Essential overlooked gems: The five best Blondie B-sides and unreleased tracks
One of the most intriguing things about Blondie is that they almost stood in direct defiance of the punk scene they came from. Like many of their contemporaries, like Talking Heads, Blondie didn’t seem too concerned with staying loyal to the traditional sounds echoing through CBGB’s. Instead, they prioritised the one thing new wave came to represent: innovation.
In a way, this also made them one of the more authentic punk outfits out there. While the music might have deviated from the genre in many ways, instead embracing a sound that incorporated distinctive elements from a handful of genres, Blondie were punk in attitude, standing as a strong symbol of resistance against broader movements and external expectations.
While this wasn’t necessarily enough to warrant the label itself, Blondie never really cared that much for the association, instead enjoying gazing out onto the endless possibilities of musical reinvention instead of staying in one place for too long. As Debbie Harry once told AXS TV, “I don’t know if we were ever intentionally trying to break rules, but we were trying to expand our own experience and I don’t think we were actually a traditional punk band in that sense.”
One of the biggest indicators of this push for greater innovation lies beneath the surface in Blondie’s B-sides and unreleased material. While the hits paint a clear picture of who they wanted to be, these lesser-known gems reveal the true Blondie: the fighters against the status quo who, above all else, just wanted to perform good music and connect with others beyond what many expected them to do.
The five best Blondie B-sides:
‘Scenery’
A demo recorded during 1976’s Blondie sessions, ‘Scenery’ is perhaps one of the band’s rawest, more garage-leaning tracks that feels almost like accidentally stumbling across one of their live performances in the early days. Although it’s easy to recognise all of the familiarity that made Blondie great, ‘Scenery’ feels a bit like capturing a glimpse of music on the cusp of magic.
For some, ‘Scenery’ might seem like nothing all that special. It’s a little basic throughout and slightly melodically repetitive, but there’s something fun in its accessibility, demonstrating a band that never really wanted to concern themselves too much with embellishments if they weren’t incorporated for a purpose. For this reason, ‘Scenery’ is worth the attention.
‘Once I Had A Love’
An early demo of ‘Heart of Glass’ that was initially titled ‘The Disco Song’, ‘Once I Had A Love’ is a staple of Blondie’s story, if only for the way it represents perseverance and belief in their ability to deliver music that transcended boundaries. Most coming out of the New York new wave scene trialled genre-blending to varying degrees of success, but hardly anybody had mastered the step into disco.
‘Once I Had A Love’ might have been one of the first songs the band wrote, but it took years before it would be recorded properly, following a long road of trying to get it right on stage. And, even after the release of Parallel Lines, critics were sceptical. However, considering the popularity of ‘Heart of Glass’ now, revisiting ‘Once I Had A Love’ feels like entering a time capsule just before Blondie realised the secret ingredient to true excellence.
‘Poets Problem’
Another that might not seem that special upon first listen, ‘Poets Problem’ has become something of a lost gem among the other, louder splashes in Blondie’s discography. However, something about its jaunty arrangement and Harry’s raw vocal makes it seem like it could be older than it actually is, giving it a strangely nostalgic feel that’s as endearing as unpredictable.
There’s also a quirky element there, the type that feels like it could potentially be preluding to Blondie’s later tongue-in-cheek quips, particularly when looking at the garbled nature of some of the lyrics. We know that Harry eventually mastered the art of the cryptic lyric, and ‘Poets Problem’ feels like a formative step in establishing that aspect of her artistry.
‘Suzy and Jeffrey’
A song that immediately feels far moodier and darker than their usual game, ‘Suzy and Jeffrey’ feels more intensely linked to the grittier sounds of post-punk acts like Joy Division, showing a side to Blondie that most forget even existed. Through the haze of their definitive rock rhythms and disco-inspired beats, ‘Suzy and Jeffrey’ emerges as a haunting outsider, unsuspecting though endearing from start to finish.
That said, it also maintains the band’s effortless demeanour, with arrangements and melodies that feel immediately gripping without sounding like they’re trying too hard to master a style they weren’t entirely familiar with. Instead, the song exudes the same resigned outpouring found in many of their hits, proving that this was always a band capable of excelling in any arena.
‘Fade Away and Radiate’
It would be three years before Robert Fripp would reunite King Crimson when he appeared as a guest player on Blondie’s Parallel Lines. Throughout ‘Fade Away and Radiate’, his guitar work gives the song its eerie feel, perfectly matching its themes of dissociation and fading away through the screen. It’s unlike any other Blondie song, taking its time to hook its claws in, even if it exists nowhere beyond its own four-minute runtime.
Perhaps this is where Blondie feels the most explosive. More than their heart-thumping anthems, ‘Fade Away and Radiate’ peers behind the curtain, feasting its hollowed eyes upon the fractures of the world around, radiating the kind of new wave innovation many of the movement’s lasting bands grew to master. There’s a stillness, but one that feels welcoming, even if it’s temporary.
