Plastic Letters [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Blondie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00005MNP9
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,942 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #54 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > American Punk

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Probably Not Their Best, But It's My Favorite, November 7, 2001

By 

R. Mix "Funkingroovin" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plastic Letters (Audio CD)

Yeah, the band known for its disco hit single and its 'People' magazine cover girl was once a legitimate new wave band. And their trash-camp aesthetic never sounded better than it did on 'Plastic Letters'.

By turns energetic, snotty and cinematic, Blondie tears through their second album with nary a misstep: Deborah Harry mis-pronounces words so they rhyme, sings like your kid sister slash brat one moment and warbles like a thirties movie starlet the next, and the band (especially keyboardist Jimmy Destri) is monsterous, and tears up song after song, managing to sound nimble and ferocious at the same time. (This was also the last time it sounded like they were having fun.)

Special credit must also go to drummer Clem Burke. He was not only one of the best drummers of the new wave, but one of the best drummers ever to grace a rock n' roll record. I can't imagine Blondie (especially 'Plastic Letters' and 'Eat To The Beat') without his propulsive, rock-steady drumming. This guy spent more time 'in the pocket' than a wallet.

And Blondie's Godzilla-meets-the-Shangri-Las kitsch? The song titles tell the story: "Youth Nabbed As Sniper". "I Didn't Have The Nerve To Say No". "Love At The Pier". "Fan Mail". And "Bermuda Triangle Blues". They make 'Plastic Letters' the mutant offspring of 'The Weekly World News' and 'True Confessions'.

And all of this trashy fun has never sounded better, thanks to Kevin Bartley's re-mastering. And kudos to Chrysalis for the re-release package, which includes pictures, a brief essay putting each release in perspective, and bonus tracks.

And as if 'Plastic Letters' needed the boost, its bonus tracks are the cream of the Blondie re-release project crop.

There's a pre-disco take of "Heart Of Glass", which rides a wonderful, TK Records-inspired groove, a previously-unreleased track ("Scenery") that deserved release a long time ago, an old B-side ("Poet's Problem") and a live recording of "Detroit 442".

Coupled with the late-nite, trashy fun of 'Plastic Letters' original tracks, this makes for a scintillating package. And at a budget price-point, it's damn near essential, especially for anyone wanting to investigate Blondie's roots. (Sorry!)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bang bang you're dead, February 17, 2006

By 

inhighspeed "Clark" (Orlando; Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plastic Letters (Audio CD)

A true classic; Deborah Harry has never been better, sliding into "Fan Mail" like liquid mercury, she blasts out of it like a siren; breezy pop "Denis," "Love at the Pier" and "I'm On E" presages later work; PL showcases the most clever and inventive group of the last 30 years -- e.g., the beguiling "Cautious Lip," downright scary "Detroit 442" and "Bermuda Triangle Blues," and best of all, Jimmy Destri's amazing, pulsing and enigmatic "Contact In Red Square," Destri's magnificent keyboard, amazing back-up vocals, and Clem Burke's phenomenal rat-a-tat drumming rushes you along this little thriller only to leave you stranded in a dark alley. More mature than their debut, and not quite the uptempo, chrome-polished pop of "Parallel Lines," "Eat to the Beat," or "Autoamerican," "Plastic Letters" highlights Burke's percussion and Destri's keyboards like no other Blondie project. "Plastic Letters" is Blondie's best. A top-ten must have from the 70s that leaves you yearning for more Destri, Destri's solo "Heart on a Wall" on CD.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blondie's second album presents the band in its rawest form, June 30, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Plastic Letters (Audio CD)

"Plastic Letters," Blondie's second album, released in October 1977, was pretty much in a similar vein to their self-titled debut album. The cynical attitude is there in the songs and the production values are fine (Richard Gottehrer was the producer on both albums), but the album just sounds for the most part like these were the songs Chris Stein, Jimmy Destri, and Deborah Harry had left over when they did the first album. The exceptions that prove the rule this time around would be "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear," which is one of my favorite Blondie tunes (and which was covered in the U.K. by Tracey Ullman). Unfortunately that song was written by Gary Valentine, who left as the group's bass player at this point in Blondie's early history. Otherwise you have punk/new wave attitude in songs like "Youth Nabbed As Sniper," "I Didn't Have the Nerve to Say No," "Love at the Pier," and "Fan Mail." "Bermuda Triangle Blues" is probably the best of the rest, but it depends on your taste.

Given what would happen with the next couple of Blondie albums when the group became a sextet and sharpened it sound, these first two albums clearly represent the band in its rawest form. "Plastic Letters" only reached #72 on the Billboard album charts and there were no singles released in the U.S. The U.K. saw "Presence, Dear" and "Denis" (which was a transgender cover of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise") both make it to the Top 10. Since you already have the best song on the "Best of Blondie" hits collection, if you feel the need to pick up all of the group's albums then be sure you pick up this remastered version of "Plastic Letters" with the bonus tracks, because that is the one worth the having.