release date: Nov. 2, 1978
format: vinyl (AMLH 68502) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,91]
producer: The Police
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: A) 1. "Next to You" (4 / 5) - 2. "So Lonely" (4 / 5) - 3. "Roxanne" (5 / 5) - 4. "Hole in My Life" - 5. "Peanuts" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Can't Stand Losing You" (4 / 5) - 2. "Truth Hits Everybody" - 3. "Born in the 50s" (4 / 5) - 5. "Masoko Tanga"
Studio debut album by The Police - a trio that remained the same throughout its career with the two British members, Sting (aka Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) on bass and lead vocal, and Andy Summers (aka Andrew James Somers) on lead guitar and backing vocals, together with American drummer and percussionist Stewart (Armstrong) Copeland, also providing backing vocals. All but two songs are exclusively credited Sting - the two others co-composed by either Copeland (track #A5) or Summers (track #B4).
The debut was noticed by critics, some reviews were luke-warm but most found it positive, and although, it didn't top the charts, it fared quite well. The timing and promotion of the album could have been better. Popular music was going through fast changes at this time and of course nobody really knew how things would progress but punk rock peaked and with post-punk and new wave artists taking up airtime on radio stations everywhere, a band playing skilfully new wave variation with reggae and bold pop / rock wasn't exactly the avant-garde that the media thought people asked for. Bands like Talking Heads, Pretenders, Blondie, and The Clash were more direct and on time with their styles, either art punk- punk rock-based, or new wave-oriented, and these artists only played with reggae as a smaller ingredient without taking it to artistic extremes by fusioning several styles and influences, which may likely have been the biggest hurdle for the band. The Police was a band of skilled instrumentalists, at least when thinking Summers and Copeland, and that capability simply bonded with the established world of progressive, fusion rock, and pop / rock bands of the mid-70s and not within a context of opposition to the establishment. In the discussion of being part of a new generation or sharing music and therefore ideas with already established artists, The Police involuntarily put themselves much on their own with a broad appeal, and exactly that alone made them less attractive in new wave and punk rock circles where a more forward perspective was the only option.
Outlandos d'Amour has always been one of my favourite The Police albums because of its energy and simple rock attitude. Stylistically, it has much in common with The Knack, another fine band who didn't play pure punk rock but also found it hard to compete with the new popular waves. The album is simple, highly original, and it contains a bunch of great tracks. I always wished that Sting would have dared being this direct and aggressive as he later found himself wrapped up in political correctness 'saving the rain forests', and seemingly being more preoccupied about personal image.
This is a very strong and fine debut album.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]
