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Rating: Police - "Reggatta de blanc"
In December 1979, the second album by the Police, 'Reggatta de blanc', was released, quickly reaching the top of the UK charts, and presenting several delightful innovations compared to the excellent debut album. The album was recorded at Surrey Studios until August 3rd. On September 7th, the single Message in a bottle was released as a preview. The track achieved great success, also thanks to the push from discotheques that played it continuously.
The unmistakable style of the group remains, in its general outlines, practically unchanged. The three musicians delve even deeper into their musical universe, almost wanting to emphasize the good elements that distinguished the previous album while highlighting those concerts unnoticed by critics and listeners. Happy with their success, they are driven by an unstoppable desire to move forward, to explain their roots and to throw an endless bridge toward the music of the future. The album opens with the already mentioned Message in a bottle, a splendid rock-reggae piece entirely based on Sting's dramatic and compelling vocals, with the other two musicians acting as fearful and devoted companions, small apostles who respectfully keep their distance from the magnetic leader. The song's lyrics perfectly capture the indifference enveloping a society already disillusioned by the ideals of the seventies, too many lost hopes, and the gray horizon the approaching eighties were revealing. The following track, Reggatta de blanc, is a piece whose musical part is composed by Stewart Copeland with Sting. The track features a captivating ritual chorus that transports the listener to a multi-ethnic stadium, underscoring a desire for equality and freedom in a future society without borders.
It continues with the incredible It's alright for you, a terrifying acid punk rock that undoubtedly represents one of the album's gems; it's just an episode, as reggae returns in the following Bring on the night, sweet and obsessive. The first side closes with Deathwish. The hallucinatory visions of Walkin' on the moon open the second side: in this track, Sting delivers an excellent vocal performance with many references to the great reggae masters. It continues with the brisk pace of On any other day, a syncopated rock. The Police's love for the reggae movement explodes with fury in the subsequent The bed's too big without you; while the finale belongs to No time this time.
Sting's musical ideas are paving his way toward dreams that seemed unattainable just a few years earlier in New castle when, behind a desk, he tried to teach the kids who the great Thelonius Monk was. Now he found himself behind a microphone; more than speaking, he must shout, more than explaining, he must play the bass; there are no longer thirty people in front of him, in front of him is the world. All he must do is step off the stage, leave his friends playing, and continue walking alone towards other achievements.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Message in a Bottle (04:52)
Just a castaway, an island lost at sea, oh
Another lonely day, with no one here but me, oh
More loneliness than any man could bear
Rescue me before I fall into despair, oh
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah
A year has passed since I wrote my note
But I should have known this right from the start
Only hope can keep me together
Love can mend your life or
Love can break your heart
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah
Walked out this morning, don't believe what I saw
Hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore
Seems I'm not alone at being alone
Hundred billion castaways, looking for a home
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah
I'm sending out an S.O.S.
I'm sending out an S.O.S.
I'm sending out an S.O.S.
I'm sending out an S.O.S.
03 It's Alright for You (03:14)
Wake up
Make up
Bring it up
Shake up
Stand by
Don't cry
Watching while the world die
Big car
Movie star
Hot tip
Go far
Blind date
Too late
Take a bus
Don't wait
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
For you and you and you and you and you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
For you and you and you
Limp wrist
Tight fist
Contact
No twist
Black dress
No mess
Mm, don't want no less
Stand by
Don't cry
Watching while the world die
Three lane
Fast lane
Standing in the cold rain
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
For you and you and you and you and you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
For you
Headlight
High life
Can't sleep
Good night
Up tight
Big fight
Big deal
Too right
Big town
Don't drown
Jump back
Turn around
No life
Flick knife
Finish off my life
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
For you and you and you and you and you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
It's alright for you
For you
04 Bring on the Night (04:17)
The afternoon has gently passed me by
The evening spreads its sail against the sky
Waiting for tomorrow
Just another day
God bid yesterday goodbye
Bring on the night
I couldn't spend another hour of daylight
Bring on the night
I couldn't stand another hour of daylight
The future is but a question mark
Hangs above my head there in the dark
Can't see for the brightness
Is staring me blind
God bid yesterday goodbye
Bring on the night
I couldn't spend another hour of daylight
Bring on the night
I couldn't stand another hour of daylight
05 Deathwish (04:16)
Deathwish in the fading light
Headlight pointing through the night
Never thought I'd see the day
Playing with my life this way
Gotta keep my foot right down
If I had wings I'd leave the ground
Burning in the outside lane
People think that I'm insane
The day I take a bend too fast
Judgment that could be my last
I'll be wiped right off the slate
Don't wait up 'cause I'll be late
06 Walking on the Moon (05:04)
Giant steps are what you take
Walking on the moon
I hope my legs don't break
Walking on the moon
We could walk forever
Walking on the moon
We could live together
Walking on, walking on the moon
Walking back from your house
Walking on the moon
Walking back from your house
Walking on the moon
Feet they hardly touch the ground
Walking on the moon
My feet don't hardly make no sound
Walking on, walking on the moon
Some may say
I'm wishing my days away
No way
And if it's the price I pay
Some say
Tomorrow's another day
You stay
I may as well play
Giant steps are what you take
Walking on the moon
I hope my legs don't break
Walking on the moon
We could walk forever
Walking on the moon
We could be together
Walking on, walking on the moon
Some may say
I'm wishing my days away
No way
And if it's the price I pay
Some say
Tomorrow's another day
You stay
I may as well play
Keep it up, keep it up
07 On Any Other Day (02:59)
There's a house on my street
And it looks real neat
I'm the chap who lives in it
There's a tree on the sidewalk
There's a car by the door
I'll go for a drive in it
And when the wombat comes
He will find me gone
He'll look for a place to sit
My wife has burned the scrambled eggs
The dog just bit my leg
My teenage daughter ran away
My fine young son has turned out gay
Cut off my fingers in the
Door of my car
How could I do it?
My wife is proud to tell me
Of her love affairs
How could she do this to me?
My wife has burned the scrambled eggs
The dog just bit my leg
My teenage daughter ran away
My fine young son has turned out gay
And it would be O.K. on any other day
And it would be O.K. on any other day
Throw down the morning papers
And spill my tea
I don't know what's wrong with me
The cups and plates are in a
Conspiracy
I'm covered in misery
My wife has burned the scrambled eggs
The dog just bit my leg
My teenage daughter ran away
My fine young son has turned out gay
And it would be O.K. on any other day
And it would be O.K. on any other day
08 The Bed's Too Big Without You (04:27)
Bed's too big without you
Cold wind blows right thru my open door
I can't sleep with your memory
Dreaming dreams of what used to be
When she left I was cold inside
That look on my face was just pride
No regrets no love no tears
Living on my own was the least of my fears
Bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
Since that day when you'd gone
Just had to carry on
I get thru day but late at night
Made love to my pillow but it didn't feel right
Every day, just the same
Old rules for the same old game
All I gained was heartache
All I made was one mistake
Now the bed's too big without you
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you
09 Contact (02:39)
I've got a lump in my throat about the note you wrote
I'd come on over but I haven't got a raincoat
Have we got contact
You and me?
Have we got touchdown
Can't we be?
I've got contacts in my book and in my eyes
My good connection on the telephone never lies
Have we got contact
You and me?
Have we got touchdown
Can't we be?
I've got a list of the people I have known
I'm never alone on the end of a phone
Have we got contact
You and me?
Have we got touchdown
Can't we be?
I've got a lump in my throat about the note you wrote
I'd come on over but I haven't got a raincoat
I'd come on over but I haven't got a raincoat
10 Does Everyone Stare (03:47)
I change my clothes ten times before I take you on a date
I'm in a cold sweat, I panic, and it makes me late
I knew you never asked for this
I know
My shots will always misfire
My shots will always miss
Does everyone stare this way at you?
I only look this way at you
I change my clothes ten times before I take you on a date
I get the heebie-jeebies, and my panic makes me late
I break into a cold sweat reaching for the phone
I let it ring twice before I chicken out and decide you're not at home
Does everyone stare the way I do?
I only stare this way at you
I never noticed the size of my feet
Until I kicked you in the shins
Will you ever forgive me
For the shape I'm in
For the shape I'm in
Does everyone stare the way I do?
I only stare this way at you
I'm gonna write you a sonnet but I don't know where to start
I'm so used to laughing at the things in my heart
Last of all I'm sorry 'cos you never asked for this
I can see I'm not your type and my shot will always miss
Does everyone stare the way I do?
I only stare this way at you
11 No Time This Time (03:20)
No time for the complexities of conversation
No time smiles, no time for knowing
No time for the intricacies of explanation
No time for sharing, even less for showing
If I could
I'd slow the whole world down
I'd bring it to it's knees
I'd stop it spinning round
But as it is
I'm climbing up an endless wall
No time at all
No time this time
No time at all
No time this time
No time for a quick kiss at the railway station
No time for a suitcase, sandwich and a morning paper
Only time for time tables, calls and transportation
No time to think no time to dare
If I could
I'd slow the whole world down
I'd bring it to it's knees
I'd stop it spinning round
But as it is
I'm climbing up an endless wall
No time at all
No time this time
No time at all
No time this time
If I could
I'd slow the whole world down
I'd bring it to it's knees
I'd stop it spinning round
But as it is
I'm climbing up an endless wall
No time at all
No time this time
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Other reviews
By marcmat
The only common denominator of the album was the elegance of Sting, the grace of Andy Summers, the creativity of Copeland.
The message in the bottle has truly reached its destination.
By claudio carpentieri
"Message In A Bottle is a perfect union between music (energetic and ingenious) and lyrics (incisive and essential)."
"The perfect blend of new ideas, compositional talent, and executive freshness make Reggatta De Blanc a container from which originates a new sonic archetype."
By Economista63
Reggatta de Blanc still gives me chills when I listen to it at full volume.
Dress like a wild savage, close your eyes, and let yourself be carried away by the rhythm of reggatta.
