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!)

A true classic; Deborah Harry has never been better, sliding into "Fan Mail" like liquid mercury, she blasts out of it like a siren; breezy pop "Denis," "Love at the Pier" and "I'm On E" presages later work; PL showcases the most clever and inventive group of the last 30 years -- e.g., the beguiling "Cautious Lip," downright scary "Detroit 442" and "Bermuda Triangle Blues," and best of all, Jimmy Destri's amazing, pulsing and enigmatic "Contact In Red Square," Destri's magnificent keyboard, amazing back-up vocals, and Clem Burke's phenomenal rat-a-tat drumming rushes you along this little thriller only to leave you stranded in a dark alley. More mature than their debut, and not quite the uptempo, chrome-polished pop of "Parallel Lines," "Eat to the Beat," or "Autoamerican," "Plastic Letters" highlights Burke's percussion and Destri's keyboards like no other Blondie project. "Plastic Letters" is Blondie's best. A top-ten must have from the 70s that leaves you yearning for more Destri, Destri's solo "Heart on a Wall" on CD.

"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.

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.

If you wanna see what the Class of '77 is all about check out this album. This was truly Debbie Harry and Co. at their edgiest. There's a lot of NYC angst on this album. Debbie Harry's scream in the middle of "Cautious Lip" may be one of the most jarring moments in a rock song - ever! Songs like the ones contained here make wanna-be's like Avril Levigne and Pink look like the gerbils they truly are. There, i said it.