Blondie - Plastic Letters
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Free Music Notes for Plastic Letters
Free Music Review: Probably Not Their Best, But It's My Favorite
Hit: 4 Stars
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!)
Free Music Review: Blondie's second album presents the band in its rawest form
Hit: 4 Stars
"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.
Free Music Review: Fine, but not as magical as debut
Hit: 4 Stars
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.
Free Music Review: Still Great Listening
Hit: 4 Stars
Blondie broke through in the late middle seventies alongside the punk/new wave movement. Though their early records bear quite a few elements of punk, I'd think a more correct definition would be power-pop.
This, their second, album opens with a typical example of this style, the fine "Fan Mail", written by keyboard-player Jimmy Destri. Most band-members contribute songs to the album, though guitarist often seem to be regarded their main songwriter.
Two songs from the album were top ten hits in Britain, their big American breakthrough first came with their third album "Parallel Lines" "Denis" is an extremely catchy Buddy Holly type song, arranged like Phil Spector might have chosen to do it. "Denis" is the only song not written by a band member. "Presence Dear" is a strong rocker, written by bassist Gary Valentine.
Other tracks that stand out are the melodic pop-ballad "Bermuda Triangle Blues", the power pop tune "I Didn't have the Nerve" and the more experimental "No Imagination".
A few tracks may be a little forgettable, but I feel that the album as a whole has aged quite well, and it's still charming uplifting listening.
Free Music Review: 2nd Album
Hit: 4 Stars
Detroit 442?, Presence Dear? This album really represents Blondie as a new emerging group. The tracks are rocking and allow the listener to feel like he or she is actually in CBGB'S in New York. There is a fine line on this album though and I think it reflects the bands changing attitude towards itself. Debbie really puts the petal to the metal especailly on the track called "I'm On E" and "Cautious Lip" this album marks a real change in the direction of writing style and Debbie's vocal range as well. Plastic Letters spawned a couple of hit singles and the album is a great deal of punk type fun, it's an album for a real Die hard Blondie fan.