has released a solo album, 14 years in fact. Long by her age of 62, most other artists fade into their past and only to relive it with unimaginative reincarnations of former glory. On Necessary Evil, Deborah not only rivals her past; she abandons and shatters it, completely reinventing herself. The only thing you can predict when you pick up one of her (or Blondie's) projects, is that you are going to hear something that has never been done before. With 17 tracks, there is plenty of room for Ms. Harry to explore her extraordinarily diverse style. The vocals are lush and raw at once. The lead single, and radio friendly "Two Times Blue" explodes with Harry's human sensibility; something that is so inviting and yet, so remote from the icy pop that paralyzed us back in the late 70's and early 80s, when she and her band Blondie first exploded on to the pop music scene. Songs like "Love With A Vengeance" and "Naked Eye" sound so odd at first, but before you know it, they linger in your ear and you're hooked. There's plenty of love songs as well but they all have something just a little twisted, and not of convention; "I just set myself on fire ... what a thing to do you say". Almost sinister, with her unmistakable styling, and wavering lilt, only Harry could sing these songs. My absolute favourite is "You're Too Hot"; she rocks it out harder and better now more than ever. Other kicking tracks are "Deep End", "Whiteout", "School For Scandal", "Charm Alarm", the oh so provocative "Dirty and Deep" and of course, the sizzling title track "Necessary Evil" where the journey of love is metaphorically equated with terrorism. Yes, Deborah Harry's wicked sense of humour and clever writing prevail throughout this album. After the last Blondie masterpiece "The Curse of Blondie" in 2003, it was painfully obvious that Harry has reached a new apex in her career where her creativity and singing are concerned; it only makes sense to strike while the iron is hot. Always the risk taker, Deborah Harry has financed this current project herself, but Necessary Evil is an exhibition of talent that can be banked on. While her predecessors scramble to mimic her past successes, the sexagenarian forges on into uncharted waters with such signature; completely disregarding the publicly accepted ageism & sexism that contaminates today's pop music culture.

5 out of 5 stars

DEBBIE HARRY IS TOO HOT! October 13, 2007
8 out of 11 found this review helpful

On "Necessary Evil" Debbie Harry rocks out harder than she has in years (with just a slice of hip hop as we've come to expect). With most of the tracks (particularly "White Out" and "You're Too Hot") Debbie proves she still has punk attitude in spades. It's an album full of sing a long hooks and her voice is magnificent throughout. It sounds like she was really enjoying herself with this one. I highly recommend it!

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