'Necessary Evil' by Deborah Harry

Debbie's back and on top form! Somehow this album sneaked under my radar and was issued yesterday so I dashed into my local HMV at Victoria and grabbed it on my way home this evening. 17 tracks at 64 minutes - that's a lot of Debbie to go round and how happy I am!

There are some excellent songs on the album and she doesn't play it safe at all, some have a definite edge to them that gives the whole set a shiver of anticipation and surprise. It opens with the excellent single, 'Two Times Blue' that's been available to listen to for a while and then moves on to 'School For Scandal' which has a touch of menace about it as does the title track (it includes a line about 'nerves on an edge' and that's the feeling it projects).

There are some almost experimental tracks - no, that's the wrong word, not "experimental" but in the olden days they would've been described as "new wave" as in not straight forward songs. Such as the glorious 'You're Too Hot' with industrial style drums banging away and guitars screeching with Debbie screaming out 'Don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me'. I'd imaging that would go down well in clubs with the volume cranked right up. Immediately followed by 'Dirty And Deep' with it's slightly more sedate dance rhythms with words harking back to the previous track ('don't touch me you're too hot').

The final three tracks are bonus tracks although they're not noted as such on the sleeve, but Amazon lists only 14 tracks and iTunes notes them as bonus. They're longer and don't have the same feel to them but they're interesting nonetheless. Debbie's in good voice as well, whether screaming 'Whiteout' or touching the more melodious and gentle 'Needless To Say'.

You need to buy this album. You need this in your record collection and on your portable music machine. You need to listen to it lots. Trust me.