Police

Regatta de Blanc

White Reggae

Review Score:

(6/10)
Reggatta de Blanc means White Reggae. Perhaps the Police were realizing their limitations on their second album.

This sophomore disc from one of new wave's best trios is ambiguous and loopy at best. After their near-solid debut with Outlandos d'Amour, the Police probably felt like they had room to squirm around, musically speaking. And while that's all fine and well for the Police, I get the feeling that Reggatta de Blanc could have been a better album than it already is.

Case in point is the first song, Message In A Bottle. This is my favorite Police song of all time because everything seems to be in perfect balance. With one foot firmly planted in the prog rock chord shapings from Andy Summers and one foot loosely dangling in the past with Stewart Copeland's pounding punk-like beats, the music of this single literally carries pop sounds from one decade to another. Sting's vocals speak for themselves.

Walking On The Moon is also a mastery of style meshing, in this case pop collides with reggae. The musicianship of this song alone is enough to impress with chiming guitars, creative bass moves, and oddly timed drumming. But it's also a darn good song!

But where this album starts to trip over itself is when the Police can't seem to decide on what they would like to be. It's Alright For You and No Time This Time are some energetic numbers, but they don't compliment the two singles that I mentioned earlier. On Any Other Day, Contact, and Does Everyone Stare are bizarre attempts at humor that don't really spark any inspiration.

Bring On The Night and The Bed's Too Big Without You demonstrate the white reggae I spoke of earlier. While the Police have the ability to get down and get funky, there is a trait of ambiguity that Sting installed into the songs that sort of keeps them from soaring as high as the other songs, which proves that even the group's leader hadn't found his footing yet.

Reggatta de Blanc makes a good case study for how the guitar's role in pop music had changed by this time. Andy Summers' intricate playing would set new standards and stifle all those who wanted rock music to be just power chords. But Reggatta de Blanc is not the Police's best album. There are a few holes in the format, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. I mean, this is the Police we're talking about.

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