The Best of Blondie

The Best of Blondie
Greatest hits album by Blondie
Released October 31, 1981
Recorded 1976-1980
Genre New wave
Length 44:13 (USA, Canada)
48:42 (International)
Label Chrysalis Records
Producer Mike Chapman
Richard Gottehrer
Giorgio Moroder
Blondie chronology
Autoamerican
(1980)		 The Best of Blondie
(1981)		 The Hunter
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA−[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [3]
Smash Hits[4]

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,[5] the album peaked at #4 in the UK, #30 in the US, and became their only #1 album in Australia.

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 late 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.

Track listing

US Version

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."Heart of Glass" (Special Mix)D. Harry / C. SteinParallel Lines4:33
2."Dreaming"  D. Harry / C. SteinEat to the Beat3:06
3."The Tide Is High"  J. HoltAutoamerican4:41
4."In the Flesh" (Special Mix)D. Harry / C. SteinBlondie2:29
5."Sunday Girl" (Special Mix)C. SteinParallel Lines3:03
6."Hanging on the Telephone"  J. LeeParallel Lines2:21
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
7."Rapture" (Special Mix)D. Harry / C. SteinAutoamerican5:36
8."One Way or Another"  D. Harry / N. HarrisonParallel Lines3:33
9."(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"  G. ValentinePlastic Letters2:42
10."Call Me"  G. Moroder / D. HarryAmerican Gigolo3:32
11."Atomic"  D. Harry / J. DestriEat to the Beat4:39
12."Rip Her to Shreds"  D. Harry / C. SteinBlondie3:22

International Version

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."Heart of Glass" (special mix)D. Harry / C. SteinParallel Lines4:33
2."Denis"  N. LevensonPlastic Letters2:18
3."The Tide Is High"  J. HoltAutoamerican4:41
4."In the Flesh" (special mix)D. Harry / C. SteinBlondie2:29
5."Sunday Girl" (special mix)C. SteinParallel Lines3:03
6."Dreaming"  D. Harry / C. SteinEat to the Beat3:08
7."Hanging on the Telephone"  J. LeeParallel Lines2:21
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
8."Rapture" (special mix)D. Harry / C. SteinAutoamerican5:36
9."Picture This"  D. Harry / C. Stein / J. DestriParallel Lines2:59
10."Union City Blue"  D. Harry / N. HarrisonEat to the Beat3:23
11."(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"  G. ValentinePlastic Letters2:42
12."Call Me"  G. Moroder / D. HarryAmerican Gigolo3:32
13."Atomic"  D. Harry / J. DestriEat to the Beat4:39
14."Rip Her to Shreds"  D. Harry / C. SteinBlondie3:22

Video Version

No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."Call Me"  D. Harry / C. SteinAmerican Gigolo 
2."In the Flesh"  D. Harry / C. SteinBlondie 
3."X Offender"  D. Harry / G. ValentineBlondie 
4."Denis"  N. LevensonPlastic Letters 
5."Detroit 442"  J. Destri / C. SteinPlastic Letters 
6."(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"  G. ValentinePlastic Letters 
7."Picture This"  D. Harry / C. Stein / J. DestriParallel Lines 
8."Hanging on the Telephone"  J. LeeParallel Lines 
9."Heart of Glass"  D. Harry / C. SteinParallel Lines 
10."Dreaming"  D. Harry / C. SteinEat to the Beat 
11."Union City Blue"  D. Harry / N. HarrisonEat to the Beat 
12."Atomic"  D. Harry / J. DestriEat to the Beat 
13."The Tide Is High"  J. HoltAutoamerican 
14."Rapture"  D. Harry / C. SteinAutoamerican 
15."Sunday Girl"  C. SteinParallel Lines 

Chart positions

Chart (1980–81) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 1
Canadian Albums Chart[6] 15
Dutch Albums Chart[7] 46
New Zealand Albums Chart[8] 1
UK Albums Chart[9] 4
US Billboard 200[10] 30

Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
Canadian RPM 1981 Top 100 Albums[11] 81

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by
Business as Usual by Men at Work		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
February 1, 1982 – February 14, 1982 		Succeeded by
Love Songs by Cliff Richard

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[13] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone Album Guide
  4. ↑ "Birch, Ian (15 October 1981). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. EMAP Metro. 3 (21): 25.
  5. ↑ "The Best Of Blondie - 1981". rip-her-to-shreds.com. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "100 Albums". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 35 (18). 28 November 1981. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Blondie – The Best of Blondie". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Blondie – The Best of Blondien". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Blondie – UK Chart Positions". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  10. ↑ "Blondie : Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Canadian 1981 Top 100 Albums". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "BPI – Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2013-09-21. Note: User needs to enter "Blondie" in the "Keywords" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Search" button. Select "More >>" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
  13. ↑ "Searchable Database". riaa.com. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
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