Greatest Hits (Blondie)
Encyclopedia
Greatest Hits is a compilation album
of recordings by the band Blondie
released by EMI
/Capitol Records
in 2002. Following the re-issue of the six original Chrysalis studio albums in 2001, this was the first Blondie "Best of" compilation to be digitally remastered, the first Blondie "Best of" to be officially sanctioned by the band for over 20 years, and also the first to include their comeback hit "Maria
", a UK #1 in February 1999.
Compiled by Capitol's Kevin Flaherty and London-based music journalist Steve Pafford, who also wrote the album sleeve notes, Greatest Hits also contains all four long-deleted 'special mixes' by producer Mike Chapman that appeared on the band's very first hits compilation, 1981's The Best of Blondie
. Author Pafford was in the early stages of working with Debbie Harry
on a lavish illustrated coffee table book
entitled BlondieStyle (the sequel to his acclaimed BowieStyle, published by Omnibus Press), though as of 2010 the project is still on hold.
The album charted at Number 38 on the UK's Top 75 Album Chart and charted for 4 weeks. In New Zealand the album reached number 15 and charted for 8 weeks.
The album was accompanied by a DVD release, The Greatest Video Hits, which included the original 1981 Best of Blondie
video album. The 2002 version added the videos for "The Hardest Part
" (1979), "Island of Lost Souls
" (1982) and the uncensored version of "Maria
" (1999).
and Chris Stein
, except where noted.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of recordings by the band Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
released by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
/Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in 2002. Following the re-issue of the six original Chrysalis studio albums in 2001, this was the first Blondie "Best of" compilation to be digitally remastered, the first Blondie "Best of" to be officially sanctioned by the band for over 20 years, and also the first to include their comeback hit "Maria
Maria (Blondie song)
"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie, taken from their 1999 album No Exit. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no.1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK no.1 "Heart of Glass" in...
", a UK #1 in February 1999.
Compiled by Capitol's Kevin Flaherty and London-based music journalist Steve Pafford, who also wrote the album sleeve notes, Greatest Hits also contains all four long-deleted 'special mixes' by producer Mike Chapman that appeared on the band's very first hits compilation, 1981's The Best of Blondie
The Best of Blondie
- Chart positions :- References :# [ Allmusic]...
. Author Pafford was in the early stages of working with Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
on a lavish illustrated coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
entitled BlondieStyle (the sequel to his acclaimed BowieStyle, published by Omnibus Press), though as of 2010 the project is still on hold.
The album charted at Number 38 on the UK's Top 75 Album Chart and charted for 4 weeks. In New Zealand the album reached number 15 and charted for 8 weeks.
The album was accompanied by a DVD release, The Greatest Video Hits, which included the original 1981 Best of Blondie
The Best of Blondie
- Chart positions :- References :# [ Allmusic]...
video album. The 2002 version added the videos for "The Hardest Part
The Hardest Part (Blondie song)
"The Hardest Part" was the second song released as a single from Blondie's fourth album Eat to the Beat in the United States, instead of "Union City Blue". It was written by the group's principal songwriting partnership, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein...
" (1979), "Island of Lost Souls
Island of Lost Souls (song)
"Island Of Lost Souls" is a song recorded by Blondie in 1981 and released as a single in April 1982. It was the first single released from their sixth studio album, The Hunter.-Song information:...
" (1982) and the uncensored version of "Maria
Maria (Blondie song)
"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie, taken from their 1999 album No Exit. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no.1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK no.1 "Heart of Glass" in...
" (1999).
Track listing
All songs were written by Deborah HarryDebbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
and Chris Stein
Chris Stein
Christopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
, except where noted.
- "DreamingDreaming (Blondie song)"Dreaming" is a song by the American punk/new wave band Blondie. Released in 1979, it was the lead single from their fourth album Eat to the Beat...
" – 3:06 - "Call MeCall Me (Blondie song)"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1980, "Call Me" topped the singles charts in both the US and the UK ....
" (Giorgio MoroderGiorgio MoroderHansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
, Harry) – 3:31 - "One Way or AnotherOne Way or Another"One Way or Another" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie.-Song information:Written by Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison for the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines , the song was inspired by one of Harry's ex-boyfriends who stalked her after their break up. The song was released as a...
" (Harry, Nigel HarrisonNigel HarrisonNigel Harrison is an English musician, and best known as the bass player of the rock band Blondie....
) – 3:32 - "Heart of GlassHeart of Glass (song)"Heart of Glass" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie, written by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. Featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines, it was released as a single in January 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, including the US and UK.Rolling...
" (Special Mix - 1981 The Best of BlondieThe Best of Blondie- Chart positions :- References :# [ Allmusic]...
version) – 4:32 - "The Tide Is HighThe Tide Is High"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 song written by John Holt and originally performed by The Paragons with John Holt as lead singer. The song went mainly unnoticed in the rest of the world until it was rediscovered in 1980 when it became a US/UK number 1 hit for the band Blondie...
" (John HoltJohn Holt (singer)John Holt is a reggae singer and songwriter.-Biography:Holt was born in Kingston in 1947. By the age of 12, he was a regular entrant in talent contests run at Jamaican theatres by Vere Johns...
, Tyrone Evans, Howard Barrett) – 4:44 - "X Offender" (Harry, Gary ValentineGary Valentine LachmanGary Lachman, born December 24, 1955 in Bayonne, New Jersey, is an American writer and musician. Lachman is best known to readers of mysticism and the occult, in the numerous articles and books he has published...
) – 3:10 - "Hanging on the TelephoneHanging on the Telephone"Hanging on the Telephone" is a song written by Jack Lee and first performed by Lee's short-lived US West Coast power pop trio The Nerves, who placed it as the lead-off track on their 1976 EP, the band's only release. New Wave band Blondie popularised the song when it was released as the second...
" (Jack Lee) – 2:20 - "Rip Her to ShredsRip Her to Shreds"Rip Her to Shreds" is a song by American New Wave band Blondie, which features on the band's self-titled debut album . It is rumored to be about punk rock singer Cherry Vanilla.- Single information :...
" – 3:20 - "RaptureRapture (song)"Rapture" is a single by the American new wave band Blondie. It was released in January 1981 and was the second and final song to be released from the band's 1980 top 10 album Autoamerican, the first being "The Tide Is High", which had topped the chart in the US and UK. "Rapture" went on to reach...
" (Special Mix - 1981 The Best Of Blondie version) – 5:36 - "AtomicAtomic (song)"Atomic" is a song by the American New Wave band Blondie, written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman. It was released as the third single from the band's 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Song information:...
" (Harry, Jimmy DestriJimmy DestriJimmy Destri is an American musician. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and is one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member of the band for several more years...
) – 4:38 - "Picture ThisPicture This (song)"Picture This" is track number 3 from the 1978 album Parallel Lines by Blondie, the first collaboration with producer Mike Chapman, and was also the fourth single release from Chrysalis Records...
" (Harry, Stein, Destri) – 2:54 - "In the Flesh" (Special Mix - 1981 The Best Of Blondie version) – 2:30
- "Denis" (Neil Levenson) – 2:18
- "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" Presence, Dear" is a song from the 1977 album Plastic Letters by Blondie, and was the second single off that album, following up the international breakthrough single "Denis", reaching number 10 in the UK in May 1978...
" (Valentine) – 2:42 - "Union City BlueUnion City Blue"Union City Blue" is a song by the US rock band Blondie. It was written by Deborah Harry and Nigel Harrison, and was featured on their 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Single information:...
" (Harry, Harrison) – 3:20 - "The Hardest PartThe Hardest Part (Blondie song)"The Hardest Part" was the second song released as a single from Blondie's fourth album Eat to the Beat in the United States, instead of "Union City Blue". It was written by the group's principal songwriting partnership, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein...
" – 3:40 - "Island of Lost SoulsIsland of Lost Souls (song)"Island Of Lost Souls" is a song recorded by Blondie in 1981 and released as a single in April 1982. It was the first single released from their sixth studio album, The Hunter.-Song information:...
" – 4:40 - "Sunday GirlSunday Girl"Sunday Girl" was a UK number-one single by Blondie for three weeks in May 1979. It was Blondie's second UK number-one single after "Heart of Glass"; it was, however, never released as a single in the US.-Song information:...
" (Special Mix - 1981 The Best Of Blondie version) (Stein) – 3:03 - "MariaMaria (Blondie song)"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie, taken from their 1999 album No Exit. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no.1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK no.1 "Heart of Glass" in...
" (Destri) – 4:09