Customer Reviews

Plastic Letters

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!)

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.

"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.

If you wanna see what the Class of '77 is all about check out this album. This was truly Debbie Harry and Co. at their edgiest. There's a lot of NYC angst on this album. Debbie Harry's scream in the middle of "Cautious Lip" may be one of the most jarring moments in a rock song - ever! Songs like the ones contained here make wanna-be's like Avril Levigne and Pink look like the gerbils they truly are. There, i said it.

Though the band found and wrote some good material for their sophomore effort, it couldn't help but be a disappointment after the burst of energy captured on their debut. Their coherence as a rock band is greatly improved (backed by Clem Burke's drumming, this is some of the most powerful powerpop ever recorded), but the inventive thrill of their debut couldn't help but find itself blunted as a second helping.

Harry's vocals are more assured this time out, powering her way through pop ballads like "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear," mixing English and pidgin French on a remake of the Randy & The Rainbows doo-wop hit "Denis," and bouncing off the walls of "I'm on E."

Bonus tracks include an early version of "Heart of Glass" titled "Once I Had a Love," an outtake from the first album ("Scenery"), a B-side ("Poets Problem"), and a live track ("Detroit 442"). The outtake, a fine Gary Valentine song, has more of a Byrds/Flamin' Groovies feel than the girl-group sound that predominated the debut. The B-side fits in with the album, and the live track (recorded a year after this LP) gives a sense of where the band took these tracks in a live show.

This is an essential part of the Blondie canon, and had it not followed such a stellar debut, it might stand a bit taller.

It is not the thematic and genre crossing masterpiece of Autoamerican, but the variety of song styles keeps this work from ever getting boring. The sincere/ironic singing style that Debbie Harry mastered here came into full bloom on Heart of Glass. Was she ever serious or not, does she really care? Love at the Pier is so fab because Debbie role plays as a gay male cruising the New York piers. Now that is true irony and on the great song, I'm Always Touched by Your Presence Dear, the band develops their fushion of the supernatural and scientific that will be a theme that runs throughout their entire career. Think of the "strange subtle entity" from Shayla on Eat To The Beat. Blondie is New York music at it's best, street smart, intelligent and stylish. It's re-tooled retro, full of wonder and beauty, just like the fantastic Debbie Harry.

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. I can still remember listening to it for the first time in 1977 and I loved it. I used to play it over and over again. Hearing it today is just as fresh as it was then. This album is their pre polished sound that was the real Blondie. It is a true example of their pop punk style. I saw them in concert in 1978 when they did Parallel Lines with the hit disco song Heart of Glass and Debbie Harry announced that they were not a disco band but a punk band. I guess that song made them popular but to me the real rawness of Blondie is in the songs on Plastic Letters. Every song is a classic. Give it a listen for the first time or rediscover it if you have'nt heard it in awhile. This is without a doubt one of my top ten albums of all time.

This is easily my favorite Blondie album. I first heard the whole record (CD) when I was in college in '91. It quickly grew on me (as did many of the old Blondie records; Ramones, Iggy, X, Misfits, etc.).

It's very raw and pop as well. The feedback-tinged scream at the end of "Cautious Lip" is up there with the psyched-out Iggy in the middle of "TV Eye." (side note: Blondie opened for Iggy on the "The Idiot" tour; Debbie has worked with him a few times since and covered his songs; the song "Detroit 442" is about Iggy - "feel hot to go like Jimmy-O.")

If I'm in a down mood, I can put on this record (or one of the first few Ramones records) to really bring me up. This record represents the band's aggressive side and some of their psychedelic influences ("flight 45," "Cautious Lip" and see "Fade Away and Radiate" a year later for more).

I always thought that Clem Burke's wild drum fills during the 2nd half of "Youth Nabbed As Sniper" were later used on the #1 hit "Call Me." The layered vocals at parts of the album sound great, almost "psychotic-epic." Also, Chris Stein was one of the first guitar players to use an 'EBow' on this record; I think he usually used/uses a thumb pick.

Jimmy Destri's songs are heavily represented hear, and they really stand out. Rumor is that Blondie will do a record in 2008; I sure hope that Jimmy will contribute songs, even if he doesn't tour with them.

The CD was re-relased in 2001 (9/11 incidentally) with bare bones bonuses and short liner notes by Richard Gottehrer. I would love to see a more deserving release (see X's and the Ramones re-relases; even those could be better) with band interviews, the original cover (Debbie in a Stardust motel pillow case wrapped in red gaffer's tape, finally released as a couple of posters, one of which is the cover of the 2006 release "Blondie Greatest Hits"). And of course, the songs that were not included on the album, alt. takes, etc.

Like the Stooges "Funhouse," I think this album will some day see its shining moment. Mostly every song on here, really does it for me. Heck, I even think the cover (well the cover that wound up being relased, the band on the cop car) is one of the best of all-time.

Plastic letters was the first LP I ever bought back in 1978. And still it's one of my favorite Blondie albums: dark and urban, THE Blondie new wave album.

The bonustracks Poets problem (B-side of the Presence dear single) and Scenery completes the album 25 years later!

If you want punk/new wave: buy it!!! If you love Blondie buy it too !!!

This, along with Parallel Lines and Blondie, is my new favorite album. Although, I have to disagree with the other reviewer here. Blondie's later stuff, their so-called "commercial hits" (which they were), were still excellent. The album Autoamerican, although featuring all "commercial" songs, is also an incredible album. If you listen to just one Blondie album, chances are you'll end up like me and own all of them within the next year.