Blondie dig up unheard demos for first official boxset Against The Odds 1974-1982

Celebrating the band’s legacy, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 is the first band-authorised collection to be released in their fifty year history.

The mammoth box set features 124 tracks (36 previously unissued), remastered versions of their first six studio albums- Blondie, Plastic Letters, Parallel Lines, Eat to The Beat, Autoamerican and The Hunter, a demo showcasing the group’s first ever recording session, alternate versions and studio outtakes.

Housed in a foil-wrapped carton, Against The Odds includes extensive liner notes by Erin Osmon, track by track commentary from Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Jimmy Destri, Nigel Harrison, Frank Infante, and Gary Valentine, essays by producers Mike Chapman, Richard Gottehrer, and Ken Shipley, a 120-page illustrated discography, and hundreds of period photographs.

"It really is a treat to see how far we have come when I listen to these early attempts to capture our ideas on relatively primitive equipment. Fortunately the essence of being in a band in the early seventies held some of the anti-social, counter culture energies of the groups that were the influencers of the sixties. I am excited about this special collection. When I listen to these old tracks, it puts me there like I am a time traveller. As bad as it was sometimes, it was also equally as good. No regrets. More music,” Debbie Harry said in a statement.

The bulk of Blondie’s audio and visual archive sat inside co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein’s barn for nearly twenty years, including one hundred reel-to-reel tapes, storage tubs crammed with records and various pieces of band memorabilia.

"From the moment I walked into Chris Stein's barn and saw a wall of tapes I knew we were on the precipice of something extraordinary," producer Ken Shipley said. "Against The Odds is a treasure chest disguised as a box set."

Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 Box Set is released on August 26th via UMe and The Numero Group.

Preorder the new boxset here.

Check out our 2007 interview with Debbie Harry here.