release date: Oct. 2, 1979
format: vinyl (AMLH 64792) / cd (2013 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,07]
producer: The Police, Nigel Gray
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK
Tracklist: A) 1. "Message in a Bottle" (5 / 5) - 2. "Reggatta de blanc" - 3. "It's Alright for You" (4 / 5) - 4. "Bring on the Night" (4 / 5) - 5. "Deathwish" - - B) 1. "Walking on the Moon" (4 / 5) - 2. "On Any Other Day" (4 / 5) - 3. "The Bed's Too Big Without You" (5 / 5) - 4. "Contact" - 5. "Does Everyone Stare" - 6. "No Time This Time" (3,5 / 5)
2nd studio album by The Police following 11 months after the debut and it introduces Nigel Gray as co-producer of the first of two albums by the band.
The album introduces a change of style, which I initially, and for the first months, experienced as disappointing. Gone are the fast and simple new wave 3-chord compositions with lots of rock-energy. Instead, the album is packed with complexity, jazz chords and effect pedals en mass but also with a broader repertoire of percussions and cymbals. The strong "It's Alright for You" is the only track that appears to continue the classic rock style found on the debut. The style is not clear or the same throughout the album but it does feel quite tight - perhaps aided by the amount of complexity and brilliant use of a founding rhythm section despite being reggae, jazz, or new wave-oriented compositions. Sting is still primary songwriter but it turns out as the album by the band to have most songs written and composed by Summers and Copeland. Sting is alone credited five out of a total of eleven compositions. Summer is credited as co-composer of two (the title track and #A5), and Copeland is both co-composer on two tracks (the title track and #A5) but also exclusively credited three tracks (#B2, #B4 and #B5).
Regatta de blanc was their first to reach number #1 on the UK album chart list as it also did in The Netherlands, and in Australia, thanks to the strong singles "Message in a Bottle", "Walking on the Moon", and "The Bed's Too Big Without You".
The album is deservedly enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" and it's definitely one of their two best studio releases, but also an album for listeners, I think.
Forced to pick just one of their studio albums, I would go with this one, as it really contains no fillers.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 4 / 5 stars ]
