Blondie - Picture This Live (1997) Lossless

To celebrate their 100th birthday, EMI Records released a series of limited-edition albums from some of their most popular artists. Among those was Picture This Live, a 15-track collection of previously unreleased live versions of such Blondie staples as "Dreaming," "Hanging on the Telephone," "Sunday Girl," "X Offender," "Denis," "Fade Away & Radiate," "One Way or Another," and "Heart of Glass." Since a compilation like this was designed to appeal to collectors, EMI added some rarities -- versions of "You Look Good in Blue," "11:59," and a medley of "Bang a Gong/Funtime" -- but collectors would have been happier with a full concert instead of a hurried, haphazard disc like this. There are some good moments on the album -- in particular, the medley is pretty fun -- but the careless nature of the disc and its cardboard packaging make it of interest only to hardcore, longtime Blondie fans, and even they may resent such a blatant attempt to milk a devoted audience.