Tuesday, September 18, 2012: TWOfer Tuesday - The "Outlandos d'Amour" Edition

In 1978, a three piece band emerged from the burgeoning London punk scene, an American expatriate  drummer, a former Eric Burdon and the Animals guitarist and a singer/bassist/ex-school teacher who was into jazz.  Here's what some people had to say about their 1978 debut album "Outlandos d'Amour"

"Actually, as a trio, The Police achieve as much 'dynamic' energy as The Clash and the same 'poetic' intensity as The Jam, even if they are twice as studied. Image (age and attitude etc) ultimately detracts from The Police's commercial potential. Without the trappings of The Clash and The Jam, without the comedy of The Revillos and The Rats or the forced idiosyncracies of the XTC animal, they seem bare. But on the merely musical levels that such product is appreciated, they have just as much with which to lightly enthral. Or just as little, depending where you're sat. The Police have no ambition and too much complacency." - from the New Musical Express, review by Paul Morley

"The lead singer's name is Sting, and for a little while I had the nagging feeling that he was reminding me of Jon Anderson, but suddenly I realised that he was more like Speedy Keen and I felt much better. There's a couple of duds here, as I said 'Next To You' is not a favourite and 'Be My Girl - Sally' wears thin quickly, but 'So Lonely', 'Can't Stand Losing You' and the very fine 'Roxanne' are delights.  Sounds like a good band." - from Rip It Up, review by Terence Hogan

"By trying to have it both ways - posturing as cool art-rockers and heavy, meaningful New Wavers at the same time - the Police merely adulterate the meanings of each. Their punk pose is no more than a manipulative come-on. For all its surface threat, there's no danger in this music, none of the spontaneity or passion of punk (and reggae) demands. Even when Sting says "There's a hole in my life," he can't convince us it's keeping him up at nights - we know it's just another conceit. And the larger the implied emotions, the tinnier he makes them sound. A gimmicky anthem manufactured out of whole cloth, 'Born In The 50's' reaches for Who-style generational myth making (down to its ringing, Pete Townshend-like guitar line), but Sting can't make us see that there's anything special about his generation, because he knows there really isn't." - from Rolling Stone, review by Tom Carson

Despite these reviews, I think they dusted themselves off and went on to make a couple more albums.