Blondie

Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982

The Official Box Set.

The first definitive collection from the legendary New Yorkers who have sold over 40 million records worldwide

• 124 tracks / 36 previously unissued
• Two volumes of liner notes, track by track commentary, illustrated discography, and dozens of previously unpublished photos
• Remastered from the original analog tapes, vinyl cut at Abbey Road Studios
• Super Deluxe Collectors’ Edition (10xLP, 1x7”, 1x10” in Platinum Blonde Color and Black vinyl formats), Deluxe 4LP, Deluxe 8CD and 3CD Editions

In what has become another major year for Blondie, the New York legends mark 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. Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 will be released on 26th August via UMC and The Numero Group, and is now available to pre-order!

It was six years ago that we assigned the catalog number 070 to the band Blondie. I’d just returned from Chris Stein’s Woodstock estate where the band’s historic recording archive sat under a blanket of dust and mouse excrement and knew we were onto the next great Numero box set. Over the ensuing years, the project has taken many shapes, growing from a humble set of four LPs to the massive Super Deluxe Edition 10xLP+10”+45+2 books boxset we’re pleased to announce today.

Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 gathers the original line-up’s six albums, including Blondie, Plastic Letters, Parallel Lines, Eat To The Beat, Autoamerican, and The Hunter, four additional LPs of session outtakes, B-sides, and demos, a 10” with the 1975 Alan Betrock demo and a previously unissued 1974 rehearsal tape, and a 45 rpm single featuring their rumored-to-exist cover of the Doors’ “Moonlight Drive” and the at-home sketch of “Mr. Sightseer”—a whopping 124 studio tracks. Erin Osmon’s liner notes tell the group’s story in exacting detail, with session commentary from Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri, Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, and Gary Valentine, and essays from producers Richard Gottehrer and Mike Chapman all housed in a glorious foil-wrapped, 144-page, hard cover book. A second 120-page volume gives a discographical overview of the period via hundreds of pic sleeves, 45 labels, international sleeve variants, flexis, cassettes, and even 8-tracks. This behemoth of a box set weighs 17 pounds and is hands down the most in depth physical release we’ve manifested in our 19 year history. 

But after six years of production, we knew we couldn’t stop there. We’ve built not one, but four configurations across five variants, including an eight CD box featuring replicas of all six studio albums and an additional two discs of extras (124 songs total) plus a 128-page hard cover book and slipcase; a four LP edition with all 42 bonus tracks nestled against a 128-page hard cover book and tucked inside a foil-wrapped slipcase; and finally a three CD edition with all 52 bonus tracks and a 164-page hard cover mini-book housed in a sturdy slipcase. All 124 tracks have been remastered from the original analogue tapes by Michael Graves and the vinyl lacquered at Abbey Road and pressed on high quality 180 gram virgin wax.. Each one is a stunning work craftsmanship that the band and Numero have agonized endlessly over these six long years. 

We’ve worked on many incredible box sets as a label, from the Grammy-nominated Syl Johnson: Complete Mythology to slowcore pioneers Duster, comedy from Scharpling & Wurster and the earliest purple inklings of Prince and the Minneapolis Sound, a 45 case with 45 45s, and nightlife photography books from Upper Volta and Chicago. We even snagged a Grammy nomination for a board game. Numero knows box sets, and even we were blown away when these hit our doorsteps last week. Did we mention that we’ve got a limited-to-500 white vinyl variant that you can only get at numerogroup.com? We did now. 

What the seven members of Blondie set to tape over those first eight years remains among the most timeless music of its era, or any era. This is not hyperbole. Walk into a grocery store and “Rapture” fills the air. Spend an hour with any classic rock, ’80s throwback, LITE FM easy listening, or rockin’ oldies station and you will rediscover “Heart of Glass.” Watch any given documentary on the birth of punk or hip hop, read any “Best Albums of All Time” list, and the stark three-color imagery of Parallel Lines will undoubtedly flash by. Visit any sports arena in the world and count the moments before you hear “Call Me.” 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. Let this box set serve as a map of the genome.

To recap, the set is available in 4 different configurations.

Super Deluxe Edition (Available in Black or Platinum Blonde Color Vinyl, Limited to 500 Copies)

• 6 Remastered Studio Albums (Blondie, Plastic Letters, Parallel Lines, Eat To The Beat, Autoamerican, The Hunter)
• 4 LPs of Bonus Material (Plaza Sound, Parallel Beats, Coca Cola, Home Tapes)
• Unreleased 7" - Moonlight Drive b/w Mr. Sightseer
• 10" Out-takes & rarities (Out In The Streets)
• 144-page, hard cover liner note book.
• 120-page photographic discography of the entire period.

Deluxe Edition (Black Vinyl)

• 4 LPs of Bonus Material (Plaza Sound, Parallel Beats, Coca Cola, Home Tapes)
• 128-page hard cover Liner Note book

Deluxe 8 CD Edition

• Replicas of all six studio albums
  
• 2 additional discs of extras
• Full Size 128-page hard cover book and slipcase

3 CD Edition

• 3 CDs including 52 bonus tracks
• 164-page hard cover mini-book housed in a sturdy slipcase.