It has been widely noted 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 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 so much diversity in writing partners. As such it is a mixed bag.
Some of the material I find is a bit too much off the wall, or even just too damn reggae! "Bring On The Night" especially is just a little too reggae for me to enjoy thoroughly. It always brings to me images of dreadlocks and red and green beads in the hair. It's just not in my style bracket. "The Bed's Too Big Without You" falls into a similar class. Though the musicianship is terrific throughout the song, I again have trouble finding enthusiasm for the track with the excess influence of the reggae sound. I guess you have to accept this when the rough translation of the album title is 'white reggae'.
The good material though is just brilliant. It leads off with the all-time favourite "Message In A Bottle", which is certainly up there in my favourite five songs of The Police. 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". It's a ripper, a great crescendo of waves and motion of music. "It's Alright For You" Doesn't match the first two songs but creates a pleasant listening atmosphere. "Deathwish" involves all three players nicely, with the three instruments changing course between fast pace and staccato throughout to create a 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 lead vocals, though Sting's 'background' vocals do make themselves more obviously known than would usually be the case in such circumstances. The final track is another favourite, "No Time This Time". This originally appeared as the B side to the "So Lonely" single, 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.
Everything is open to opinion, and while there is some terrific songs here, overall as an album I don't think it matches Outlandos d'Amour. There are just a few spots along the way that don't quite grab me. This doesn't detract from the fact that it is still far above average when it comes to albums being ranked through the ages.
Rating: "Woke up this morning, don't believe what I saw". 4/5.
No comments:
Post a Comment