This Day in Music History: The Police/Outlandos d'Amour (11/02)

Outlandos d'Amour is the debut studio album by English rock band The Police. It was released on this day in 1978.  Although when released it received mixed reviews, it has since been regarded as one of the finest debut albums of all time. The album was ranked #38 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Best Debut Albums of All Time". The album reached #6 on the UK Album Charts, but only #138 on the US Billboard 200.

The album, while at times incorporating reggae, pop, and other elements of what would eventually become the definitive sound of the band, is dominated by punk influences. It starts off with "Next To You", a punk number with a slide guitar solo in the middle. The reggae-tinged "So Lonely" follows. "Roxanne", about a prostitute, was written by Sting after visiting a red-light district in Paris and is one of The Police's best-known songs. It is followed by "Hole in My Life", another reggae-tinged song, and "Peanuts", a Sting and Stewart Copeland written about Rod Stewart. 

Sting remembers writing it in his car on the way home from a late-night recording session in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. He recalled in Lyrics By Sting: "I was thinking about a former musical hero who had dwindled to a mere celebrity, and I was more than willing to pass judgment on his extracurricular activities in the tabloids, never thinking for a moment that I would suffer the same distorted perceptions at their hands a few years later." He would say often on stage: "This song was about Rod Stewart. It isn't anymore."

"Can't Stand Losing You" and the high-tempo "Truth Hits Everybody" begin side two of the original LP. "Born in the 50's" is another rocking tune, detailing global events with the fun and mundane life of a teenager in the 1960s. "Be My Girl - Sally" is a medley of a half-finished song by Sting and an Andy Summers poem about a blowup doll. This leads into the semi-instrumental closer, "Masoko Tanga", the only song on the album to not become a staple of the Police's live performances.

Three of the singles charted: "Roxanne" (#12 UK, #32 US), "Can't Stand Losing You" (#2 UK) and "So Lonely" (#6 UK).

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