Some punk bands had reggae influence, but The Police went all the way and named their second album "Reggatta de Blanc" or "Reggae for Whites."
The Police was considered a Punk band when this album came out in 1979, but they disguised themselves only to fit in the scene of the time. The band became a hit in the UK with this album, but in the US it took several years to become mainstream; during their first American tour, they played in small venues like the legendary CBGB.
While we can hear the reggae in "Walking on the Moon," this is not a reggae album. The record opens with what is, to most people's standards, one of their best songs: Message in a Bottle. I listened to it a hundred times until I could get my hands on a magazine that had the lyrics printed, then I finally understood the song's meaning. Beautiful. My personal favorite is the one that titles this album, in which the brilliance of Stewart Copland's drums keeps the song going up and up and a song that needs no spoken words.
Overall the album has wonderful bass/drums support with simple guitar riffs that make this album work even if the melodic vocals were not there. The band was tight, and the individualities that became more apparent in later albums hadn't emerged yet, making it a more cohesive record than the ones that followed.
With only 5 studio albums, The Police's music legacy is one of the greatest in rock history, and Regatta de Blanc is always worth a listen.
Comments