Outlandos D’Amour – POLICE***

Next To You/So Lonely/Roxanne/Hole In My Life/Peanuts/Can't Stand Losing You/Truth Hits EverybodyBorn In The 50s/Be My Girl/Sally/Masoko Tanga

Outlandos D’Amour was the debut album of Police who would become one of the most successful British bands during the following few years. Their albums were very uneven, in contrast to the singles which were first rate, such as the UK hits Roxanne, Can’t Stand Losing You and So Lonely. (US:23 UK:6)

“The mix of pop, jangly new wave/punk, and reggae elements is still original and authentic). Of course, some of the songs, especially on side two, have not much substance and get pretty boring, but this is a pop album, after all, so what do you expect.”

“An excellent debut, to some they would get better after this, after they left their punk roots behind. Others think less of their later efforts for being too bombastic and for not having the raw energy of this debut.”

“The Police had two things going for them: catchiness and an ability to be repetitive without being boring. Combine the two and you have some great pop songs.”

“A short, sharp and energetic debut. I could go on about the rawness of it all, or the repetitive lyrics, but let's face it, it's an auspicious effort, full of accomplished musicianship, and foreshadows great things to come. While the singles are the standouts there are some flat moments too.”

“Born out of the tail end of the British punk scene, this debut album is a severely underrated offering. Sting gives us a hint of his great lyric writing abilities, so evident on future albums, on tracks like Roxanne and Born In The 50s. It becomes very clear as one listens to the tracks here that this is not your usual run-of-the-mill punk band with lame, brain-dead lyrics but great musicianship with complex stylings and arrangements.”

“At the time it was released it was significant. Nobody had ever heard reggae jams in rock songs before.”

“The Police for me were an infuriating band, as they had arguably one of the greatest run of singles in any band's history, with not a duff track in sight. Their albums however were littered with rubbish.”