The Police – Outlandos d'Amour [180g Vinyl LP]

The Police – Outlandos d'Amour [180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: 3947531
• Barcode: 082839475310
• Genre: Punk Rock / New Wave / Reggae Rock
• Label: A&M Records / Polydor
• Originally Released: 17 November 1978
• Reissue Released: 8 December 2014
• Pressing: 180 Gram Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Outlandos d'Amour is The Police's explosive debut studio album — a record that arrived in November 1978 bristling with punk energy, reggae rhythms and a pop instinct that would eventually make the band one of the biggest acts on the planet. Recorded over six months at Surrey Sound Studios in Leatherhead on a budget of just £1,500 borrowed from their manager, it remains one of the most thrillingly raw debut albums in rock history.

The title is a playful, invented French phrase — a loose combination of "outlaws", "commandos" and "of love" — and the album itself is equally irreverent: tight, fast and utterly self-assured. Sting's bass playing is already commanding, Andy Summers' guitar lines are inventive and distinctive, and Stewart Copeland's drumming — perhaps the most kinetic and rhythmically complex in mainstream rock — is on spectacular display throughout.

The album spawned three enduring singles: "Roxanne", a ska-inflected tale of a street prostitute that the BBC initially refused to play and which has since become one of the most recognisable songs of the era; "Can't Stand Losing You", equally banned by the BBC for its provocative sleeve; and the euphoric "So Lonely", which draws openly on Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" for its melodic structure. Beyond the hits, the album holds up brilliantly — the pounding opener "Next to You", the hypnotic "Hole in My Life", and the extraordinary closing track "Masoko Tanga" all reward close listening.

Outlandos d'Amour peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart and number 23 on the US Billboard 200, and has since been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest debut albums of all time. This Universal Back to Black series reissue is pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl, mastered at Abbey Road Studios, and represents the finest modern pressing of this landmark record.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Next to You
2. So Lonely
3. Roxanne
4. Hole in My Life
5. Peanuts

Side B

1. Can't Stand Losing You
2. Truth Hits Everybody
3. Born in the 50's
4. Be My Girl – Sally
5. Masoko Tanga

Credits

• Sting – Bass, Vocals
• Andy Summers – Guitar
• Stewart Copeland – Drums, Vocals
• Nigel Gray – Producer
• The Police – Producer
• Mastered at Abbey Road Studios
• Label – A&M Records / Polydor