Consumer Guide Album

Blondie: Plastic Letters [Chrysalis, 1977]
Side one is everything this band is supposed to be--seven fresh, clever, evanescent songs, each with its own hip twist. Whether Deborah Harry is claiming that using telepathy to win at poker is "really not cheating" or executing a siren call for the electric age (the bell she imitates sounds like it belongs on a squad car), her vocals are on top and out front, a pop-rock delight. But side two bombs, except for "Kidnapper" and a couple of refrains, and the singing gets lost in the mud. Me, I'd buy it for side one. But I'm not sure about you. B+