Blondie Share Rediscovered Home Recording Of ‘Mr. Sightseer’
The newly unearthed track is part of the band’s first definitive collection, ‘Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982’
Blondie have shared a newly rediscovered home recording of the song “Mr. Sightseer,” which will be included in the iconic band’s upcoming first definitive collection, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982.
The freshly unearthed track previously didn’t make it out of the bedroom it was recorded in but has now been mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Michael Graves at Osiris Studio. “Mr. Sightseer” serves as the B-side to another rarity that was released recently, “Moonlight Drive.”
The new track was recorded in 1978 on a TEAC TCA-43 four-track reel-to-reel at the home shared by band members Chris Stein and Debbie Harry. “The lyric is not good at all,” Harry joked in a press release. “The song’s not too bad. It’s just a little simplistic. It didn’t ever get really developed or finished.”
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As part of Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982, “Mr. Sightseer” helps capture part of the history of the legendary New York band. The upcoming anthology record – which will be released on August 26 via UMC and The Numero Group – will feature 124 tracks and 36 previously unissued recordings, including takes from their first-ever basement studio session, alternate versions, outtakes, and demos.
The collection also delivers all of Blondie’s first six studio albums, with each being remastered from the original analog tapes and vinyl cut at Abbey Road Studios. The record weaves a near-complete story of how the band – comprised of frontwoman Harry, guitarist Stein, drummer Clem Burke, keyboardist Jimmy Destri, bassist Gary Valentine, guitarist Frank Infante, and bassist Nigel Harrison – became a vital strand of American music’s DNA.
Last month, Blondie unveiled the demo “I Love You Honey, Give Me A Beer” – the original sketch of a track that went on to become the country-inflected classic “Go Through It.” The Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers originally tracked and potentially wrote the song for Alan Rudolph’s film Roadie, which marked the band’s first collective foray onto the big screen.
