This was, if I remember correctly, the first CD I ever bought, after getting my first CD player, a proper receiver -a high end analog JVC unit, circa 1982, which I still own to this day- and a halfway decent set of speakers, back in 1984 or so (I'm pretty sure the second was the Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, but anyway...). Sting, Summers and Copeland followed up their debut, Outlandos D'Amour, with a record more than worthy of inaugurating any suburban Michigan teenager's new hi-fi rig.
The Police are in nearly perfect sync on this one, working their way through a set that balances hard edged, new wave infused rock with a somewhat genteel, London brand of reggae. "Message in a Bottle" opens Regatta with a confident musical attack which, if somewhat at odds with the lyrics, is carried through in the following title track. The brilliant "Bring On the Night," for me the stand-out track, sees Copeland's nuanced cymbal work meshing nicely with Sting's dynamic bass (I've long contended that Sting is one of rock's most under-rated bassists) and thoughtfully restrained picking from Summers. "Walking On the Moon" and "The Bed's Too Big Without You," find the band leaning, to good effect, on their reggae sensibilities, while "Contact" offers up one of Summers' edgier riffs, anchored by an ominous bassline and more of Copeland's subtle percussion. "Does Everyone Stare" takes an unusual turn with its dominant piano line, and showcases Sting's gift for culling poetry from self-doubt, after which all three players cut loose, closing the record with everything they've got on "No Time This Time." While it doesn't stray all that far from their debut, the beauty of Regatta is that it captures the Police at one of their loosest and most care-free moments, having gained some confidence from the success of Outlandos D'Amour, but not yet buckling under the pressure of stardom. It enjoyed more than generous rotation on my new stereo back in '84, and remains one of my favorites.
#370, Jefferson Airplane's Volunteers: Long before they built this city from rock and roll or contributed material to the Mannequin soundtrack, Starship were known as Jefferson Airplane, and were among the primary movers and shakers of San Francisco's Haight/Ashbury scene. While many notable guest musicians, including Jerry Garcia, David Crosby and Stephen Stills, appeared on Airplane's fifth studio effort, the real star of the show here is Jorma Kaukonen's guitar leads, particularly on "Good Shepherd" and "Hey Frederick."
#368, Rage Against the Machine: With their debut album, Rage dropped an aggressive mix of rock, hip hop and left wing politics on a nation which had just days before shaken itself loose from the Reagan/Bush years. Zack de la Rocha's lyrical approach, while novel, relied heavily on repeating the same angry mantra over and over again, and the rest of the band, while tight, had yet to really come together as a cohesive unit. That said, it had been a good long while since a band had fused pop culture and politics in such a high profile manner (or with such impressive production values; reportedly, the record has been used to test amplifiers and speaker cabinets).
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