Blondie To Showcase Long ‘Heart of Glass’ Evolution on New EP



Blondie had a lot of hits during their initial burst of fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but none of them were as enormous or impactful as “Heart of Glass.” The song shot to Number One all over the world when it came out in January 1979, instantly lifting the group out of the CBGB punk scene and into the pop mainstream. Nearly four decades later, they’re celebrating their breakthrough song with a six-song EP entitled BLONDIE: Heart of Glass chronicling the many incarnations the song took as they worked on it over a four-year period. The EP will be released on October 26th.

“‘Heart of Glass’ was one of the first songs Blondie wrote, but it was years before we recorded it properly,” Blondie guitarist Chris Stein said in a statement. “We’d tried it as a ballad, as reggae, but it never quite worked. At that point, it had no title. We just called it ‘The Disco Song.'” The new “Heart of Glass” EP includes an instrumental rendition of the song, an extended version, a mix by DJ Shep Pettibone, a 1975 recording when it was still called “The Disco Song” and a 1978 attempt where they labelled it “Once I Had a Love.” Numero Group, the vaunted label behind the EP, released a trailer teasing the project.

The new “Heart of Glass” set (which will be available as a deluxe 12-inch EP and on all digital formats) will be followed next fall by the box set BLONDIE: The Complete Studio Recordings 1975-1982, a collection of all their work from their initial formation all the way to the breakup. The band reformed in 1997 and have remained active as a recording and touring unit, releasing five new studio albums. They toured America this summer and have a handful of festival dates in the coming weeks, including the See.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey where they will share the stage with Incubus, Jack Johnson, Social Distortion and Deer Tick.

Fingers crossed for an actual CD release from our friends at Numero, not just vinyl and those execrable downloads:

Why put it on an optical disc when you can put it on vinyl and convince 20-something millennials that 4 songs are worth $20 because the format is "vintage?"