Plastic Letters [Limited]

Performer: Blondie
Engineer: Rob Freeman
Distributor: Caroline Distribution

Notes: Blondie: Deborah Harry (vocals); Chris Stein (guitar, bass, vibraphone); James Destri (piano, organ, synthesizer, background vocals); Frank Infante (bass, background vocals); Clement Burke (drums, background vocals). Additional personnel: Dale Powers (background vocals). Producer: Richard Gottehrer. Reissue producer: Kevin Flaherty. Recorded at Plaza Sound Studio, New York, New York in June & July 1977. Originally released on Chrysalis (1166). Includes liner notes by Richard Gottehrer. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Considered by many to be Blondie's best, their second album catches the group poised on the brink of global superstardom. PLASTIC LETTERS' first single, a gender-switched cover of the '60s pop hit "Denise" by Randy and the Rainbows, was a massive British hit which went far towards dispelling the band's second-tier status on the New York punk scene. The rest of the disc improves immensely on their self-titled debut, with sharper songwriting and better production. Jimmy Destri's Farfisa organ is still the band's main musical focal point, but his playing has evolved, along with the melodies, beyond the simple '60s pastiches of the debut. "Youth Nabbed as Sniper" and "Contact in Red Square" continue the band's fascination with trash culture, but the glorious "I'm Always Touched by Your Presence Dear," written by departed bassist Gary Valentine, is a genuinely heartfelt, if ironic, love song.

Entertainment Weekly (9/21/01, p.85) - "...Benefits from full-bodied production and Clem Burke's crafty drumming..." - Rating: A-c Q (5/02 SE, p.134) - 4 stars ot of 5 - Included in Q's "100 Best Punk Albums". Q (10/94, p.135) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...where their frame broadened to include...sci-fi noise and such eerily memorable fare as `Fan Mail' and `Cautious Lip'..."

Although the press and public were initially focused on singer Debbie Harry's model-like good looks, Blondie was one of the first new wave bands of the 1970s to experiment with other musical styles. Beginning as part of the '70s CBGB scene in New York, the band experienced massive commercial success when they merged their '60s girl-group-influenced punky pop with disco, reggae, and rap. After the group disbanded in the early '80s, Harry went on to a solo career and acted in numerous films. Blondie had a successful reunion in the late '90s, touring and releasing an album of new material that showed they were far from done.

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