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 failry 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
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 )
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