Plastic Letters

Plastic Letters
Studio album by Blondie
Released	February 1978
Recorded	June–July 1977 at Plaza Sound Studio, New York
Genre	New wave, punk rock
Length	34:46
Label	Chrysalis (1166)
Producer	Richard Gottehrer
Blondie chronology
Blondie (1976) Plastic Letters (1978) Parallel Lines (1978)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[2]
Rolling Stone	(negative)[3]
Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Plastic Letters is the second studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in February 1978 on Chrysalis Records. It was the second and final Blondie album to be produced by Richard Gottehrer. "Denis", a cover of the Randy & the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise", was a hit all over Europe; reaching no.2 in March 1978 in the United Kingdom, and was also a hit in Australia, reaching #19. "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" was the second single from the album, reaching no.10 in the UK in May 1978. The song was written by the band's original bass guitar player Gary Valentine, shortly before his departure from the band prior to the album being recorded (which necessitated Chris Stein playing bass as well as guitar). In fact, Blondie started recording the album while still at their old label, Private Stock Records, shortly after Valentine left for a solo career. The album peaked at no.10 in the UK and has been certified Platinum by the BPI. The pin dress Debbie Harry wears in the cover art was designed by Anya Phillips^[5].

Plastic Letters has been digitally remastered and re-issued twice. The first time was by Chrysalis Records in 1994 with two bonus tracks, and the second, in 2001 by EMI-Capitol with four bonus tracks.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Fan Mail" (James Destri) – 2:38
2. "Denis" (Neil Levenson) – 2:19
3. "Bermuda Triangle Blues (Flight 45)" (Chris Stein) – 2:49
4. "Youth Nabbed as Sniper" (Stein) – 3:00
5. "Contact in Red Square" (Destri) – 2:01
6. "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" (Gary Valentine) – 2:43
7. "I'm on E" (Deborah Harry, Stein) – 2:13

Side two

1. "I Didn't Have the Nerve to Say No" (Destri, Harry) – 2:51
2. "Love at the Pier" (Harry) – 2:27
3. "No Imagination" (Destri) – 2:56
4. "Kidnapper" (Destri) – 2:37
5. "Detroit 442" (Destri, Stein) – 2:28
6. "Cautious Lip" (Stein, Ronnie Toast) – 4:24

CD reissue bonus tracks (1994 UK)

14. "Poets Problem" (Destri) – 2:20
15. "Denis" (alternative version) (Levenson) – 2:22

CD reissue bonus tracks (2001)

14. "Once I Had a Love" (a.k.a. "The Disco Song") (Harry, Stein) – 3:58
15. "Scenery" (Valentine) – 3:10
16. "Poets Problem" (Destri) – 2:20
17. "Detroit 442" (live) (Destri, Stein) – 2:33

Personnel

• Deborah Harry - vocals
• Chris Stein - guitar, bass guitar, vibraphone
• James Destri - piano, organ, synthesizer, background vocals
• Frank Infante - bass guitar, background vocals
• Clement Burke - drums, background vocals
• Dale Powers - background vocals on "Kidnapper"

Production

• Richard Gottehrer - record producer.
• Recorded at Plaza Sound Studio, New York, New York in June & July 1977. Originally released on Chrysalis (1166)
• Kevin Flaherty - 2001 reissue producer.

Chart positions

Year	Country	Position
1978	Germany	#9
	United Kingdom	#10
	Sweden	#33
	Australia	#64
	United States	#72

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia		25,000^
Canada		150,000^
Europe		1,000,000*
France		75,000*
Netherlands		125,000^
Sweden		25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[6]	Platinum	500,000^
United States		700,000^
Summaries
Worldwide		2,200,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Plastic Letters at Allmusic. Retrieved 14 December 2005.
2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Blondie > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Blondie. Retrieved 15 April 2006. 
3. ^ Rachlis, Kit (April 6, 1978). "Blondie Plastic Letters > Album Review". Rolling Stone (262). Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071009112905/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/blondie/albums/album/178492/review/5946643/plastic_letters. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
4. ^ Brackett, Nathan with Hoard, Christian, eds (2004). "Blondie". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 85-86. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&lpg=PA86&dq=rolling%20stone%20blondie&pg=PA85#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 23 September 2011.  Portions posted at "Blondie > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/blondie/albumguide. Retrieved 29 May 2011. 
5. ^ Che, Cathy (1999), 'Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde', MPG Books Ltd, Cornwall, p.77
6. ^ "British album certifications – Blondie – Blondie". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Blondie in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go