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Track Listings
| 1. Fan Mail |
| 2. Denis |
| 3. Bermuda Triangle Blues (Flight 45) |
| 4. Youth Nabbed As Sniper |
| 5. Contact In Red Square |
| 6. I'm Always Touched By Your Presence, Dear |
| 7. I'm On E |
| 8. I Didn't Have The Nerve To Say No |
| 9. Love At The Pier |
| 10. No Imagination |
| 11. Kidnapper |
| 12. Detroit 442 |
| 13. Cautious Lip |
| 14. Once I Had A Love (Aka The Disco Song) |
| 15. Scenery |
| 16. Poet's Problem |
| 17. Detroit 442 (Live) |
Editorial Reviews
Blondie Photos
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More from Blondie
 Blondie - Greatest Hits |  Parallel Lines |  Blondie |
 Autoamerican |  Eat to the Beat |  The Hunter |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format: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!)
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
Format: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
Format: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.
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.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Getting closer to perfection.
Blondie "Plastic Letters" (1977) #72.
Second album by these New Yorkers. You get UK hits in, "Denis", "I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear". Read more
Second album by these New Yorkers. You get UK hits in, "Denis", "I'm Always Touched By Your Presence Dear". Read more
Published 1 month ago by ScottE
Darker Than Their Debut But Essential Blondie
Note to those who think they know all they need to know about Blondie because they own "Parallel Lines", "Eat to the Beat" and a greatest-hits package: Go out and grab "Blondie"... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kasey G
Blondie become more than just a pretty face
Less than a year after their quirky self-titled 1976 debut, Blondie returned with the stronger, punkier `Plastic Letters', complete with their pop trash culture influences solidly... Read more
Published 10 months ago by B. S. Marlay
Blondie Making Good Second Time Out
If you look at the history of Blondie this is probably one of their more forgotton albums. At this point they'd had a reasonably successful debut but major label attention still... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Andre S. Grindle
Nice follow-up!!
The only negative thing about this album is that it isn't as charming as the first. This album is sandwiched between an excellent debut and an explosive third release that would... Read more
Published 20 months ago by tunancheese
Second Blondie album
Some more of the same . . like the first album, not quite as slick as Parallel Lines (different producer) but every bit as enjoyable. Full of energy . . a must have. Debbie rules.
Published on March 22, 2010 by zoid
Presence, Dear
That's what Debbie Harry exuded, in concert and video. It's also the title of my favorite Blondie hit (U.K. only). The band took longer to catch on in the states. Read more
Published on December 20, 2009 by Mike B.
music that just amazes me time and time again
I have the original 1990 version of Plastic Letters, and WOW, even though the sound quality is probably a notch below the remastered version, what you can easily notice about this... Read more
Published on June 27, 2009 by B. E Jackson
Still my favorite Blondie album. An underrated classic.
If you have never heard Blondie's Plastic Letters before then you are in for a treat. This is still and always will be my favorite Blondie album. Read more
Published on April 1, 2009 by Kelvin Kettle
Still trying to find themselves
Plastic Letters is Blondie second album and was released on October 1977. The cassette is thirty-four minutes and forty-six seconds long and reached #72 on the US Billboard 200... Read more
Published on January 22, 2009 by Michael Patrick Boyd
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