Why is The Police’s Outlandos D’Amour on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
So many times I used to give a sign. Got this feeling, gonna lose my mind.
What does The Police’s Outlandos D’Amour mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
For most of my life, The Police (and Sting’s solo career, too, for that matter) have been one of those bands that I vaguely respected much more than passionately dug. A lot of it stems from a childhood steeped in the band’s hit songs – especially singles off of Synchronicity like “Every Breath You Take” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger” – being played ad nauseum on terrestrial radio and MTV back in the day.
Therefore, for my money, it’s genuinely thrilling to hear this group of meticulous, super talented musicians absolutely ripping out a blast of post-punk and new wave on their debut album, Outlandos D’Amour.
“Next To You” holds up fantastically, bursting with energy while meshing strong pop sensibilities into a great post-punk model. And similarly, “Truth Hits Everybody” has a great, driving beat that sounds great against Sting’s voice. While listening to these two songs, I found myself wishing that The Police had focused more in this direction over the course of their career. Fighting words for hardcore Police fans, I’m sure, but that’s what I’ve got to report on this one, kids.
You might have noticed that it took me this long to talk about “Roxanne,” the smash hit off Outlandos D’Amour and one of the most famous songs that the band produced. I mean, you know a song is famous when Saturday Night Live devotes a sketch to it some 20 years after it was released. I… like it. Don’t love it. See my comments above as to why, but I guess I’m not entirely sold on the band’s forays into reggae-tinged rock.
Okay, I’ll reverse myself on that last note though with regard to the wildly strange “Masoko Tanga,” which sounds like a bizarre outtake by The Clash.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with The Police’s Outlandos D’Amour
My comments above notwithstanding, The Sopranos did an incredible job of mixing “Every Breath You Take” with the “Theme from Peter Gunn” to create the perfect mood (slightly comedic surveillance montage-meets-something darker and unsettling underneath the surface) during Season 3’s first episode, “Mr. Ruggerio’s Neighborhood.”
Some stats & info about The Police – Outlandos D’Amour
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, British Bands, Album Rock, Post-Punk, New Wave
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Outlandos D’Amour released? 1978
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #653 out of 1,000
The Police’s Outlandos D’Amour on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.