Reggatta de Blanc



Reggatta de Blanc is the second studio album by English rock band The Police, released on the second of October, 1979. It features the band's first two UK No. 1 hits: "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon". It was their first album to reach No. 1 on the UK Album Charts. In early 1980, the album was re-issued in the US on two 10" discs, one album side per disc, as well as a collector's edition with a poster of the band.

It was their second album to bear a Franglais title after the band's 1978 debut album Outlandos d'Amour. Reggatta de Blanc proved both more popular and successful than its predecessor. The title track earned the band their first Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1980.

In 2012, the album was ranked No. 372 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Background
Reggatta de Blanc took four weeks to record, spaced over several months. Unlike its successor, Zenyatta Mondatta, there was no pressure on the band. Stewart Copeland described it, "We just went into the studio and said, 'Right, who's got the first song?' We hadn't even rehearsed them before we went in." In Modern Drummer magazine, Copeland considers Reggatta de Blanc to be the 'best Police record.'

Against the wishes of A&M, who had wanted to equip the promising band with a bigger studio and more famous producer, the Police opted to again record at Surrey Sound with Nigel Gray. The small budget (between £6,000 and £9,000) was easily covered by the profits of their previous album, Outlandos d'Amour, further ensuring that the record label would have no control over the actual creation of the band's music.

Whereas Outlandos d'Amour had benefited from one of the most prolific songwriting periods of Sting's life, the recording sessions for Reggatta de Blanc were so short on new material that the band even considered re-recording "Fall Out" at one point. To fill in the gaps, Sting and Copeland dug up old songs they'd written and used elements of them to create new songs. Much of the lyrics to "Bring On the Night" were recycled from Sting's Last Exit song "Carrion Prince (O Ye of Little Hope)" and "The Bed's Too Big Without You" similarly started as a Last Exit tune, while "Does Everyone Stare" originates from a piano piece Copeland wrote in college. The closing track "No Time This Time" was previously the B-Side to "So Lonely" in November 1978, and was added to pad out the album's running time.

The album's title is a pseudo-French translation of "white reggae".

Songs
The instrumental "Reggatta de Blanc", one of the few songs written by the Police as a group, came from the long instrumental break in the live performance of "Can't Stand Losing You" and earned the band the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. "Bring on the Night" was written three years earlier as "Carrion Prince", the title taken from Ted Hughes's poem "King of Carrion", and is about Pontius Pilate; however, after reading The Executioner's Song, Sting felt that the words fitted Gary Gilmore's death wish, and says that since then, "I sing it with him in mind." "The Bed's Too Big Without You" was covered by reggae singer Sheila Hylton in 1981, and became a UK Top 40 hit.

Critical reception
Reggatta de Blanc continued to build on the success of the band's previous album, Outlandos d'Amour, hitting No. 1 on the UK and Australian album charts upon its release in October 1979. "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon" were released as singles and both reached No. 1 in the UK.

In 2012, the album was ranked No. 372 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Personnel

 * The Police
 * Sting – bass guitar, lead vocals (all but 2 and 7), backing vocals, double bass, bass synthesizer (9), arrangements
 * Andy Summers – guitar, synthesizer (1, 6, 9), piano (10), arrangements
 * Stewart Copeland – drums, backing vocals, guitar (3), lead vocals (7, 10), arrangements

Production

 * Producers – The Police and Nigel Gray
 * Engineer – Nigel Gray
 * Art Direction and Design – Michael Ross
 * Photography – Janette Beckman (back cover) and James Wedge (front cover).