with the release of “Mr. Sightseer,” Blondie reveal another hidden gem from their first-ever definitive collection, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982. The unearthed home recording had previously never made it out of the band’s bedroom, but newly mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Michael Graves at Osiris Studio, it now serves as the B-side to the box set’s recently-rediscovered rarity, Blondie’s take on The Doors’ "Moonlight Drive."
At the time of recording in 1978, the addition of the TEAC TCA-43 four track reel-to-reel to Chris Stein and Debbie Harry’s home allowed the duo to chase every idea to its logistical or inconsequential conclusion. “The lyric is not good at all,” Harry jokingly reflected of the track. “The song’s not too bad. It’s just a little simplistic. It didn’t ever get really developed or finished.”
“Mr. Sightseer” offers the latest look into the breadth of history and multi-genre, musical treasure that is mapped out on the forthcoming box set, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982. The former single release from the box set, “I Love You Honey, Give Me a Beer,” is the previously forgotten, original demo for the song that became the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ classic, country-inflected “Go Through It.”
Out 26th August via UMC and The Numero Group, following six years of work and two decades that the material spent silently sitting in Chris Stein’s Woodstock barn, Against The Odds 1974-1982 is Blondie's debut and definitive archival release. Featuring 124 tracks and 36 previously unissued recordings – which range from the band’s first-ever basement studio session to dozens of alternate versions, outtakes and demos – the historic collection tells a near-complete story of how frontwoman/songwriter Debbie Harry, guitarist/conceptual mastermind Chris Stein, powerhouse drummer Clem Burke, keyboardist Jimmy Destri, bassist Gary Valentine, guitarist Frank Infante and bassist Nigel Harrison evolved out of pop and punk to become a vital strand of American music’s DNA.
In addition to five albums worth of outtakes and rarities that were mixed and resurrected by Tom Camuso and Steve Rosenthal, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 delivers all of Blondie’s first six studio albums, which have been remastered from the original analog tapes, with vinyl cut at Abbey Road Studios. The set also comes with extensive liner notes by Erin Osmon, track by track commentary from all seven of the original band members, essays by producers Mike Chapman, Richard Gottehrer and Ken Shipley, a 120-page illustrated discography, and hundreds of period photographs. The expansive box set is available on four formats, a Super Deluxe Collectors' Edition (10xLP, 1x7", 1x10" in Red, White, and Black vinyl formats), plus Deluxe 4LP, Deluxe 8CD and 3CD editions.
