The Police Regatta De Blanc: bold moves equal giant steps for the "white reggae" band
Written: Jan 04 '05 (Updated Mar 25 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: twenty five(!) years later the hits are still fresh; Regatta is a Copeland time capsule
Cons: time has passed the rest of these songs by
The Bottom Line: This is the album that made The Police stars throughout Europe; America took notice, but wouldn't really catch up with the band until the release of Zenyatta Mondatta
bob_tomato's Full Review: Reggatta de Blanc [Remaster] by The Police
Mission Objective: Epinions' first complete survey of Sting and The Police
Mission Status: Jeopardized
Recommendation: Compulsory re-immersion for survey leader
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Giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon*
The Police had made a small impact in their native England with their first album Outlandos D'Amor, scoring a hit with Can't Stand Losing You (#42 in the UK charts, October 1978). They were still a completely unknown entity in the United States when they made the bold decision to tour in America, despite not having a bona fide hit or large record sales - but Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers and Sting had moxie in spades. With charisma and talent their only currency, they stormed New York City's CBGB club on October 20, 1978, beginning a 23 city tour in 27 days. They worked hard, they played hard, and they began to find their direction as a unit.
In April of 1979, the single Roxanne was re-released and, thanks to the band's touring efforts the previous fall, it managed to reach #32 in the U.S. The American market suddenly discovered the band, sales of Outlandos D'Amor took off, and the band started touring extensively in England and Europe. By September of 1979, they had gained enough popularity so that their first single from Regatta De Blanc, Message In A Bottle gained the #1 spot in the UK charts. The band had taken some giant steps in a very short time, and would soon find themselves on the brink of superstardom…
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Regatta De Blanc
Outlandos D'Amor was fast and loud, an album that the band often reproduced on stage in thirty minutes or less. As they matured during the end of 1978 and on into 1979, the manic intensity of Stewart's drumming began to be reined in by Sting's pop sensibility and Andy's experimental jazz guitar licks, and so their sound became more accessible to a wider audience. New songs written for Regatta De Blanc all reflected this change, though it was a sound that still squarely aimed at the now burgeoning punk scene throughout Europe. The end result of this blending was a slower, more artsy faux-reggae that became the signature sound of The Police.
In fact, the name of the album is perceived by many as faux French, meant to convey "white reggae", a term that definitely applies to this recording. When the band slowed their tempo down, Andy's choppy guitars and Stewart's rhythms suddenly sounded more reggae than punk, though both genres are implied at the same time. Sting's distinctive wail also lended some credence to this perception and so the album title is appropriate, no matter how badly The Police mangled le Francaise.
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I should have known this right from the start
No song better defines The Police's special blending of punk, reggae and jazz into a pop-friendly concoction than Regatta's opening track, the timeless classic Message in a Bottle. The initial verse is typical Police punk, full and driving, but it is important to note that, had the song been written and recorded just a year earlier, it would probably have been played much faster. Instead, the mid-tempo setting allows Andy time to setup some very nice jazz arpeggios on the guitar - it gives the music a melodious flow lacking in most songs on Outlandos D'Amor. When the song reaches the critical chorus, the bridge's chugging guitar and percussion drop away to leave only Sting's bass, Stewart's hi-hat rhythms, and Andy changes to his ethereal guitar chords. Voila! What started as a driving pop/punk song is suddenly reggae-ish. By the way, listen carefully to the percussion - Stewart's hi-hat work is terrific.
The difference of sound between the first and second album is due not only to the long touring schedule that gave them much needed experience playing together, but the band was also able to afford a better studio for the recording of Regatta De Blanc. Details that weren't available or were somewhat lost in the mix for Outlandos - primarily the actual ambience of the recording space, some nuance in the instrumentation, and the bass range afforded to Sting and Stewart - come to the surface in Regatta. Studio effects like the slight flange and the boosted echo in the bass drum in the introduction of Bring On The Night are clean, and the sound is spread out better, allowing more details to show.
The band concocted a couples songs together - the instrumental title track, and Deathwish. The song Regatta De Blanc introduces the Sting concert device of leading an audience in singing nonsense lyrics, belting out shouts straight from the gut, and it really is quite effective (I've seen him do it successfully lots of times myself). The only problem I have with the track is that just when it really seems to get moving and might be about to do something new, it fades out.
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all I made was one mistake
Sting's songwriting skill was still growing and improving during the Regatta era. He wrote five of the songs on his own, and had a hand in three others. In addition to Message in a Bottle (a song he continues to play in concert to this day), he penned other hits - Bring on the Night, The Bed's Too Big Without You and the timeless Walking on the Moon. I'd guess that most casual music fans could probably start singing some part of Walking on the Moon if their only cue was Sting's famous bass line - doot-do-dooooom, doot-do-dooooom…
The fifth Sting song is not a favorite of mine. No Time This Time might be a bone Sting threw to Stewart to feed his love of driving punk rhythms. It may even be a holdover from the Outlandos era as it has more in common with that sound than with Regatta. Other than this one mistake, I think that Sting's contributions to this album were solid and are set off nicely by the Copeland compositions.
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"you want something corny? You got it"
There's a house on my street
And it looks real neat
I'm the chap who lives in it
There's a tree on the sidewalk
There's a car by the door
I'll go for a drive in it
And when the wombat comes
He will find me gone
He'll look for a place to sit
- excerpted from On Any Other Day
One of the things I really enjoy about Regatta De Blanc are the four Stewart Copeland songs - On Any Other Day, It's Alright for You, Contact, and Does Everyone Stare. Now, I have to say that Stewart's songs lean more toward the Outlandos style, while the balance of songs on Regatta (read: Sting's compositions) have moved away from Copeland's straight ahead, driving punk sound. Stewart's fun-loving, manic songs are a far cry from the ever-growing pretentions of his bass playing mate, but they aren't as silly as they may seem on the surface. There's a wry wit and biting irony at work in these songs -
I've got a lump in my throat about the note you wrote
I'd come on over but I haven't got a raincoat
- excerpted from Contact
Big car
Movie star
Hot tip
Go far
Blind date
Too late
Take a bus
Don't wait
It's alright for you
- excerpted from It's Alright For You
These songs are also very generic for the period - funky chunky and chuga-chug-chugging along at a fast guitar driven pace straight into relative oblivion when placed next to Sting's efforts. Not bad efforts, but they certainly won't make the next collection of greatest hits by The Police (oh, it'll happen again, just you wait). There are some fun musical bits interspersed in these songs; I especially like the Beatles white album flavor used in the opening of Does Everyone Stare. It sounds as if Stewart is singing at the piano, accompanying himself for an early reference recording of the song. After a few moments, you can hear a male opera singer in the background; Police lore says that this sound bled through from another studio. Whatever the source, the band loved the mistake, kept the track, left the sound in, and crossfaded Stewart's track into the band's completed studio track just after the point where the opera singer is heard - the edit is not perfect, but it works well.
This Beatles-esque moment also serves to highlight Copeland's standing in the group - he was an integral part of the band, but he was rarely featured in a lead position. While Stewart was actually the founder of The Police, Sting quickly took over the Lennon AND McCartney roles, relegating Summers and Copeland to the parts played by Harrison and Starr - competent musicians supporting the star. Regatta De Blanc is your best chance to witness Copeland's skills as a songwriter and a singer out of all The Police discography.
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Shadows in the Rain
The Police's second album turned out to be a fairly successful debut for their emerging "white reggae" sound, and it features a good mix of material from both Sting and Stewart Copeland. The recording featured a couple really big hits for the band that are still quite popular today, and which paved the way for the band's third album to become their first big American hit. Regatta De Blanc was a foreshadowing of even more excellent material to come from The Police in a very short span of time. On it's own, it is an excellent synopsis of the band in it's maturing phase, and as such, is definitely worth a listen…
**Mission Objectives Underway**
Regatta De Blanc module complete
Zenyatta Mondatta module engaged
Mission Status: Restored
Recommendation: De do do do, de da da da is all I have to say to you
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The Police - Regatta De Blanc
Originally released in October, 1979 by A&M Records.
All quoted song lyrics are the copyrighted property of their owners
*Biographical information in this review drawn from The Police's box set Message in a Bottle: The Complete Recordings and from Sting's autobiography Broken Music.
Track Listing
Message In a Bottle / Regatta De Blanc / It's Alright For You / Bring On The Night / Deathwish / Walking On The Moon / On Any Other Day / The Bed's Too Big Without You / Contact / Does Everyone Stare / No Time This Time
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