Plastic Letters

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Template:DMCA Script error: No such module "Unsubst-infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters". Plastic Letters is the second studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in February 1978 by Chrysalis Records.[1] An earlier version with a rearranged track listing was released in Japan in late December 1977.[2]

Overview

This is the second and final Blondie album to be produced by Richard Gottehrer. "Denis", a cover of Randy & the Rainbows' 1963 song "Denise", was successful across Europe, reaching No. 2 in March 1978 in the United Kingdom, and also reached No. 19 in Australia. "(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 second bassist, Gary Valentine, shortly before he left for a solo career prior to the recording of Plastic Letters; his departure necessitated hiring Frank Infante on a session basis to play bass and rhythm guitar. (Infante would be promoted to being a full member of the band shortly after this album was released.) Blondie member Chris Stein is also credited with playing bass on the album, as well as guitar. During recording Blondie was still signed to their old label, Private Stock Records. The album peaked at No. 10 in the UK and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The pink dress Debbie Harry wears in the cover art was designed by Anya Phillips.[3] New friend Joan Jett of the Runaways is thanked on the back cover of the record.

In an interview in 2024, Frank Infante said, “There’s a lot of misinformation out there. If you look on Wikipedia, it says that the band did Plastic Letters as a four-piece and that Chris Stein played guitar and bass. No – I played guitar and bass. I did all the bass."[4] Infante, not yet an official band member at the time of recording, is credited on all issues of the album (as Frank "The Freak" Infante) with rhythm guitar and bass. Stein is credited with lead guitar, bass, e-bow and vibes.

Plastic Letters has been remastered digitally and reissued twice: the first time by Chrysalis Records in 1994 with two bonus tracks, and the second in 2001 by EMI-Capitol with four bonus tracks. The latter issue features the earliest demo of the band's future hit "Heart of Glass", then known as "The Disco Song".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStar[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
MojoStarStarStarStar[8]
QStarStarStarStar[9]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStar[10]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStar[11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide4/10[12]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "some of Blondie's hardness has been made pliable with curious arrangements and an attempt to make the band seem more formidable than it really is."[13]

Track listing

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Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Plastic Letters.[14]

Blondie

Additional personnel

Charts

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Certifications

Certifications for Plastic Letters
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[18] Gold 50,000 
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Platinum 300,000 

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ruhlmann, William. "Plastic Letters – Blondie". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Plastic Letters – 1978". rip-her-to-shreds.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Che, Cathay (1999). Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde. MPG Books Ltd. p. 77. ISBN 9780233994963.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bosso, Joe (March 28, 2024). "Blondie guitarist Frank Infante sets the record straight on his riffs and solos". Guitar World. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Christgau, Robert (1981). "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Larkin, Colin (2011). "Blondie". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Weingarten, Marc (September 21, 2001). "Blondie: Blondie / Plastic Letters / Parallel Lines / Eat to the Beat / Autoamerican / The Hunter". Entertainment Weekly. New York. p. 85.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bulley, Jenny (December 2016). "Blondie: Plastic Letters". Mojo. No. 277. London. p. 107.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Blondie: Plastic Letters". Q. No. 97. London. October 1994. p. 135.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Berger, Arion (June 8, 2000). "Further Listening". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Coleman, Mark; Berger, Arion (2004). "Blondie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Blondie". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 49–50. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.McGrath, Paul (March 1, 1978). "Hello, Hollywood". The Globe and Mail. p. F2.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Plastic Letters (liner notes). Blondie. Chrysalis Records. 1978. CHR 1166.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Jaaroverzichten – Album 1978" (in Nederlands). Dutch Charts. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 LPs in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 182–85. ISBN 0-906154-02-2.
  18. ^ Script error: No such module "cite". Enter Plastic Letters in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1978 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  19. ^ Script error: No such module "cite". Select albums in the Formats field. Type Plastic Letters Blondie in the "Search:" field.

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