Blondie shares unearthed home demo "Mr. Sightseer"
The single has been newly mastered for the box set Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982
Offering another look into their history and song-writing process, punk pioneers Blondie have shared a recording of “Mr. Sightseer.” The unveiled single was originally recorded in the home of frontwoman Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein in 1978, and has since been remastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Michael Graves.
“The lyric is not good at all,” Harry jokingly says of the track. “The song’s not too bad. It’s just a little simplistic. It didn’t ever get really developed or finished.”
“Mr. Sightseer” will be featured on the forthcoming collection, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982. The all encompassing box-set features 124 songs spanning the band’s six albums, as well as 36 previously unreleased recordings.
The group previously shared the single “I Love You Honey, Give Me A Beer”—a demo which would eventually become Autoamerican’s “Go Through It.” To offer even more of a taste of what’s been uncovered in the years of working on the collection, Blondie also released their cover of The Doors’ 1967 track “Moonlight Drive.”
Many of the singles and outtakes were discovered in Chris Stein’s Woodstock barn, where they sat untouched for over two decades. Some other material on the box-set includes the band’s first-ever basement studio session, dozens of alternate versions, outtakes, and demos. This writer had the chance to listen to some of the remastered songs and hidden gems on the box-set in a private listening session, and readers, it rules.
Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 also comes with liner notes by Erin Osmon, track by track commentary from all seven of the original band members, essays by producers Mike Chapman, Richard Gottehrer and Ken Shipley, a 120-page illustrated discography, and hundreds of photographs.
Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 is set for release on August 26 via UMe and Numero Group.