Blondie Against The Odds: 1974-1982
- Alternative |
- Box Set |
- New Wave |
- Reissue
Release Date: August 26, 2022
Label: Capitol
In what has become another major year for Blondie, the New York legends are marking a career milestone with the release of the first ever authorized and in-depth archive in their history, a rarity for a band almost 50 years into their career with 40 million records sold.
Remastered from the original analog tapes and cut at Abbey Road Studios, the expansive Against The Odds: 1974-1982 box set is available in four formats, a Super Deluxe Collectors' Edition, deluxe 4LP vinyl set, and deluxe eight CD or three CD editions.
The Super Deluxe Collector's Edition features 124 songs (36 previously unreleased) remastered from the original analog tapes. The stunning package presents their first six albums and over four dozen demos, alternate versions, and outtakes, plus a 120-page detailed discography, and a 144-page hardback book. The demos, alternates and outtakes come on four additional LPs, a 10" EP, and a 45.
The set include extensive liner notes by Erin Osmon, track by track commentary from Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison, Frank Infante, and Gary Valentine, essays by producers Mike Chapman, Richard Gottehrer, and Ken Shipley, a 120-page illustrated discography, and hundreds of period photographs.
Blondie has transcended the realms of mere bands, evolving out of pop and punk to become a vital strand of American music's core DNA. What the seven members of Blondie, made up of iconic frontwoman Debbie Harry, guitarist and conceptual mastermind Chris Stein, powerhouse drummer Clem Burke, keyboardist Jimmy Destri, bassist Gary Valentine, guitarist Frank Infante, and bassist Nigel Harrison, set to tape over those first eight years remains among the most timeless music of its era.
Against The Odds: 1974-1982 is a collective moment to celebrate their legacy and be immersed into Blondie's genre-bending sonic universe with their first six studio albums recorded for Chrysalis - Blondie, Plastic Letters, Parallel Lines, Eat To The Beat, Autoamerican, The Hunter.
Debbie Harry remarks, "It really is a treat to see how far we have come when I listen to these early attempts to capture our ideas on relatively primitive equipment. Fortunately the essence of being in a band in the early '70s held some of the anti-social, counter culture energies of the groups that were the influencers of the '60s. I am excited about this special collection. When I listen to these old tracks, it puts me there like I am a time traveler. As bad as it was sometimes, it was also equally as good. No regrets. More music."