Parallel Lines/Plastic Letters

I need not comment on the performances, as PaLi/Pl/Le are now enshrined in the annals of great rock, and always will be (PaLi is often ranked as a top 100 of the century.) This is strictly on the sound, which is extremely good. There are many transfers of both these songs and these two albums floating about. Aside from one very expensive Mobil Fidelity transfer which is now out of print, these are the best sounding CDs I have encountered, and are really quite natural sounding. The main competition is the 2001 remasters, which many complain are too bright, and the original Chrysalis CDs, which many feel are too soft and muddy. Exactly where these transfers came from I do not know, but this is a European pressing, which may have used masters sent over to the EU in the earlier days of LP. In any event, they are nicely done, totally non-compressed, and not digitally processed sounding at all. Quite similar to the original LPs, which were quite good. Highly recommended, and obviously, a tremendous value.

This set combines Blondie's two best albums from their 1970s heyday. Plastic Letters from 1977 has a more raw sound than Lines, but perfectly marries pop appeal with the punk attitude. Besides the hits Denis and (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear, other great songs include Fan Mail, the wistful Bermuda Triangle Blues and I Didn't Have The Nerve To Say No.The song I'm On E, referring to the vitamin, is quite hypnotic. The marriage of sometimes witty, always intelligent lyrics and clever melodies make a classic album that has aged very well. At least four chart hits were lifted from this album, but there could've been more.The follow-up was more polished. Picture This and Sunday Girl are evocative numbers with an undertone of sadness, somewhat in a 60's vein, while Heart Of Glass is of course the hypnotic mega selling pop disco hit, later covered by The Associates among others. My other favourites include the experimental and moving Fade Away And Radiate (Was this perhaps influenced by Bowie?) and I'm Gonna Love You Too, a happily rolling power pop tune.Tracks like Pretty Baby, 11:59 and Just Go Away are catchy and memorable too and could also have been hits. I'm not particularly fond of Hanging On The Telephone and the rest, but they also have plenty of melody and excitement. Blondie's pop displays wit and intelligence in the music, making wry comments on love and life.This combination provides the perfect window on the pop side of punk in the late 1970s: two classic albums that sound even better now in the current stale rock and pop environment.