The Best of Blondie

The Best of Blondie
Greatest hits album by Blondie
Released	October 1981 (1981-10)
Recorded	1976–1980
Genre	New wave
Length	43:37
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Mike Chapman Richard Gottehrer Giorgio Moroder
Blondie chronology
Autoamerican (1980) The Best of Blondie (1981) The Hunter (1982)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	A−[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 greatest hits album by American rock band Blondie. It was released in October 1981, by Chrysalis Records.^[5] The album peaked at number four in the United Kingdom and number 30 in the United States, while becoming the band's only number-one album in Australia.

Background

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 North American release: "Denis", "Picture This" and "Union City Blue".^[6][7][8]

Blondie's producer Mike Chapman remixed three tracks specially for this album. The special mix of "Heart of Glass" is a version that combines elements from the original album version (also the 7″ single mix in the UK) and the instrumental version. The special mix of "In the Flesh" is a Phil Spector-esque mix, with much echo. The special mix of "Sunday Girl" mixes vocals from the previously released French-language version of the song with the original English version. Additionally, "Rapture" appears in 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.^{[citation needed]}

The album cover was shot in June 1978 by British photographer Martyn Goddard on a rooftop in Midtown Manhattan.^[9]

Video version

A video version of the album was released on VHS, 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 television 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 re-released on DVD in 2002 as a part of Greatest Video Hits to coincide with the release of the album Greatest Hits. The songs "Call Me" and "Sunday Girl" were omitted from the track listing, but not from the video itself. In addition to the entirety of The Best of Blondie, this DVD also includes three bonus tracks not on the original release: "The Hardest Part", "Island of Lost Souls", and "Maria".

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Mike Chapman, except "In the Flesh", "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear", "Rip Her to Shreds" and "Denis", produced by Richard Gottehrer, and "Call Me", produced by Giorgio Moroder. All special mixes are produced by Chapman.

US and Canadian version

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Heart of Glass" (special mix)	Debbie Harry Chris Stein	Parallel Lines	4:33
2.	"Dreaming"	Harry Stein	Eat to the Beat	3:06
3.	"The Tide Is High"	John Holt	Autoamerican	4:41
4.	"In the Flesh" (special mix)	Harry Stein	Blondie	2:29
5.	"Sunday Girl" (special mix)	Stein	Parallel Lines	3:03
6.	"Hanging on the Telephone"	Jack Lee	Parallel Lines	2:21

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
7.	"Rapture"	Stein Harry	Autoamerican	5:36
8.	"One Way or Another"	Harry Nigel Harrison	Parallel Lines	3:33
9.	"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"	Gary Valentine	Plastic Letters	2:42
10.	"Call Me"	Moroder Harry	American Gigolo	3:32
11.	"Atomic"	Harry Jimmy Destri	Eat to the Beat	4:39
12.	"Rip Her to Shreds"	Harry Stein	Blondie	3:22
Total length:				43:37

International version

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Heart of Glass" (special mix)	Harry Stein	Parallel Lines	4:33
2.	"Denis"	Neil Levenson	Plastic Letters	2:18
3.	"The Tide Is High"	Holt	Autoamerican	4:41
4.	"In the Flesh" (special mix)	Harry Stein	Blondie	2:29
5.	"Sunday Girl" (special mix)	Stein	Parallel Lines	3:03
6.	"Dreaming"	Harry Stein	Eat to the Beat	3:06
7.	"Hanging on the Telephone"	Lee	Parallel Lines	2:21

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
8.	"Rapture"	Stein Harry	Autoamerican	5:36
9.	"Picture This"	Harry Stein Destri	Parallel Lines	2:55
10.	"Union City Blue"	Harry Harrison	Eat to the Beat	3:21
11.	"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"	Valentine	Plastic Letters	2:42
12.	"Call Me"	Moroder Harry	American Gigolo	3:31
13.	"Atomic"	Harry Destri	Eat to the Beat	4:39
14.	"Rip Her to Shreds"	Harry Stein	Blondie	3:22
Total length:				48:37

Video version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Album	Length
1.	"Call Me"	Moroder Harry	American Gigolo	3:42
2.	"In the Flesh"	Harry Stein	Blondie	2:27
3.	"X Offender"	Harry Valentine	Blondie	4:31
4.	"Denis"	Levenson	Plastic Letters	2:10
5.	"Detroit 442"	Destri Stein	Plastic Letters	9:34
6.	"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear"	Valentine	Plastic Letters	2:46
7.	"Picture This"	Harry Stein Destri	Parallel Lines	3:04
8.	"Hanging on the Telephone"	Lee	Parallel Lines	4:31
9.	"Heart of Glass"	Harry Stein	Parallel Lines	4:31
10.	"Dreaming"	Harry Stein	Eat to the Beat	2:58
11.	"Union City Blue"	Harry Harrison	Eat to the Beat	4:39
12.	"Atomic"	Harry Destri	Eat to the Beat	4:03
13.	"The Tide Is High"	Holt	Autoamerican	3:56
14.	"Rapture"	Stein Harry	Autoamerican	4:55
15.	"Sunday Girl"	Stein	Parallel Lines	3:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the US and Canadian edition of The Best of Blondie.^[10]

Blondie

• Clem Burke – drums
• Jimmy Destri – keyboards
• Nigel Harrison – bass
• Debbie Harry – vocals
• Frank Infante – guitar
• Chris Stein – guitar

Technical

• Mike Chapman – production (tracks 1–3, 5–8, 11); special mix production (tracks 1, 4, 5)
• Richard Gottehrer – production (tracks 4, 9, 12)
• Giorgio Moroder – production (track 10)

Artwork

• Peter Wagg – art direction
• Martyn Goddard – front cover photography
• Brian Cooke – back cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1981–1982) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[11] 1 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 15 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 46 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[15] 4 US Billboard 200[16] 30

Year-end charts Chart (1981) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] 81 UK Albums (OCC)[18] 18 Chart (1982) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[11] 14 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] 34

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia	—	200,000[20]
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[21]	Gold	10,000^*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[22]	Platinum	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23]	2× Platinum	600,000^^
United States (RIAA)[24]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Best of Blondie – Blondie". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. Rolling Stone Album Guide
4. "Birch, Ian (October 15, 1981). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. 3 (21): 25.
5. "The Best Of Blondie - 1981". rip-her-to-shreds.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
6. The Best of Blondie (liner notes). Blondie. France: Chrysalis Records. 1981. CDL TV1.
7. The Best of Blondie (liner notes). Blondie. Australia: Chrysalis Records. 1981. RML-52003.
8. The Best of Blondie (liner notes). Blondie. Japan: Chrysalis Records. 1981. WWS-90110.
9. "Picture This - Blondie by Martyn Goddard". SNAP Galleries. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
10. The Best of Blondie (liner notes). Blondie. Chrysalis Records. 1981. CHR 1337.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0422". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Blondie – The Best Of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
14. "Charts.nz – Blondie – The Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
15. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
16. "Blondie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
17. "Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. Vol. 35, no. 22. December 26, 1981. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
18. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1982). "The Top 200 LPs: January–December 1981". BPI Year Book 1982 (5th ed.). London: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 50–53. ISBN 0-906154-03-0.
19. "Top Selling Albums of 1982". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
20. "Market Leaders Surveyed: Majors Fight Economics with Quirky Rock Originals". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 23. June 12, 1982. p. A/NZ-4. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 23, 2020 – via Google Books.
21. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1982". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
22. "New Zealand album certifications – Blondie – The Best of Blondie". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
23. "British album certifications – Blondie – Best of Blondie". British Phonographic Industry. August 30, 1988. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
24. "American album certifications – Blondie – Best of Blondie". Recording Industry Association of America. November 3, 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2020.