Music Retropective - The Police: Outlandos d'Amour

Well, here is something new for the blog. During my time off, I started to look at what else I could do here. Here is one thing: a retrospective on my favorite musicians. The idea is to go through my favorite musicians' albums and critique them a little bit. I'm no expert on music, but I know good music when I hear it. This also means that I'll end up hearing some songs I have never heard before, so that's one plus. As of now, I only have a couple of artists in mind for this venture: The Police and... a surprise. Why the Police? Simple: I did my first music related thing on them here. Plus, they were pretty awesome... or were they???

I'll start off with their first album, Outlandos d'Amour.

Outlandos d'Amour

   

1. Next To You - It's pretty good. It's short and to the point. The lyrics are good and simple. It's a nice song to start an album like this off. The song's not too special, but it is still a good one to listen to.
2. So Lonely - This is one of my favorite songs on the the whole album. It starts out with a nice reggae beat, and when you get to the chorus, it goes straight into rock. It switches back and forth between the two styles of music and I love it. Like the last one, it's pretty simple: it's about being lonely, which usually sucks.
3. Roxanne - What can I say about this song that I haven't said before? Not much actually. It's a song that immediately gets me in that music groove. It's awesome. It's also a song I could probably play
4. Hole In My Life - It's a slower song. It kinda has a little soul to it. It's pretty much a nice change of pace to an album that has mostly fast songs. The lyrics are pretty straight forward.
5. Peanuts - It's a another fast-paced song with a weird title. It's an okay song, but I sometimes can't  even tell what Sting is saying. It also gets weird somewhere in the middle. A saxophone shows up for little reason. Why am I saying this now? You'll find out when we get to Ghost in the Machine.
6. Can't Stand Losing You - And here's that other hit from this album. This is kind of a dark song. While it is about a guy who might off himself, it's sounding so cheery! It's also another favorite of mine.
7. Truth Hits Everybody - It's another one of those fast-paced songs. It's also one that I haven't really haven't heard before. It's actually a pretty good song. Like others on the album, it's short and to the point. I might not be able to understand Sting during the verses well, but the music still sounds awesome.
8. Born in The 50's - It's an okay song. It's not great or noteworthy, but it's sounds okay. It's about what you think it's about... living in the 50's and 60's. 
9. Be My Girl -- Sally - This is a weird song. It's starts out fine with a fast beat. Then, it becomes a piece with little music and where a guy talks about a blow-up doll for the rest of the song... Yeah, weird.
10. Masoko Tanga - We end the album with another weird one. It's not as weird as the last song though. It's pretty much an instrumental piece. It has lyrics, but you really can't tell what Sting's saying there... and that may be the point. I just imagine some random person dancing to this...

And that's the Police's first album. Is it good? I believe so. I don't think it's their best though. The whole album is kind of like Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall" to me. With that album, the first five songs are pretty awesome. After that it gets dodgy towards the end. Here, the great songs are spread throughout the album. It seems like the no-so-great come more towards the end of the album. As I said before, it's not their best, but it's still good and deserves a listen. The music's good, the lyrics range from decent to... interesting, and it all moves pretty quick.

Favorite Song - I've got to hand it to "Truth Hits Everybody." While I could throw hits like "Roxanne" or "Can't Stand Losing You" in this spot, I do think my favorite song on this album is this one. My only regret is that I didn't listen to this album earlier. It should be on that list I did way back when.

Weirdest song - That has to go to "Be My Girl --Sally". I will say that while it is weird, the lyrics are kinda funny.

Well, that's all I got for today. Come back next time as I look at some White Reggae, Man!