Released October 31, 1981 The Best of Blondie
(1981) The Hunter
(1982) Release date 31 October 1981 Genres New wave, Pop music | Recorded 1976-1980 Artist Blondie Label Chrysalis Records | |
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Length 44:13 (USA, Canada)
48:42 (International) Producers Mike Chapman, Richard Gottehrer, Giorgio Moroder Similar Blondie albums, Pop music albums | ||
Blondie dreaming the best of blondie
The Best of Blondie (released in Germany and the Netherlands as Blondie's Hits) is the first compilation album by the band Blondie. Released in October 1981, the album peaked at #4 in the UK, #30 in the US, and became their only #1 album in Australia.
Contents
Overview
The album was issued in several versions with different track inclusion and running order which varied slightly between North American and international editions of The Best of Blondie, highlighting the popularity of particular songs in different countries. The US and Canadian editions included "One Way or Another", which was not issued as a single in Europe. The international version of the album included three songs that were not on the US release: "Denis", "Picture This" and "Union City Blue".
Blondie's producer Mike Chapman remixed four tracks specially for this album. "Heart of Glass (Special Mix)" is a version that combines elements from the original album version (also 7" single mix in the UK) and the instrumental version. "In the Flesh (Special Mix)" is a Phil Spector-esque mix, with lots of echo. "Sunday Girl (Special Mix)" mixes vocals from the previously released French language version of the song with the original English version. "Rapture (Special Mix)" is an edited version of the 12" Disco Mix released in the UK and Europe and includes an extra verse that did not appear on the album Autoamerican on which the song was originally issued.
The album cover was shot in June 1978 by British photographer Martyn Goddard on a roof in mid-town Manhattan.
Video version
A video version of the album was released, featuring the band's music videos. The video was interspersed with footage of a New York City taxi driver who would see Blondie videos being played on TV screens throughout the city. During the intro sequence the song "Call Me" is played, making it another music video. "Sunday Girl" (incomplete) is played during the end credits. The Best of Blondie video album was rereleased on DVD in 2002 as a part of Greatest Video Hits to coincide with the release of the CD Greatest Hits. However, the songs "Call Me" and "Sunday Girl" were omitted from the track listing, but not from the video itself.
Songs
1Heart Of Glass4:34
2Dreaming3:06
3The Tide Is High4:41