When it came to the writing and recording of the follow up album, the band spent a total of four weeks in the studio, but it was spread out over six months of 1979, picking a week at a time when they had a break from touring. They did this so that they could continue to work and play while they were putting new material together. They also used the profits they had made from their debut album to pay for the recording, sticking to the same small studio and producer as they had for their debut album, in order to keep their record company at arms length, and allow them the freedom to explore whatever avenues they wished to without having pressure applied to them from others. When they did go into the studio, Stewart Copeland was quoted as saying that the band hadn’t even rehearsed the material, they just went in and worked on each track from scratch.
The style of music on their sophomore release continued down the track of what they had produced on their debut album, though there is a markedly lesser use of post punk on this album, and an increase in a new wave style, alongside the hard rock and reggae themes that were still a part of their core. Indeed, the name they chose for the album, “Regatta de Blanc”, apparently loosely translates from the ‘franglais’ as “white reggae”. In many ways, that is probably an accurate description of the direction at least some of the songs take on the band’s second album.
It has been widely noted in interviews and articles that with all of the material that Sting had produced for the first album, there was not as much forthcoming when it came to this album. What with the full on touring that the band was doing, even while preparing for this new album, there were not as many ideas coming through. As such, both he and Stewart Copeland delved into their pasts to come up with ideas, and along with Andy Summers produced the one album of the band's career which has a great diversity in writing partners. It was not to remain that way going forward, and in many ways, it contributes to this album being a mixed bag.
As mentioned in the opening stanza, there is still a solid mix of reggae rhythms here in some of the tracks, something that also found its way to infiltrate the UK punk scene at this time, and in regards to The Police, is really the only part of punk that remains in most of the songs on this album. "Bring On the Night" is the most heavily reggae influence track on the album. Listening to this song will actually bring you visions of images of dreadlocks and red and green beads in the hair. "The Bed's Too Big Without You" falls into a similar category. The musicianship is excellent, and Sting’s vocals slot in well for these types of tracks. Andy Summers guitar is superb while the drumming of Stewart Copeland uses every part of his kit in the way it is designed. In many ways, reggae is an acquired taste, and when it pops up in bands work who are not strictly reggae bands it can be a little confronting.
The good material on this album though is just brilliant. It leads off with the all-time favourite "Message in a Bottle", one that is one of the bands best known tracks. It's not only the wonderful guitar riff, accented with the simple but effective bass line and Sting's vocals, but take the time to listen to Stewart's amazing drumming on this song next time you hear it. It is brilliant and remarkable how much he can squeeze into the gaps that are provided for him. This is followed by the mostly instrumental title track "Regatta de Blanc", which apparently was derived from the long instrumental break the band used on tour when playing "Can't Stand Losing You". These are the lengths you have to go to when you don’t have that solid base of songs ready to be recorded, or the time to sit down and compose them. It's a ripper, a great crescendo of waves and motion of music. "It's Alright for You" follows up oh the first two songs and creates a pleasant listening atmosphere as the song bounces along. "Deathwish" involves all three members creating a great atmosphere again, with the three instruments changing course between fast pace and staccato throughout to create another mostly instrumental eloquent ending to the first side of the album.
The second single "Walking on the Moon" is simplified and slow in pace, and really does replicate a feeling of the title of the track, at least in the first two verses before reaching the chorus. It is still one of the band's most recognisable songs. The Stewart Copeland written song "On Any Other Day" also features Stewart on co-lead vocals, though Sting's vocals do make themselves more obviously known than would usually be the case in such circumstances. “Contact” is another Copeland composed track with an upbeat tempo and a new wave feel about the song, while “Does Everyone Stare” was based on a piano piece Copeland had originally composed back in college. The final track is another favourite, "No Time This Time". This originally appeared as the B side to the "So Lonely" single, recycled here to help get the length of the album up, and it is great that it got its own gig on an album as well. It's an upbeat fast temp track which concludes the album on a high.
My introduction to The Police came by the way of the singles on the radio, which through the early 1980’s often appeared on the local Wollongong radio stations 2WL and 2OO. My first taste of a The Police album was “Ghost in the Machine” because f my love of the song “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”, and then the final album the band released “Synchronicity”, which was one of the first albums I ever bought myself. And, as with all bands that I came to love, I eventually worked my way back to check out all of the albums that preceded the ones I knew.
When I first got this album, it was the two main singles that I knew like the back of my hand, both of which open up their respective sides of the album. So I would listen to those tracks, and then hear a whole bunch of nothing that followed, songs I didn’t know, songs of a different style completely from the two singles I knew so well, and songs that I really had no particular interest in liking because they were nothing like what I expected to hear. THIS I have found can be the problem with knowing a few songs far too well before you actually get to hear the whole album. It can corrupt the way you hear it and the way you may enjoy it. Fortunately for me, I recalled that this was exactly how I felt when I first listened to “Ghost in the Machine”, and that when I stuck with that album I did come to love it. So I stuck with it, over a period of months, and eventually I did find an enjoyment for the album as it was. The reggae infused tracks by the band have often been a sticking point for me, and that was a part of the problem here. But soon enough, the album merged and moulded its way to a form that I enjoyed, and it found its place in my collection of great albums.
Everything is open to opinion of course, and while there are some terrific songs here, overall, as an album I don't think it matches “Outlandos d'Amour”. That album still has a freshness and brazenness and energy that I don’t think this follow up album has, and perhaps that is because there is such a difference in the writing of this album, and the drawing of older material recycled rather than bringing the energy of what the three writers could have produced at that moment, if they had given themselves the time to do so. But – what the hell would I know. This doesn't detract from the fact that "Regatta de Blanc” is still far above average when it comes to albums being ranked through the ages, and is still a pleasure to put on the turntable to this day.
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