Plastic Letters [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Blondie
Engineer: Rob Freeman
Distributor: EMI Music 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. Personnel: Debbie Harry (vocals); Chris Stein (guitar, E-bow, vibraphone); Frank Infante (guitar, background vocals); Jimmy Destri (strings, grand piano, Farfisa, background vocals); Clem Burke (drums, background vocals); Dale Powers (background vocals). Liner Note Author: Richard Gottehrer. Recording information: Plaza Sound Studio, N.Y.C (??/??/1975-11/06/1978); Walnut Theater, Philadelphia, PA (??/??/1975-11/06/1978). Photographers: Jonathan Postal; Bob Gruen; Andrew Kent; Phillip Dixon. 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. In artistic terms, Plastic Letters, Blondie's second album, was a classic example of the sophomore slump. If their debut, Blondie, was a precise update of the early-'60s girl group sound, delivered with an ironic '70s sensibility, its follow-up seemed to consist of leftovers, the songwriting never emerging from obscurity and pedestrian musical tracks. The production (again courtesy of Richard Gottehrer) was once again bright and sharp, but in the service of inferior material it alone couldn't save the collection. The two exceptions to the general mediocrity were "Denis," a revival of Randy & the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise," for which Deborah Harry sang a verse in French to justify the name and gender change, and "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear," written by Gary Valentine, who had left Blondie shortly before the recording of the album. Due to these two songs, the album became a commercial success, at least overseas. British-based Chrysalis Records had bought out Private Stock, giving Blondie greater distribution and more of an international marketing focus. The result was that "Denis" broke them in Europe, nearly topping the U.K. charts and followed into the Top Ten by "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear," with the album also peaking in the Top Ten. In the U.S., Blondie finally charted, making the Top 100. The songwriting problem did not seem to bode well, but they would take a distinctly different approach next time out. (The 2001 reissue added four bonus tracks including an early version of the breakthrough hit "Heart of Glass," here called "Once I Had a Love [AKA The Disco Song]"; "Scenery," another catchy song written by Valentine; "Poets Problem," the non-LP B-side of the single "[I'm Always Touched by Your] Presence, Dear"; and a previously unreleased live version of the rocker "Detroit 442.") ~ William Ruhlmann

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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