Customer Reviews

Reggatta De Blanc

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This digipak version of this great album is a real treat because they did a great job remastering this. The sound quality is very good and seems to have given the whole album a whole new lease of life; it's almost as if I'm listening to this for the first time.

Although many people like "Synchronicity" and probably first started being Police fans after that album, I was a fan from the early days when I first heard "Don't Stand So Close To Me" from the "Zenyatta Mondatta" album. The sounds I heard just blew me away; the uniqueness of the music and the fact that the band, almost zen-like, used like the Eastern artists do, no sound or silence as an important part of their music.

If you look at Eastern, Chinese or Japanese art, the space that is not painted on is just as important as the part that is painted. One could "over-paint" and destroy what would have been a great piece of art. Similarly in the music of the Police, you'll notice that the space or the parts without any music allows the tracks to breathe and the "spaci-ness" actually is a Police trademark and works very well for them; too many notes and it just wouldn't work.

Perfect examples of this are on "Walking On the Moon" and "The Bed's Too Big Without You." Contrast this with the more "busy" tracks like "Message In a Bottle" and "No Time This Time" and you'll see what I mean about like fine wine, letting the music breathe to attain maximum aural effect and The Police were masters at doing this.

From an overall great complete, coherent, flowing album perspective, this album is second only to "Zenyatta Mondatta" but miles ahead of "Synchronicity" which had great singles but sounds very disjointed as an overall album and truth be told had some pissed poor tracks like "Mother" and "Synchronicity 1" and if ever an album would have been better off with one less track, that one was it as "Murder By Numbers" although a great track on its own, should never have been on the album.

No weak tracks on this baby, though and given the great digipak packaging and the great remastered sound, this is the version that you should get. Highly recommended.

The second side of Ghost is genius, and all of their records are four stars at least, but Regatta created the template for everything that followed. Reggae grooves mixed with rock energy, incredible open-throated singing from Sting, fabulous pop songs mixed with dialogues of internal turmoil, Copeland's tremendous drumming, Summers' brilliant rhythm concepts and use of heavy compression, delay, and chorusing; no other band ever got this funky and yet uniquely poppy on a massive scale.

When Walking On The Moon came out, it was the best single for years, and is still one of the great pop songs. Simple and yet so full of character.

Every song on this record is good, even the non-Sting tunes (SC and AS are not great songwriters, as evidenced by their solo careers). Bring On The Night and Bed's Too Big are among the all-time classics.

I'm listening to a live tape of their 11.24.80 Toronto show, right when Zenyatta came out, and as good as it is, you can tell that they're already plateaued. But to plateau at the very top of your game and stay there for four years is no shame! I saw them a few times at this point and on the next few tours, and they always made audiences very happy indeed, creating a huge sound for a three-piece band by using space wisely.

Sting's politics are often right on, but when he kept his lyrics pointed at interpersonal politics, as on here, he was at his very best.

Ignoring all of the above, this album rocks and bops and is full of catchy melodies...that's enough reason to love it forever.

Although The Police's second album, Reggatta De Blanc, doesn't receive the recognition of their other albums, it is a very underrated release and their best album next to Zenyatta Mondatta. Sting's tenor and bass playing were in fine form, Stewart Copeland's drumming continued to be very creative, and Andy Summers' distinctive guitar work was more upfront than on their future releases. Even though none of the songs hit the U.S. Top 40, the melodic "Message in a Bottle" and the sparse "Walking on the Moon" have now become timeless classics and continue to receive steady rotation on classic rock radio. While these songs are top notch, several tracks like the power-pop of "It's Alright for You", the solemn piano-driven "Does Everyone Stare", and the driving instrumental title track are just as good. In fact, the best track on the album is the seldom played melancholy love song "The Bed's Too Big Without You." Other strong tracks include the reggae tracks "Deathwish" and "Bring on the Night", the frantic rocker "No Time This Time", and the humorous "On Any Other Day", which is the only Police track to feature a lead vocal from Copeland. All told, Reggatta De Blanc is a great album that would pave the way for the Police to become international superstars. Highly recommended.

After The Police released their debut album "Outlandos d'Amour" they released the single "Landlord". Quite possibly the hardest they ever rocked the single only appeared on the Police box set. It would had been nice if they had tacked it on to their second album "Reggatta de Blanc" but it would had seem completely out of place. Thats because the group had, in some ways, moved away from the high energy post-punk of their debut and instead concentrated on making atmospheric and more moody reggae pop/rock.

The opener "Message In A Bottle" for example is not only more mature lyrically but also has a more smoother, studio touch to it musically. A moody ska and jazz rocker about isolation from love and society, it rightfully became one of their biggest hits of all time. The group could still rock hard on tracks such as "It's Alright" and the album closer, but other tracks such as the dreamy space pop of "Walking On The Moon" led a new way for what New Wave could achieve. The title track refines this idea even more so. It's an instrumental track that features advanced studio florishes and bizarre chants from the group members that even won a Grammy for best instrumental. Other notable tracks include the Stewart Copeland original "On Any Other Day" which sounds like a Cheeche And Chong left over. Highlights also include the paranoid swings of "Contact" and "Everbody Stares" which are the icing on the cake to an already excellent album.

Overall, somewhat of a difference from the rockers of their first album but in a way this is a more challenging and rewarding listen. At the very least this is only a prelude to the Police's next masterpiece album.

This album has held up well to the test of time. Just as much a treat to listen to today as when it was released. Not a bad track. A very innovative musical outing!

Their 2nd album, _Regatta de Blanc_ is my favorite Police album. In addition to containing the landmark "Message in a Bottle" (Sting's favorite song from the group, as well as Andy Summers' fav) and "Walking on the Moon", the album also features the extraordinary "Bring on the Night." The production on this song is amazing - a crisp, melodic bassline lays beneath Sting's vocal delivery of lines such as "The afternoon has gently passed me by/the evening spreads itself against the sky." Songs like "Bring on the Night" indicate where Sting was headed with The Police as well as his own solo career. The 'punk' aspects of The Police's early work is evident on the Dylan-esque vocal delivery of "It's Alright For You" and one of the most aggressive Police songs, "No Time This Time." The Stewart Copeland-written tracks, "Does Everyone Stare" and "On Any Other Day" are fun and melodic, if not as memorable and riveting as the Sting-penned tunes. Another highlight on the album is the reggae-tinged "The Bed's Too Big Without You." In addition to a representation of Sting's songwriting growing stronger, _Regatta De Blanc_ is also a nice example of how great a bass player Sting is. He's far from flashy - but does anyone write better pop bass lines? This is an excellent album.

'Ahhh, Grasshopper. The record cover is indeed a strange and misnamed thing: for verily it reveals more than it covers.' That's what my old Shaolin master used to say back at the monastery, and boy was he right. You only have to glance at the unsmiling faces of Messrs. Sumner, Summers and Copeland (shot in equally serious black-and-white) to realise that the contents of 'Regatta de Blanc' are going to be neither bright nor breezy.

The radio-friendly opener 'Message in a Bottle' throws you off for a while, but thankfully it's mainly pessimism from there on in. The core of this album is brilliant, dark songs like 'Bring on the Night', 'Does Everyone Stare', 'Deathwish', 'Contact' and 'The Bed's Too Big Without You'. The playing is sparse and Sting's voice as subdued as the music. Sandwiched around these are the classic 'Walking on the Moon, the goofy 'On Any Other Day' (which I quite like, but no-one else this side of Betelgeuse cares for) and the unremarkable 'It's Alright For You' and 'No Time This Time'. The title track is musically interesting and has the merit of not having too many lyrics to memorise (sing along, now: 'ee-yoh, ee-yeh, ee-yeh-yoh').

Mind you, even my old Shaolin monk couldn't tell me what the hell the album's title means (not to mention 'Zenyatta Mondatta' or 'Outlandos D'Amour'). I can just see it now on Letterman: 'TOP TEN REJECTED NAMES FOR THE POLICE'S FIRST THREE ALBUMS. No. 10: Achtung Der Chihuahua... No. 9: Eau d'Tourette... Anyway, this is an album that I feel deserves a wider audience (and maybe even an Amazon.com review?)

I still remember the first time I heard "Message In a Bottle" back in 1980, and how much I loved it, and influenced by the powerful sound of this (at that time) new band.
Not only the above stated opening song, but all the 11 tracks are excellent.
My favourites are "Message In a Bottle" (for sure), "Bring On the Night" (one of the best songs of the band), "Deathwish", "Walking On The Moon", "The Bed's Too Big Without You" (a truly melancholic and touching one), and the most "heavy" song of the Police: "No Time This Time".
"Regatta De Blanc" is also a very good album showing the Police as a real trio, and not a Sting-owned band.
This album is definitely a collectors item!..

In my mind, this is the best Police album. They still had a bit of the punk sensibility, but fused that more with their signature reggae sound than on the first album. best songs: 'Message in a Bottle', 'Bring on the Night', 'Walking on the Moon', 'The Bed's too Big Without You'....

It is hard to believe that a band can become a Hall of Fame band with just five studio albums to their name, but the Police are such a band. This is an honor that the Police are most worthy of. The Police were sort of an off-shoot of the Punk Rock movement of the late 1970s. The band would eventually encompass other influences - namely Classic Rock, Reggae, Jazz, Dance, and even Folk. On the band's 1978 debut album, "Outlandos D'Amour" the Police established an innovative sound by incorporating Punk Rock and Reggae influences with a Classic Rock sound. One year later, the band would release their second effort, "Regatta de Blanc" which would continue the foundation and style that was established on "Outlandos D'Amour". In the five album portfolio of the Police, this is the one album that often goes most-overlooked.

On "Outlandos D'Amour", the Police really show their potential is through their instrumentation. This trend continues on "Regatta de Blanc". While many identify the band with Sting's distinctive voice, he often goes underrated for being an outstanding Bass player. This album demonstrates Sting's best Bass work. While Sting's Bass provides a lot of the nucleus that will drive the Police's sound, it is important to know that Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland play equally key roles on the band's sound. Andy Summers provides the right chords from an Electric Guitar standpoint when needed while Stewart Copeland shows why he is the best in the business.

Also similar to "Outlandos D'Amour", the band continues to have a "raw" sound. The contributions of all three members that really make the Police something special - and "Regatta de Blanc" demonstrates this. Here is a brief synopsis of each of the tracks.

"Message in a Bottle": While this song has suffered from overplay, I feel this song was perfectly assembled in the studio. It is evidence of the how the Police's instrumentation is so powerful. This is a classic example of Sting's Bass providing the nucleus for a song's sound. One thing worth remembering is that this song really shows how powerful a voice that Sting has.

"Regatta de Blanc": While not the "household" Police song, this song has garnered considerable live-play by the Police throughout their career. This has been commonly heard intertwined with the live version of "Can't Stand Losing You". This song is more of a quasi-instrumental - I would describe it a great jam session with overlaying chants by Sting.

"It's Alright For You": This song has a heavier Punk Rock influence. Sting's Bass does a great job at setting the tone for this song as well. Again, more great instrumentation by the band - in particular, Andy Summers' guitar and Stewart Copeland's Drums are lock step in-sync with Sting's Bass throughout the song.

"Bring on the Night": This song has more of a Reggae influence. While Sting has used this song in his solo career, many forget it was a Police song. Once again, major credit has to go to Sting on the Bass.

"Deathwish": More Punk Rock influence by the band. While Andy Summers is outstanding, I particularly hear Sting's Bass and Copeland's Drums working in true harmony together.

"Walking on the Moon": Both deep and casual Police fans know this song. This song has Reggae roots. More great Bass work by Sting, but this time it's Andy Summers adding the guitar chords at the right time.

"On Any Other Day": This song utilizes spoken words by the band. This song has a Punk influence. A very good song, this song could easily be the most humorous by the band. If you follow the lyrics, it almost sounds like a prequel to "Synchronicity II" from 1983's "Synchronicity".

"The Bed's Too Big Without You": This song almost as a UB40 feel to it - it has a major Reggae influence, but also has a haunting feel to it. On this song, Sting's Bass plays more of a complimentary role as Stewart Copeland's drumming is the nucleus for this track.

"Contact": Another underrated track by the band. This track has lighter Punk feel to it than the other tracks. Sting's Bass goes back and sets the driving tone for this track again. There is a particularly good bridge of guitar work by Summers about 1 minute into the song.

"Does Everybody Stare": This song takes a completely different direction. We hear some Piano work on here. While this song has a theatrical feel to it, the Police incorporate some Reggae influences through Sting's vocals. I love the "Opera" vocals in the background. This song is a prime example of the band being innovators - it is clearly one of the most underrated tracks in the band's portfolio.

"No Time This Time": Stewart Copeland kicks this song off with a ferocious drum pace. Sting's Bass then comes in at the perfect time. This song has a more of the Punk Rock feel by the band.

One thing worth noting about this album being available in a "digipak" - I am not a big fan of it. I still prefer the classic clear jewel case for durability as the "digipak"s tend to wear very quickly. "Regatta de Blanc" would mark the end of the Punk Rock and Reggae era for the Police. On subsequent albums, the Police would refine their sound and begin to incorporate other genres into their sound. Overall, this is a very good album. It is a shame that many of the tracks go overlooked on this collection. It strengthens the foundation that was set on "Outlandos D'Amour" as well as continues the legacy established there. Highly recommended.