Blondie - Plastic Letters ((Vinyl))

Blondie: Deborah Harry (vocals); Chris Stein (guitar, bass, vibraphone); James Destri (piano, organ, synthesizer, background vocals); Frank Infante (bass, background vocals); Clement Burke (drums, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Dale Powers (background vocals).
Producer: Richard Gottehrer.
Reissue producer: Kevin Flaherty.
Recorded at Plaza Sound Studio, New York, New York in June & July 1977. Originally released on Chrysalis (1166). Includes liner notes by Richard Gottehrer.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Considered by many to be Blondie's best, their second album catches the group poised on the brink of global superstardom. PLASTIC LETTERS' first single, a gender-switched cover of the '60s pop hit "Denise" by Randy and the Rainbows, was a massive British hit which went far towards dispelling the band's second-tier status on the New York punk scene.
The rest of the disc improves immensely on their self-titled debut, with sharper songwriting and better production. Jimmy Destri's Farfisa organ is still the band's main musical focal point, but his playing has evolved, along with the melodies, beyond the simple '60s pastiches of the debut. "Youth Nabbed as Sniper" and "Contact in Red Square" continue the band's fascination with trash culture, but the glorious "I'm Always Touched by Your Presence Dear," written by departed bassist Gary Valentine, is a genuinely heartfelt, if ironic, love song.

• RSD Release Date: n/a
• Genre: Rock