Debravation is the fourth solo album by American singer Deborah Harry, released on July 19, 1993.

It was the final album Harry made whilst signed to the Chrysalis label, thus ending a partnership that began with her time as a member of Blondie in the '70's and had endured for over 15 years.

Background

Speaking of the album, Harry told Melody Maker in 1993, "The album I originally wanted to make was quite different from the one that came out in the end. There were lots of people involved in producing and arranging it and it became perhaps a bit too polished. It was supposed to be a lot more raw. It's come out kind of interesting, though."

Critical reception

In the UK, Chris Roberts of Melody Maker considered Debravation to be a "sensible attempt to consolidate fields ploughed" by Harry's previous album Def, Dumb & Blonde (1989), but also noted the lack of cohesion, calling it "something of a Jill of all trades – rock, pop, dance, rap etc". He felt the album's "great moments" were "as good as anything in the history of pop" and selected "Communion" as the album's "zenith", noting it boasts the "most irresistible chorus" since the Bee Gees' "Tragedy". He also praised "Stability", calling it the "Nineties kid sister" to Blondie's "Rapture", and "Strike Me Pink", with its "hovering 'Brite Side' haze". Stephen Dalton of NME described the album as a "saddening affair" on which Harry "too often seems to be imitating her imitators". He felt it is "poorly stocked with effortless techno gliders" such as the "svelte" "Lip Service" and "top-heavy with rock-funk chuggers" like the "middling, could-do-better first single", "I Can See Clearly". He noted that the "sweet pop-rap confection" "Stability" recalls Blondie's "Rapture", but added that the song, along with "a handful of New Wave guitar gushers" are "all stamped with a desperate longing for past glory", and that "even potentially oddball experiments like the William Gibson collaboration ["Dog Star Girl"] sound graceless and mechanical".

Track listing

Personnel

• Deborah Harry – vocals

• Chris Stein – guitar, programming

• Guy Pratt – guitar, keyboards, drum programming

• Pete Min – guitar

• Tim Renwick – guitar

• Stuart Kimball – guitar

• Mike Hehir – guitar

• J.J. Belle – guitar

• Chester Kaymen – guitar

• Danny Wilensky – saxophone

• Phil Todd – saxophone

• Andy Paley – piano, drums, background vocals

• Steve Piggott – keyboards

• Danny Schogger – keyboards

• Anne Dudley – keyboards

• Jon Astley – keyboards

• Carrie Boothe – keyboards, background vocals

• Tony McIlwaine – keyboards, programming

• Arthur Baker – keyboards, programming

• Nikolai Vorkapich – keyboards, programming

• Lenny Dee – keyboards, programming

• Eric Kupper – keyboards, programming

• Steve Rimland – keyboards, programming

• Richard T. Norris – keyboards, programming

• Toni C. (Antoinette Colandero) – keyboards, programming

• Leigh Foxx – bass guitar

• Andy Pask – bass

• Steve Barnacle – bass

• Geoff Dugmore – drums

• Jeffery CJ Vanston – synthesizer drums

• Frank Ricotti – percussion

• Ian Wilson – background vocals

• Tessa Niles – background vocals

• Linda Taylor – background vocals

• Katie Kissoon – background vocals

• Andy Caine – background vocals

• John Williams – background vocals

• Jonathon Paley – background vocals

• R.E.M. – performance on "My Last Date with You"

Production

• Arthur Baker – producer on "I Can See Clearly"

• Chris Stein – producer on "Stability", "Rain", "Dancing Down the Moon", "The Fugitive" and "Dog Star Girl",

• Anne Dudley – producer on "Strike Me Pink" and "Mood Ring"

• Jon Astley – producer on "Rain" and "Keep On Going"

• Guy Pratt – producer on "Communion"

• Adam Yellin – producer/recording engineer/mixing engineer

• Toni C. – producer on "Lip Service"

• John Williams – producer on "Standing In My Way"

• R.E.M. – producers on "My Last Date With You"

• Andy Paley – producer on "My Last Date With You", "Tear Drops"

• Chris Lord-Alge – additional production and mixing on "Communion"

• Kennan Keating – sound engineer

• Louis Scalise – sound engineer

• Andy Cardenas – sound engineer

• Neil McLellan – sound engineer

• Mike O'Hora – sound engineer

• Roger Dudley – sound engineer

• Glenn Skinner – sound engineer

• Bill Esses – sound engineer

• Darrin Tidsey – sound engineer

• Geoff Foster – sound engineer

• Rich Travali – sound engineer

• Dean Chamberlain – art direction, photography

• Gary Kurfirst – art direction, management

Charts

Debravation Producer's Cut

In 1994, Harry released independently a different version of the album, entitled Debravation (8½) Producer's (Director's) Cut. According to her official website, this was the original version of the album, which was presented to Sire and rejected. When they opted for a different track listing and different mixes, Harry had a limited number of copies of Debravation (8½) Producer's (Director's) Cut pressed and sold them at her concerts and through her website.

The contained two identical tracks to the official release ("Dog Star Girl" and "The Fugitive"), three b-sides ("8½ Rhumba", alternative version of "Standing in My Way" and "On a Breath"), four alternative versions of song form original Debravation album and two previously unreleased tracks.

Personnel

• Chris Stein — guitar, programming, production

• Pete Min — guitar

• Leigh Foxx — bass

• Geoff Dugmore — drums

• Joey Ramone — vocals on "Standing in My Way"

• Steve Barnacle — bass on the live version of "Black Dog"

• Carrie Boothe — keyboards on the live version of "Black Dog"

• Geoff Dugmore — drums on the live version of "Black Dog"

• Karl Hyde — guitar on the live version of "Black Dog"

• Melissa Poole-Stein — backing vocals on the live version of "Black Dog"

• Adam Yellin — engineer

References