FEATURE:
Second Spin
The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
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THIS is a Second Spin…
IN THIS PHOTO: The Policer in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Barry Schultz
where I am featuring an album that was well-received and excellent, yet it does not get talked about as much as it should now – and some of the non-singles have been overlooked. The Police released five albums in their lifetime. With Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland in the line-up, you were always guaranteed of excellence! Maybe not their best-known and celebrated album, Reggatta de Blanc was released in October 1979. Following their impressive 1978 debut, Outlandos d'Amour, their follow-up is bigger and better. Aside from both titles having foreign titles, there are not huge similarities between the two. That is impressive given the short period of time between releases. Most people know the big tracks from Reggatta de Blanc: Message in a Bottle and Walking on the Moon. Although the album is a classic and it helped make The Police one of the finest and most important Post-Punk bands, there were some reviews that were mixed or unsure. Reggatta de Blanc definitely ranks alongside the best albums of the late-1970s. On The Police’s official website, they provide some notes and comments from the band for Reggatta de Blanc:
“LINER NOTES
A brief three months after their debut album 'Outlandos d'Amour' was released, The Police were back in Surrey Sound Studios recording tracks for their second album. This time there was a distinct air of confidence about the sessions. Whereas the debut was recorded piecemeal over six months or so, 'Reggatta de Blanc' came together very quickly, with the band actually cancelling two weeks of studio time that they did not require. Stewart Copeland recalled, "This time the material wasn't rehearsed but the band was. We knew each other's styles because we'd been playing together constantly for eight months, which we hadn't been doing when we recorded the first album. 'Reggatta' took us three weeks to record. We just went into the studio and said 'right, who's got the first song!'"
Sting was equally positive about the recording, "That was where it all clicked. There was so much happening in my writing and singing, Stewart's and Andy's playing, and suddenly it all meshed together. We had reggae influences in our vocabulary and they became synthesised into our infrastructure until it was utterly part of our sound and you couldn't really call it reggae anymore. It was just the way we played. I think 'Reggatta' was that moment for us."
A mere week after starting the session, the band were filmed at a one-off show at Hatfield Polytechinc for the BBC series 'Rock Goes To College', and they debuted a new song they were working on, 'Message in a Bottle'. Interrupting the recording for another tour of the States and a short UK tour the Police returned to Surrey Sound in August 1979 to complete the album before headlining the Reading Festival. 'Reggatta' was released in early October and certainly lived up to the expectations raised by the release of 'Message In A Bottle' a month previously, and stayed at the number one spot for four weeks. The band set off once more for the States before returning to the UK for a sell-out tour of major venues - Police fever had struck, and they were THE band of 1979.
Apart from a further three classic songs in the shape of 'Message In A Bottle', 'Walking On The Moon' and 'The Bed's Too Big Without You', the album featured several other strong tracks such as 'Bring On The Night', 'Deathwish' and several of Stewart Copeland's catchy, quirky tunes.
ARTIST COMMENTS
"We recorded our second album in much the same way as our first, even though we'd had some chart success with 'Roxanne' and 'Can't Stand Losing You' and a successful tour of the US under our belts. We used the same studio, although by now we could afford the day rate and brand-new multitrack tapes. I suppose we were a little superstitious about our good fortune and didn't want to change things too much."
"Lyrics", 10/07
"That was where it all clicked. There was so much happening in my writing and singing, Stewart's and Andy's playing, and suddenly it all meshed together. We had reggae influences in our vocabulary and they became synthesised into our infrastructure until it was utterly part of our sound and you couldn't really call it reggae anymore. It was just the way we played. That's the great thing about rock'n'roll. It bastardises everything, and I much prefer mongrels over pure races. As a musician, you learn your craft and emulate and copy people, and suddenly there's a moment in your development when you grow up and finally become yourself. I think 'Reggatta' was that moment for us. Then we got caught up in the whole business of becoming a "successful rock group" and almost lost it. We calmed down after that, but we had to work hard to get back into that serendipitous state again."
Musician, 6/83
"'Reggatta de Blanc' was actually a stage jam from the middle of 'Can't Stand Losing You' that eventually solidified into a new piece."
Stewart Copeland: Revolver, 4/00”.
Although the band are incredible and the production from Nigel Gray (and The Police) is excellent, Sting’s songwriting stepped up a gear. As this article highlights, he was developing into a hugely important scribe:
“Most pertinently, though, Regatta De Blanc underlined Sting’s rapidly-evolving prowess as a songwriter of significance. The singer-bassist demonstrated that he could blend infectious pop and militant reggae to near-perfection on live favorites “Bring On The Night” and “The Bed’s Too Big Without You,” but it was on the album’s twin peaks, “Message In A Bottle” and “Walking On The Moon,” that he really hit pay dirt.
Widely recognized as a high-water mark in their career, “Message In A Bottle” rewarded The Police with their first UK No.1 and remains a personal favorite of the band’s, with Andy Summers later remarking, “It’s still the best song Sting ever came up with and the best Police track.” The three musicians all put their stamp on the song, with Sting’s Robinson Crusoe-esque tale of loneliness and isolation aided and abetted by one of Summers’ most distinctive, cyclical riffs and some of Copeland’s most dynamic drumming.
Released after Regatta De Blanc had already topped the UK Charts, “Walking On The Moon” made it three in a row for The Police when it rose to No. 1 in November 1979. Though initially envisaged as a rocker, the song was later given a radically sparse, reggae-pop makeover starring Sting’s prominent bassline and Copeland’s dextrous drumming, ensuring the sonics (fittingly promoted by a video filmed at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center) captured the track’s gravity-defying subject matter to a T.
With Regatta De Blanc eclipsing heavyweights such as The Clash’s London Calling and The Jam’s Setting Sons in the UK charts, The Police entered 1980 as one of rock’s fastest-rising groups. Their superstars-in-waiting status was confirmed when they embarked on their first world tour and performed to capacity crowds in far-flung territories such as Mexico, India, Egypt, and Taiwan. By the time they released their multi-platinum third album, Zenyatta Mondatta, in October 1980, they’d become one of the biggest bands on the planet”.
I feel that, despite some positive reviews and kudos (Reggatta de Blanc is a definite classic), many people are not aware of the album. Not that many of its tracks (beyond the obvious hits) are played. It is a shame, as Reggatta de Blanc is a masterful work from a band growing stronger, tighter and more energised. In their review, this is what the BBC had to say:
“‘Message…’’ is not the only commercial triumph on the album. ‘’Walking On The Moon’ blends reggae beats with the frank and understated lyrics that the Police excel at. It also made it to number one.
More dub beats follow in ‘’The Bed's Too Big Without You’’ but this time with a more soporific affect. It brings the mellowness back into the album (and was later covered by reggae singer Sheila Hilton in 1981). It reminds you what it's like to miss a partner.
But the boys do break out from their reggae influences at times. What you get when you listen to the title track is a blur of world music - an indefinable wordless frenzy which just sounds like the boys having a blast and ends far too soon.
As ever, Sting’s lyrics run much deeper than they appear. His strangulated voice and the echoing guitars on ‘’Bring On The Night’’, epitomise one man’s desire to come to the end of his time. The line ‘The evening spreads itself against the sky’ is self-consciously taken from TS Eliot’s ‘’The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock’’, a poem which itself deals with frustration and alienation.
Three Copeland tracks ‘’Does Everyone Stare’’, ‘’Contact’’‘ and ‘’On Any Other Day’’ stand out for their discordance and black humour. The first two focus on the space that exists between individuals while the drummer himself takes over the vocals on "On Any Other Day" a humorous take on mid-life crisis.
Regatta de Blanc could only have come after Outlandos D’Amour. The production values are higher, more intricate and some of the music more grown up – incorporating world music and jazz influences as well as reggae and roots”.
Whilst not necessarily underrated, it is true that Reggatta de Blanc is not as celebrated and widely played as it should be. Compare it to other albums from The Police such as 1980’s Zenyatta Mondatta or 1983’s Synchronicity (their final album), and Reggatta de Blanc is not quite as revered and dissected. I think everyone should listen to Reggatta de Blanc and spend some serious time with it. If The Police made better albums, I don’t think any were as important…
AS Reggatta de Blanc.