Plastic Letters [Bonus Tracks] Blondie

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CD - Remastered / Bonus Tracks

  • Release Date: 09/11/2001
  • Original Release: 1977
  • Sales Rank: 7,741
  • Label: CAPITOL
  • UPC: 724353359829

Listener Rating: (4 ratings)

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CD - Bonus Tracks$49.99
 
  • Overview
  • Tracks
  • Editorial Reviews
  • Customer Reviews
  • Details & Credits
Track List
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Plastic Letters [Bonus Tracks]

1LISTENFan Mail 2:38
2LISTENDenis I'm in love with you, remake, cover, fool for you 2:19
3LISTENBermuda Triangle Blues (Flight 45) 2:48
4LISTENYouth Nabbed as Sniper 3:03
5LISTENContact in Red Square 2:02
6LISTEN(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear 2:43
7LISTENI'm on E 2:18
8LISTENI Didn't Have the Nerve to Say No 2:52
9LISTENLove at the Pier 2:28
10LISTENNo Imagination 2:55
11LISTENKidnapper 2:37
12LISTENDetroit 442 2:29
13LISTENCautious Lip 4:32
14LISTENOnce I Had a Love (AKA the Disco Song) Bonus Track / 1975 Version 3:58
15LISTENScenery Bonus Track 3:10
16LISTENPoets Problem Bonus Track 2:20
17LISTENDetroit 442 Live / Bonus Track 2:33

About this Artist

Editorial Reviews

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, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Plastic Letters [Bonus Tracks]by Anonymous

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January 05, 2005: Blondie's second album Plastic Letters features song titles seemingly ripped from tabloid headlines, such as "Youth Napped As Sniper", "Love at the Pier", "Bermuda Triangle Blues", "Fan Mail", and others. The songs are dark, short tributes to obsessed fans, child snipers, pop psychics, and other nowhere people, and the album is truly the most difficult and inaccessible record the band ever made. Indeed, its only real "hits", in Europe at least, were a cover of the Randy and the Rainbows single "Denise", (changed to the mail gender by turning "Denise" into the French name "Denis"), and "I'm Always Touched by Your Presence Dear," a very lyrically clever ode to false mediums and psychics everywhere. Despite the lack of easily accessible pop hits when compared to the groups other albums, when the album has time to work its spell, it remains a forgotten classic. Usually cited as having "sophomore slump" or "second-rate" songs by most critics, it is important to remember that most of the time this album is judged in comparison to the bubbly punkish jubilance of the first album, or its successor, Parallel Lines. Taken on its own, however, Plastic Letters has songs which feature intelligent, often biting lyrics, and music which becomes more and more hypnotizing upon repeated listenings. Be warned: the quality of this album may not be apparent upon first listen, but with repeated listenings it becomes a dark, addictive experience, and may in fact be one of Blondie's best albums when taken out of the context of their other, more pop-oriented works.

Plastic Letters [Bonus Tracks]by Anonymous

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March 11, 2003: Good punk album. There are angry songs. It is strange that some songs are slow although I've though that punk is usually fast. Well, good classic "Denis" and "I'm Always Touched by You Presence, Dear" anyway. Unfortunately, there are some tracks like "Kidnapper" which are too simple.


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