R.E.M - Out Of Time

 

"Out of Time", the 7th album by R.E.M, was released over two years after their global breakthrough "Green". Four singles were released in the UK, all of which were Top 30 successful, and the album was their first to reach number 1, all of which helped to cement their position of one of the biggest bands on the planet at the time. 

In many ways "Out Of Time" followed the "Green" blueprint, whilst making improvements. For "World Leader Pretend" see "Losing My Religion", for "Stand" read "Shiny Happy People" and more bubblegum pop, for "Pop Song 89" read "Radio Song", and three were slow songs.

The B-52's Kate Pierson, also from Athens, Georgia, was in roped to add vocals to four tracks, which can never be a bad thing, and it sounded like R.E.M had been listening to The Beach Boys and INXS.

Being released in 1991, this might be the last vinyl LP I purchased. I liked the album when it was released but over time thought there were two great songs, three very good ones, but like "Green" looking at the track list now there were six songs I couldn't remember. I was surprised that "Losing My Religion" only reached number 19 in the UK, whereas I thought it was a monster hit. Even Mrs Fatbear knows it !

"Radio Song" opens the album, with spoken words and a jangly guitar intro but then moves on to a heavy beat before bursting into a nice chorus. There is a lot going on here, with strings, a "Hey, Hey, Hey" chant, and a rap outro by KRS-One. It made me think of INXS, and also "Turn You Inside Out" from "Green". Ironically, the song is unlikely to be played much on the radio !

"Losing My Religion" is the only mandolin dominated song on the album and became very popular despite Michael Stipe's unco style dancing in the accompanying video. It is apparently not a song about religion, but rather the phrase means I've lost my patience or composure. "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight, losing my religion"..."Oh no I've said too much, I haven't said enough"

"Low" is the first slow song, with a bass intro, a sombre organ with the vocal, then strings. The tempo increases with the strummed guitars for chorus. "I skipped the part about love, it seemed so silly and low. Low, low, low"

The mood dramatically changes with"Near Wild Heaven", light and summery with a gorgeous melody. It is sung by bassist Mike Mills, with Stipe on the "ba ba ba ba" backing vocals and Beach Boys style harmonies on the final chorus. I saw the song described somewhere as ear candy, which I thought was an apt description.

Side one closes with the wordless "Endgame" which has a "Stairway To Heaven" type acoustic guitar intro, "da da da" vocals, and strings then a mellotron repeats the melody. Again there were Beach Boys harmonies towards the end, and the track might be described as lullaby music.

Slow strings start the side two opener "Shiny Happy People" until it bursts into the main melody. There is a nice gimmick with Mike Mills, Kate Pierson then Michael Stipe taking it in turns to sing the chorus refrain, and the video has a cheesy dance routine for the outro similar to the one in the video for Stand. The song also has a short waltz like string interlude in the middle break with an unexpected change in time signature, before a "here we go" return to the main structure. 

"Belong" has a bass intro, then a slow, spoken vocal over a picked electric guitar. The harmonies and piano in the wordless chorus feel quite spiritual.

"Half A World Away" is another highlight of the album, with its spiralling organ and strings, and the mandolin and harpsichord are also in the mix. It is a beautiful, but sad song. "This could be the saddest dusk I've ever seen"

"Texarkana" has a toe-tapping beat with pedal steel guitar to the fore, a growling bass line, and is the second song where Mills sings the lead vocal. It reminded me of the bridge section of "World Leader Pretend".

"Country Feedback" is another slow number and again features the pedal steel guitar. Part of it reminded me of Chicken Shack's "I'd Rather Go Blind". "I was central, I had control, I lost my head. I need this, I need this"

"Me In Honey" is the closing track with mid-tempo guitar riff and drums. Kate Pierson sings some backing vocals until Stipe's main vocal comes in. Essentially it is a filler and the weakest track on the album.

Listening again now, "Out Of Time" is a far better album than I remembered ! 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Radio Song
2. Losing My Religion
3. Low
4. Near Wild Heaven
5. Endgame

Side Two :

1. Shiny Happy People
2. Belong
3. Half A World Away
4. Texarkana
5. Country Feedback
6. Me In Honey

Released 1991
UK Chart Position : 1

Singles :

Losing My Religion ( No 19 - 1991 )
Shiny Happy People ( No 6 - 1991 )
Near Wild Heaven ( No 27 - 1991 )
Radio Song ( No 28 - 1991 )

R.E.M - Green

 

R.E.M's sixth album Green" marked a move away from jangle pop/college rock towards the mainstream and "Orange Crush" became their first single to break the UK Top 30. Despite a delightfully cheesy dance routine in its video, "Stand" only reached number 48.

My clear favourite track was "World Leader Pretend", which I would play over and over, and in addition to the two singles, I liked "Pop Song 89" and "Get Up".

However, I had no recollection of the other 6 tracks, so re-playing "Green" now would almost be like playing the album for the first time.

There are a couple of oddities on the album sleeve, track 4 appears as R Stand rather than 4. Stand, and Untitled, track 5 on side 2, is not listed on either the cover nor on the disc. For an album titled "Green", the cover was orange !

The album begins with "Pop Song 89", a pop song about a pop song, in a similar vein to Wreckless Eric's "Pop Song", and I like the backward guitar riff.  The lyrics of the verses give a nod to The Doors "Hello, I Love You" but instead with "Hello, I saw you, I know you, I knew you. I think I can remember your name" whilst the chorus of "should we talk about the weather ? should we talk about the government ?" pokes fun at much of the lyrical themes in R.E.M's earlier songs. 

"Get Up" is jovial and has a staccato guitar riff. "Dreams they complicate my life"

"You Are The Everything" is the first of three songs featuring a mandolin, and this track also includes an accordion. The melody is beautiful in parts

"Stand" has a brief organ intro before the fun, bouncy beat, and it has a psychedelic guitar solo in the middle. "Stand in the place where you live, now then face north"

"World Leader Pretend" is an archetypal R.E.M tune and in some ways a precursor to "Losing My Religion". A steel guitar figures prominently in the bridge section, and a piano is played during the final verse and ending. There are even some castanets in the background. It remains my favourite song on the album. "This is my mistake, let me make it good. I raised the wall, and I will be the one to knock it down".

"The Wrong Child" has no intro and goes straight into the vocal and mandolin. Its gentle and melancholic. "I'm not supposed to be like this, but it's OK"

The power pop "Orange Crush" opens side two and is not a song about a fruit drink.but rather the toxic herbicide Agent Orange used during the Vietnam war, as referenced by sounds of army marching chants and a helicopter in the middle break. "Follow me, no follow me, I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush".

"Turn You Inside Out" is a mid-pace stomp with heavy drums but is a bit of a dirge. In parts it reminded me a little of INXS.

"Hairshirt" is another slow song and the third with the mandolin but the vocal is a bit annoying, and the tune is not memorable.

"I Remember California" has a slightly menacing guitar and bass, and a gloomy critique of The Golden State. "I remember traffic jams, motor boys and girls with tans. Nearly was and also rans. I remember this".

"Untitled" is a a fairly pretty but insubstantial pop song "I made a list, of things to say. But all I want to say. All I really want to say is"

"Green" is an eceletic album, containing two great political songs ( World Leader Pretend and Orange Crush ), some dumb, almost bubblegum songs ( Stand, Pop Song 89, & Get Up ), three pastoral folk songs ( You Are The Everything, The Wrong Child and Hairshirt ) and the rest being outliers.

Side One works much better, containing all the stronger material except for "Orange Crush", after which the album tails off. 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Pop Song 89
2. Get Up
3. You Are The Everything
4. Stand
5. World Leader Pretend
6. The Wrong Child

Side Two :

1. Orange Crush
2. Turn You Inside Out
3. Hairshirt
4. I Remember California
5. Untitled

Released 1988
UK Chart Position : 27

Singles :

Orange Crush ( No 28 - 1988 )
Stand ( No 48 - 1989 )

R.E.M - Eponymous

 

Early in their career R.E.M received a lot of favourable comments from the UK music press for their jangle-pop alternative rock but were steadfastly ignored by the radio stations, at least by the one's I listened too. This started to change with "The One I Love" and "Finest Worksong" getting airplay in the evenings as I drove home from work but didn't get a wider exposure so both failed to chart.

A short while later I heard an interview with the band on a late night radio station, which also played "Fall On Me" and "The End Of The World As We Know It" and I liked both of them as well. Browsing in a local record store I came across the "Eponymous" album, which contained all the R.E.M songs I knew so I bought it. The sticker shows I paid £7.49 in Our Price Records for it.

It was only later I realised it was a compilation of material from their early years, with three of the songs having different arrangements, but it served as a good introduction to R.E.M's back catalogue.

At the time I didn't think there was a bad track on "Eponymous" but as the songs were in chronological order the band's development was obvious here. Although side one was good, side two was outstanding. The first two tracks made R.E.M sound like a garage band, but the production values were increasingly more sophisticated as the years went by.

Looking at the track listing now I surprised that there were two songs I couldn't remember, "Cant Get There From Here" and "Romance".

The album starts with "Radio Free Europe" which has a tinny guitar sound, a driving bass and toe tapping beat. It sounds like a garage band demo and might also be considered to be punkish.

I like the guitar intro to "Gardening At Night" which has a nice beat and is one of my favourite tracks on "Eponymous".

"Talk About The Passion" starts with just the guitar riff for the intro and has a cello playing towards the end.

"So Central Rain" is a ballad with a cool vibe and nice bass lines.  "Did you never call ? I waited for your call. These rivers of suggestion are driving me away. The ocean sang, the conversation dimmed. Go build yourself another home, the choice isn't mine. I'm Sorry"

"(Don't Go Back To ) Rockville" is almost a country song with piano and singalong chorus "Don't go back to Rockville, and waste another year". The Scottish football fanzine The Absolute Game once did an article on Falkirk, with a sub-heading of Don't go back to Brockville, which was Falkirk's ground at the time !

"Cant Get There From Here" has funk rock rhythm and is my least favourite track. It's not saved by horns & sax towards the end, and the poor grammar by not having an apostrophe !

Country-rocker"Driver 8" opens side two with a great train guitar riff and there is some harmonica playing deep in the bridge section to give the impression of a train's whistle.

"Romance" has a jerky guitar riff but it wasn't surprising I had forgotten this one as it is the least memorable tune in this collection. "That's worth saving up for, put our heads down on the chest. Mustn't even race for rest. Easy come, easy go"

"Fall On Me" is probably my all-time favourite R.E.M song. It's gorgeous and simply perfect from the verse, pre-chorus, chorus and the middle bridge where bassist Mike Mills provides the vocal. Apparently, it also Micheal Stipe's favourite R.E.M song from the IRS label years. "Buy the sky and sell the sky, and bleed the sky and tell the sky. Don't fall on me".

"The One I Love" has a jangly guitar intro, one verse is sung almost identically three times,and a blistering guitar line after the "Fire !" chorus. It's almost new wave. 

"Finest Worksong" is slower than a usual R.E.M song, with heavy drums, the usual jangle guitar, and horns.

"The End Of The World As We Know It ( And I Feel Fine )" is well-known for its quick-fire delivery of the lyrics, almost a rant, in a blazing rock song. Apparently Micheal Stipe had a dream that he was at a party where everyone had the initials LB, hence Leonard Bernstein, Lenny Bruce Lester Bangs and Leonid Brezhnev. I love the "Time I had some time alone" counterpoint vocal in the closing choruses.

In summary, Eponymous remains a good introduction to R.E.M's early years and contains several outstanding songs. 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Radio Free Europe
2. Gardening At Night
3. Talk About The Passion
4. So Central Rain
5. ( Don't Go Back To ) Rockville
6. Cant Get There From Here

Side Two :

1. Driver 8
2. Romance
3. Fall on Me
4. The One I Love
5. Finest Worksong
6. It's The End Of The World As We Know It ( And I Feel Fine )

Released 1988
UK Chart Position : 69

Singles :

The One I Love ( No 16 - 1991 re-release )
It's The End Of The World As We Know It ( And I Feel Fine ) ( No 39 - 1991 re-release )

Rainbow - On Stage

  

A friend at school was into Deep Purple, and over time I borrowed all of the albums to listen to. I didn't like them much apart from the honourable exception of the live "Made In Japan" double album, and the title track on "Burn".

I was aware of guitar player Ritchie Blackmore but didn't pay too much notice when he split from Purple to form his own band.

Rainbow had made two studio albums before deciding to release a live double album. At this point I wouldn't have been able to name any Rainbow song, but "Kill The King" and "Man On The Silver Mountain" got some late night airplay on Capital Radio and I quite liked both songs.

Sometime later, despite not a big fan of "heavy" rock music I purchased the album and thought it to be pretty good, and I thought singer Ronnie James Dio had a great voice alongside Blackmore's masterful guitar playing.

The double album contains just 6 tracks, and was criticised in some quarters for its short run time despite the padding out of most songs.. Four of the songs were taken from the eponymous first album Rainbow, "Man On The Silver Mountain", "Catch The Rainbow", "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" and "Still I'm Sad". However, the versions here were all extended, usually twice the length, and the cover of The Yardbirds' "Still I'm Sad" was an instrumental, but live included the lyrics.

The only song from "Rainbow Rising", the second album was a shortened version of "Starstruck", as part of the medley, whilst the studio version of "Kill The King" only subsequently appeared on their third album "Long Live Rock N' Roll". "Mistreated" was an extended version of the song on Deep Purple's "Burn" album. 

The album begins with a spoken intro of "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow" from the Wizard Of Oz song "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", before the band play the opening chords of the song leading into pounding drums and organ to kick start the fast paced "Kill The King" . Despite all the mystical lyrics and violent imagery, it is apparently about a game of chess, well, queen and pawn do get a mention somewhere in there ! Ignoring the individual components of the medley, at 5.32 it is the shortest track on the album but has a mazy guitar solo.

Side One concludes with a medley of three pieces. "Man On The Silver Mountain" has a toe-tapping riff  and is my favourite song on the album. "Get down with fire, lift my spirit higher, someone screaming my name, come and make me holy again", 

The instrumental "Blues" has a slow, standard blues riff and starts with the guitar and organ and drums in the background before drifting off into what sounds like improved jam before the guitar and keyboards attempt to mimic each other, similar to the guitar and Ian Gillan's vocal from Deep Purple's "Child In Time" on the "Made In Japan" album.

"Starstuck" is a standard boogie until the annoying "you're the man" vocal solo in the middle, which leads into a reprise of "Man On The Silver Mountain".

Side Two consists of just "Catch The Rainbow", at 15 and a half minutes long, whereas the studio version is only 6.40. It has a gentle plucked guitar to begin with, then a tender vocal and a melodic chorus. The pace hots up around the 6 minute mark as Cozy Powell's heavy drums and a screeching guitar start but it all slows down after 8 minutes to just the gentle guitar. The drums come back around 10 minutes to restart the heavy riff. There's some shouty, but thankful brief, vocals near the end  before the gentle guitar drifts to the conclusion. I had forgotten how good this song was. "We believed, we'd catch the rainbow, ride the wind to the sun. Sail away on ships of wonder but life's not a wheel, with chains made of steel. So bless me, come the dawn".

There is also just one song on Side Three, the cover of Deep Purple's "Mistreated" at 13 minutes long, compared to 7.28 by Purple. Again the extended song commences with a soft guitar for a minute until some screeching guitar eventually leads into the main riff and a forceful vocal comes in a 2:13. The extended instrumentalisation starts around 4.30, being mostly just guitar and handclaps from the crowd. It was probably great if you were there, but it's all a bit tedious in the comfort of your living room. The main riff returns after around 9 minutes.

Side Four has two songs, beginning with "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves", which probably should have been titled "Twentieth Century Greensleeves" ! It begins with some of the notes from Henry VIII's composition but with some frilly jazz variations. The main riff comes in at 2:34 and the guitar solo in the middle is great. ! "Meet me when the sun is in the western skies. The fighting must begin before another someone dies. Crossbows in the firelight, Greensleeves waving, madmen raving, through the shattered night".

"Still I'm Sad" is fairly faithful cover, albeit must faster, for 3 minutes, before the instrumentalisation starts, with the keyboards reminiscent of the ELP's "Pictures At An Exhibition" era. The guitar riff and the verse come back at 5.52 and the Gregorian style chant from the original is introduced after 7 minutes. It ends with a foot stomping final two minutes.

In summary, it was nice to replay "On Stage" and most of it still sounds good, although I could have done with some editing of the over long extended instrumental sections. 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Kill The King
2. Man On The Silver Mountain/Blues/Starstruck Medley

Side Two :

1. Catch The Rainbow

Side Three :

1. Mistreated 

Side Four :

1. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
2. Still I'm Sad

 

Released 1977
UK Chart Position : 7

 

 

 

The Proclaimers - Sunshine On Leith

  

" Sunshine on Leith" was the second album from unfashionable Scottish twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid, who with their NHS glasses and dress sense made you feel comfortable with your choice of fashion.

I saw them play "I'm Gonna Be ( 500 miles )" on Pebble Mill At One when I should have been studying, and thought it was really good. I had previously only heard "Letter From America" but I had read somewhere that they had acquired a rockier edge, playing with a full band sound, adding guitar, drums and keyboards. 

I really didn't know what to expect when I purchased the album but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was excellent, with a mix of love, drinking and protest songs, in particular in favour of Scottish Independence. There were plenty of catchy, sing along song, a few tender ballads, and the lyrics mixed insight with humour. The brothers were capable of strong harmonies, as well as frequent counter-point vocals. 

Many people don't sing with an accent, but that is something the Proclaimers could never be accused off, being unmistakably Scottish. They were labelled by some as a Scottish Billy Bragg.

Five songs on this album were used in the Dexter Fletcher directed "Sunshine on Leith" film/musical, which I found pleasantly entertaining when I saw it on TV a few years ago as a late night Christmas offering, as long as you didn't apply too much critical thinking to the plot, especially near the end when hundreds of people in Edinburgh spontaneously break into a choreographed dance routine to I'm Gonna Be ( 500 miles ), as we all do !

I could remember all twelve songs on the album and whilst just about everyone knows "I'm Gonna Be ( 500 miles", "I'm On My Way", "Cap In Head", "It's Saturday Night" and "Sunshine On Leith" were also very strong songs. 

Side One begins with "I'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles )", and I was surprised to learn it only got as high as number 11 in the UK charts. It introduced the Scots word "haver" to the wide public, which apparently means to talk foolishly or to babble. The electric guitar riff and drumming immediate catch the attention, as do the "Da-da da da (Da-da da da), Da-da da da (Da-da da da). Da-da dum diddy dum diddy dum diddy da da da" in the post chorus, in what underneath it all, is a song about undying love.

"Cap In Hand" is a jaunty protest song in which the singer explains many things they understand, like telling the difference between margarine and butter, can pronunce Saskatchewan without starting to stutter, and why Stranraer lie so lowly, they could save a lot of points by signing Hibs goalie, but can't understand why we let someone else rule our land, cap in hand.

"Then I Met You" is a sweet story of how a couple met and how pointless the singer’s life was until that moment, whilst "My Old Friend The Blues" is a cover of a US Country singer Steve Earle song. It's slow and mostly just acoustic guitar.

"Sean" makes a reference to Elvis Presley, "I’d say the best one came from Tupelo, Mississippi" and has another recurring refrain of "Irish girls are pretty". There is also a soaring pre-chorus of "uh, hi-ya, hi-ya, hi-ya".

Side One closes with the piano ballad "Sunshine On Leith", a song about their home district in Edinburgh, but which apparently is now often played at funerals, probably due to the repetition of "my heart is broken". A violin is also prominent, in both the middle break and the final chorus and outro.

The joyous "Come On Nature" opens side two but with the Scottish accents sounds like "come on Nietzsche !"

"I'm On My Way" is a sing along toe-tapper with a jazzy piano. "I'm on my way from misery to happiness today. Ah-hah (Ah-hah), ah-hah (Ah-hah)" whilst the chorus goes "And now that I don't want for anything (Ooh), I'd have Al Jonson sing I'm sitting on top of the world".

"What Do You Do" is the second protest song and has a plucked acoustic guitar intro and features a whimsical country slide guitar. "What do you do when democracy fails you","Pat votes the Scots way just like her mother, but the South takes all, just liker her brother", & "what do you do when minority means you". 

"It's Saturday Night" is one of my favourite songs on the album, with a slow pace similar to "King Of The Road" but is a drinking song, "the drink that I had three hours ago, has been joined by 14 others in a steady flow". The middle break has a whistling solo.

"Teardrops" is just the two voices and an acoustic guitar. "Teardrops, they're running down your face"

The album closes with "Oh Jean", another love song. "I'd never been lucky with girls I confess, don't know who to blame for my lack of success. Cause even with ones up the back of a bus there was always the risk of a slap in the puss. But Jean, Oh Jean, You let me get lucky with you".

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. I'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles )
2. Cap In Hand
3. Then I Met You
4. My Old Friend The Blues
5. Sean
6. Sunshine On Leith

Side Two :

1. Come On Nature
2. I'm On My Way
3. What Do You Do
4. It's Saturday Night
5. Teardrops
6. Oh Jean

Released 1988
UK Chart Position : 10

Singles :

I'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) ( No 11 - 1988 )
Sunshine On Leith  ( No 11 - 1988 )
I'm On My Way ( No 43 - 1989 )

 

  

The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta

 

I'm not really sure why I bought this album. Whilst I like their debut album, I didn't buy the follow-up "Regatta De Blanc" until several years after this album, and I wasn't overly sold on the two singles from Zenyatta Mondatta. 

Unlike "Regatta", where Stewart Copeland received writing credit on six tracks, here it is just two, as Sting compositions dominate. 

Even as a teenager, I thought the lyrics for "Don't Stand So Close To Me" were a little bit too pervy, whilst "De Do Do Do, De Do Da Da" was at best pleasant nonsense. Despite this I bought the album, but didn't think much of it, and looking at the track listing now, I had no recollection of any of the tracks apart from the two singles, and that I liked "Canary In A Coalmine", even if I couldn't remember it now.

It would be interesting to see if I remembered any of it, or thought it was better than a dud !  

Actually. on replay, it is slightly better than a dud but still a poor album. For me, the four traditional The Police reggae influenced songs work best, and whilst they try to explore new territories, the tunes on the funk/dance tracks simply aren't strong enough, and the two instrumentals are basically fillers. 

Side one opens with "Don't Stand So Close To Me", song about a teacher having sex with one of his teenage students. Sting was a teacher before joining The Police. It possesses a typical Police reggae beat and the weird synthesizer in the middle is actually quite good.  There is a Lolita reference, "It's no use, he sees her, he starts to shake and cough. Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" and the backing vocals in the outro chorus are very similar to that which Sting sang afterwards on Dire Straits "Money For Nothing". This should have been a Covid anthem !

Now that I have had a chance to read the lyrics "De Do Do Do, De Do Da Da" makes sense and I liked it much more than I thought I would. "Poets, priests and politicians have words to thank for their positions, words that scream for your submission, and no-one's jamming their transmission" 

"Canary In A Coalmine" has a lively ska beat and a very short piano piece in middle. It's about the most fun The Police had over their first three albums !

"Man In A Suitcase", a song about life on the road, also has a toe-tapping reggae beat. "Another key for my collection, for security I race for my connection. Bird in a flying cage you never get to know me well. The world's my oyster, my hotel room a prison cell, must I be man in a suitcase ?" 

Apart from these there isn't a great deal to recommend. "Driven To Tears" is funky, there is some nice high-hat drumming, but the manic guitar solo doesn't really fitting with the rest of the song. and the lyrics sometimes don't fit the tune. The "Driven To Tears" refrain is quite catchy, but overall the song is pretty dull. 

The Police moved into Disco/Night Club territory, not my favourite genre, with "When The World Is Running Down", and I found it boring. Likewise "Voices Inside My Head", with a long funky instrumental before chanted vocals come in.

"Bombs Away" is a Copeland written song and is pretty ordinary, with a self-indulgent guitar solo that  wouldn't be out of place from a dire progressive rock band, whilst the 5 minutes long "Shadows In The Rain" has a funky bass and piano intro, but overall it's awful.

Of the two instrumentals, Andy Summers' "Behind My Camel" is OK and could be a James Bond theme or something from a low budget horror movie. Sting apparently hated it and refused to play the bass. I've already forgotten Copeland's "The Other Way Of Stopping", apart from there was some nice guitar at the end.

 

Track Listing : 

Side One

1. Don't Stand So Close Me
2. Driven To Tears
3. When The World Is Running Down......
4. Canary In A Coalmine
5. Voices Inside My Head
6. Bombs Away

Side Two

1. De Do Do Do, De Do Da Da 
2. Behind My Camel
3. Man In A Suitcase
4. Shadows In The Rain
5. The Other Way Of Stopping

Released 1980
UK Chart Position : 1

Singles :

Don't Stand So Close To Me ( No 1 - 1980 )
De Do Do Do, De Do Da Da ( No 5 - 1980 )

 

 

The Police - Regatta De Blanc

 

"Regatta De Blanc" was the second album from the trio The Police and loosely translates as White Reggae, following how many critics had labelled them, rather than an empty yachting festival.........

I didn't rush out and buy it on release, and only acquired several years later when I spotted it going cheap in a sale. I didn't play the album very often, as like their first album, I thought it was mix of some great tracks, and a lot of fairly ordinary songs.

The album was a rush job to cash in on success of "Outlandos d'Amour, on which Sting had a writing credit on all ten tracks, with just two being co-written. However on "Regatta De Blanc", drummer Stewart Copeland received writing credits on 6 of the tracks, although I thought the 5 best were solo Sting compositions, and the only ones I could remember when looking at the track listing. 

As has repeatedly been said by many bands, you have your whole lives to make your first record, and then six months to do the follow-up. Regatta contained reworkings of some old songs, a couple of hasty fillers, together with some outstanding new songs. "No Time This Time" had been the B-side of the "So Lonely" single.

The album contained two number one hits in the UK, the brilliant "Message In A Bottle" and "Walking On The Moon". I was surprised to discover that "The Bed's Too Big Without You" wasn't a single, although it was a hit for Sheila Hylton in 1981.

I saw an interview with guitarist Andy Summers when the song was topping the charts on how the main riff for "Message In A Bottle" was derived, based on classical arpeggiated chord sequences. Since then I have since read in several places that it was Sting who came up with the chord sequences !

The album opens with "Message In A Bottle" with its Robinson Crusoe style "Just a castaway" lyrics. I only now noticed how good the bass playing on this is, having previously been mesmerized by the guitar riff . I like the clever "Seems I'm not alone in being alone" lyric. 

"Regatta De Blanc" is mostly an instrumental, with some scat/yodelling vocals. It's based on the extended breaks played during live versions of "Can't Stand Losing You". The drumming and bass are pretty good.

"It's Alright For You" is a hi-energy song but is pretty forgettable but "Bring On The Night" is one of the highlights on the album. A classical style guitar accompanies the verse before a glorious ska chorus. In the middle is a psychedelic guitar solo.

Side one closes with "Deathwish" which has funky beat and almost the Bo Diddley riff, but is basically a filler. 

The reggae influenced "Walking On The Moon" has a minimal structure based around a simple bass line, a slow verse, but comes alive with the chorus. It is dominated by Copeland's inventive drumming. A flatmate at college used to sing "giant steps are what you take, when you've got VD".

"On Any Other Day" is written, sung and played by Copeland and is a reasonably witty take on dull suburban life. It has a fast ska beat and the chorus reminds me of another song that I can't remember. "My wife has burned the scrambled eggs, my dog has just bit my leg". 

"The Bed's Too Big Without You" is essentially dub reggae but still sounds excellent. whilst the vocal in chorus of "Contact"  reminded me of Jon Anderson from Yes "Have we got contact, can we be"

"Does Everyone Stare" has a jaunty jazz piano intro and vocal by Copeland, before Sting sings the rest of the song. It could be a Supertramp song !

The album closes with the punkish "No Time This Time". The drumming is manic but the guitar and bass line in the chorus is derivative of the style of the time, but still good ! It has a great finish though.

Listening again to "Regatta De Blanc" I still think it is an uneven album, but the fillers didn't sound so bad now ! 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Message In A Bottle
2. Regatta De Blanc
3. It's Alright For You
4. Bring On The Night
5. Deathwish

Side Two :

1. Walking On The Moon
2. On Any Other Day
3. The Bed's Too Big Without You
4. Contact
5. Does Everyone Stare
6. No Time This Time

Released 1979
UK Chart Position : 1

Singles :

Message In A Bottle ( No 1 - 1979 )
Walking On The Moon ( No 1 - 1979 )

The Police - Outlandos d'Amour

 

Reaction to "Outlandos d'Amour" and the three singles from the album had been lukewarm in the UK when they were released,. I had jumped onto the bandwagon earlier than most though, after having seen them perform "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Next To You" on The Old Grey Whistle Test late in 1978. I was impressed and went out an bought the LP. 

However, I thought it was a patchy album, with the three singles being outstanding, "Next To You" had bombastic punk energy whilst "Truth Hits Everybody" and "Born In The 50s" were catchy but a little lightweight. The other four tracks were forgettable and I had forgotten them. Side One was definitely a lot stronger than Side Two.

The re-release of "Roxanne" in 1979 brought The Police public attention, and they became overnight sensations. Several of the girls in the 6th Form became besotted and arranged to see The Police when they played at the Brighton Dome. By the time I had figured out tagging along would be a good idea, the tickets had sold out !

The Police were considered by many to be New Wave but I felt the label didn't really fit due to the variety of the music, with a strong reggae/ska influence, hints of jazz, funk and pop in addition to some hi-energy. Their obvious technical ability also didn't adhere them to the punk movement !

The breakthrough hit "Roxanne" remains a classic. A song about a boy falling in love with a prostitute, it has some laughter and a bum piano note whilst the staccato reggae/ska plays at the beginning. The song moves to a rock style chorus. "Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light, those days are over, you don't have to sell your body to the night".

"Can't Stand Losing You" is another song with a reggae/ska verse and a rock chorus. Its apparently about a teenage suicide after the girlfriend has left him. "I see you sent my letters back, my LP records and they're are scratched". The lyrics clearly seem to have been an inspiration for Goyte's "Somebody I Used To Know"

"So Lonely" is my favourite song on the album and again has the reggae/ska verse and a faster rock chorus. It has a free-form reggae bridge "I feel low, low, low, I feel low, low, low" in the middle section and there is a great guitar solo and even a very short burst of harmonica. The song also contains a famous.mondegreen, as many people thought Sting was actually singing "Sue Lawley", who was a presenter on the 6pm News and Features TV show Nationwide at the time, leading to it being played on the programme.

"Hole In My Life" is something completely different to the rest of the album, with a funky/Jazz beat. It reminded me a little of "Hit The Road Jack", but it does goes on a bit too long.  

"Next You" is as close as The Police get to punk with pounding drums, jerky guitar, a frantic pace and wild guitar solo whilst "Peanuts" is not too far behind with fast drums and a frantic, almost tuneless guitar solo, and it sounds like there is some saxophone. Close to the end Sting screams "Peanuts !" a few times. I am not sure what the meaning of this but it comes across as an impersonation of  a street hawker food seller.  "I don't want to hear about the drugs you're taking" 

"Truth Hits Everybody" is an uptempo toe tapper and was better than I remembered and "Born In The 50's" is a song about being a teenager in the 1960s, which Sting and Stweart Copeland were. It has a fairly catchy chorus

"Be My Girl - Sally" is a poor medley of a half-finished song by Sting and an Andy Summers poem about a blow up doll spoken over some occasional piano. I couldn't stop thinking of Ivor Biggun.........

"Masoko Tanga" has a ska beat and it sounds like it was mostly improvised. I'm not sure what language the lyrics are in, it could be made up nonsense, but I read somewhere that the title roughly means white reggae. The track did nothing for me and would be quite happy to never hear it again.

In some ways "Outlandos d'Amour" reminded me of Orange Juice's "Rip It Up" album, with a few classics, some dross and an forgettable track in an unintelligible foreign language. However, I rate "Outlandos d'Amour" higher than I used to after listening to it now.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Next To You
2. So Lonely
3. Roxanne
4. Hole In My Life
5. Peanuts

Side Two :

1. Can't Stand Losing You
2. Truth Hits Everybody
3. Born In The 50's
4. Be My Girl - Sally
5. Masoko Tanga

Released 1978
UK Chart Position : 6

Singles :

Roxanne ( No 12 - 1979 )
Can't Stand Losing You ( No 2 - 1979 )
So Lonely ( No 6 - 1980 )