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Eat To The Beat 2001 Liner Notes CD Booklet
The cloud of success had spread across the artistic landscape, but somehow we had to do it all over again. Under these conditions? It seemed impossible. The record company had made the call. Another hit album, please.
It had to be a hit. That was the call.
The first order of business was to see what shape my band was in. Where were their heads? Did they have any songs? Did they understand the enormous task ahead of us?
It seemed that success had torn them further apart and brought them closer together at the same time. But they needed each other more. They knew that much.
By now they were used to my work tactics. They didn't like them but they accepted them. This gave us a bit of a head start. We knew a lot about each other this time and we were ready. At least that was what we thought going in.
I wanted to cut this record in L.A. "No, Mike. We need to be at home for this to work." The record would be cut in New York.
Rehearsals went well. Everyone was a little nervous and that was good. Songs came in bits and pieces. But the bits and pieces were good. They had done well so far. This album was going to be a little more pop and a little less dark than PARALLEL LINES. Dreaming was a key track and it felt good in rehearsal. It sounded like a hit so I was gaining confidence. We had a wonderful song about an armored car robbery called The Hardest Part. It was the first time I had recorded a song about an armored car robbery. I was to have many musical firsts with Blondie. That's one of the things that made
them so special; they wanted to try everything. And I was right there with them. We also had a title for the album at a very early point, so we had a concept of sorts: EAT TO THE BEAT. I tried to have Debbie explain exactly what it meant to her, but in her normal fashion she simply confused me and I was forced to give it my own interpretation.
The meetings started at rehearsals. The meetings which were to become part of our daily routine during the entire recording process. The meetings with managers, with record company people, with agents, with tour managers, with accountants, with photographers, with journalists, with fashion designers, with gurus and with various artistic vagabonds. They started eating away at my body and my brain. Every door I opened, I was face-to-face with another strange and pushy individual. Who were these people and why were they at my sessions?
As the weeks went by and the meetings went on, we were beginning to submit to the pressure. The group's attention was less focused on the music, and I was trying to squeeze the sessions in between the negotiations. There seemed to be three different camps in the group: Debbie and Chris were - as always - together; Jimmy and Clem had formed an alliance; and Nigel and Frankie were a team. This was beginning to get really unhealthy, and we started seeing the first signs of trouble brewing. Arguments filled a large part of our day, and the music was hard to come by. We were running over schedule and consequently had to move from studio to studio. This was really disruptive. Having to break down all our equipment and console setups ate away at our time and caused even more disagreements. I was fighting with everyone.
We did have one escape, though, Studio 54!
While going to clubs like the Mud Club after our long days in the studio was something we had always done, Studio 54 was something quite different. It was all about celebrity. It was the place where the group was important. It was groups like Blondie that made the place what it was. We never waited at the door - we were ushered right in. Every night was a party, and sleep was hard to come by. We were all living hard and fast and loving every minute of it. Without that escape we might not have been able to complete the project.
Debbie and Chris' relationship with Andy Warhol and the rest of that intense New York artistic social crowd brought something quite strange and wonderful to the project. The music was conspicuously influenced by the era and the Studio 54 vibe.
Unfortunately it came at a price. Drugs. They found their way to the studio and presented us with yet another obstacle. The more drugs, the more fights. It was becoming a real mess. The meetings were still going on, and now it had turned into "Just call us when you need us, Mike." Hard to make a record under those circumstances.
As we struggled against all the odds, songs like Die Young Stay Pretty and Atomic were born and kept us going. The music was good but the group was showing signs of wear and tear. The meetings, the drugs, the partying and the arguments had beaten us all up, and it was hard to have a positive attitude when the project was finally finished. I wasn't at all sure what we had made. I was tired and wanted to go home. I seem to remember all of us feeling that perhaps this was the end. Was this record good enough? Was this the record that the public was waiting for, or was it just the waste of seven sick minds?
I had never experienced this kind of emotional rollercoaster before, and I have never forgotten the sounds, smells and tastes that came with it. I guess that was what they meant: EAT TO THE BEAT.
Mike Chapman
May 2001
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