The Police

I'll admit right away that I may be a little impartial about the Police. You see, growing up, they were my favorite band, even though they broke up the year I was born. Obviously, everyone knows who they are and are probably sick of them after being exposed to "Every Breath You Take" for the 300th time on their clock radios, but I'll contend that they were one of the few bands that actually had the talent to match their status. Sting was one of the best songwriters around during his tenure with the band, and instrumentally, these guys were surprisingly tight, beating out all their contemporaries (The Jam, XTC, The Clash, even the Attractions). Some of this is due to the fact that all three of these guys have background in progressive rock, unlike any other band that came out in the era of punk. I'm not going to fall over myself praising Stewart Copeland the way so many others do - he's a drum great and one of my absolute favorites, but most of that is because of his technique, which relied on riding the hi-hats and playing in a propulsive, nearly jazzy style, which was impressive considering everything the Police did was in 4/4. Talent wise he's definitely up there but most of his parts were overdubbed to the point that they couldn't really be played live (Copeland himself pointed out that watching the drummers in Police cover bands try to imitate his parts was amusing). Oddly enough, the third wheel was actually the guitarist, Andy Summers, who was kind of a vet by the time the Police formed (he's got a decade on the other members). He's really more of a rhythm guitarist than anything, though he has the technical skill to turn a tricky, progressive guitar line into a hit ("Message in a Bottle", "Bring on the Night", "Every Breath You Take"). The band's one big idea was their interpretation of reggae - most of their contemporaries had done reggae in some capacity, but the Police actually adapted it as a part of their sound.

As for the songwriting, Sting was obviously the center of the group, and as a result, he’s the lone credit for around 80% of their work. His stuff is actually really consistent – most of his songs have a strong bass lead and a memorable chorus. The lyrics on the other hand are another story; growing up, I thought they were fine, but on further listens they don’t hold up so well. His subject matter went from generic to pompous fairly quickly, and on later albums it seemed clear that he really, really, wanted people to notice that he had a background as an English teacher. For those who follow his solo career, don't worry, he wasn't that bad yet. Copeland was also a songwriter, though he’s not quite as refined, sticking mostly to catchy and quirky pop songs, which were often a welcome break from the more serious material. He actually wrote a lot more songs than what we get on the albums, many of which he decided to release himself under the name Klark Kent. Summers has also kicked in a few songs, many of which didn’t make the albums, mostly because his songwriting approach is a lot weirder, resulting in things like “Mother” (which almost everyone hates).

The Police have gotten a reputation as a singles band, which is understandable but somewhat inaccurate. It's true that most of their best songs are the singles, and each one of their five albums has scored at least two major hits (a streak which I believe only the Beatles have done before). However, their non-album tracks were often very good too, and often featured the best instrumental performances. All I can say is, don't make any judgments about this band based on the first side of Synchronicity, and if you're interested in the group, you may want to do yourself a favor and just track down the Message in a Box 4-disc set, which is one of the few comprehensive boxsets out there that's great all the way through. Really, for their career, the Police rarely made a misstep, which may be partially because they never got much of a chance to, as the band broke up before every got too pissed off. And the rest is history. Sting became an Adult Contemporary megastar that everyone kinda liked, before devolving into the tired Adult Contemporary megastar that everyone couldn't stop comparing to Phil Collins, before becoming the semi-retired former star that nobody really talks about anymore. Stewart Copeland mostly spent his time composing soundtracks and doing solo albums, though he also joined a couple of bands that didn't stay together for very long. As for Andy Summers, nobody really knows what happened to him, except he teamed up briefly with Robert Fripp for a while to form the Legion of Guitar Weirdos. I did find a cassette he made on sale for $2, which I found terribly boring as a 12 year-old.

And now (finally!), on to the reviews:

Outlandos D'Amour (1978)
After a pair of flop singles, Sting wrote the songs that kicked off everything - the tango "Roxanne", and "Can't Stand Losing You", both of which charted high. Although their reggae-based tracks became the most famous (including the third single, "So Lonely", which may be the best of the three), the band's early punk roots come through as well, resulting in a trio of well-written and high energy rockers ("Next To You", "Peanuts", "Truth Hits Everybody"), where Sting shows off a good punk growl (he's mostly whiny on the other tracks). Things roll along nicely for about two-thirds of the album, as the songs are three-dimensional (even the punk tunes, which don't stay in one place), and Copeland is astounding. The last three songs are where things get a little unhinged - I can dig the rhythmic, faux-tribal "Masoko Tanga", which has Sting singing a wordless vocal in a trance-like state, but the bizarre "Be My Girl - Sally" is a misfire, combining a half-written riff-rocker with a poem about a blow-up doll that grinds everything to a halt. In contrast, "Born in the 50's" is sort of generic old-fashioned power-pop that almost seems like an afterthought. But forget about that - the majority of this album is good enough to dispel any reservations you may have had about the group, and there's little of the pretension or obnoxiousness that would cloud later releases.

Reggatta de Blanc (1979)
A lot like the first album, but better - the slower songs groove and engage, while the faster songs have enough going on that they feel like they could run twice as long as they do. Summers' guitar tones are crisp and Copeland's drum technique is mesmerizing, and the result is an album that not only displays great songwriting but also has the musicianship to match. In fact, the performances are good enough to make great tunes out of the songs without much of a structure ("Deathwish"), and even the punk tunes seem too sophisticated for the genre ("It's Alright For You", "No Time This Time"). The big hit was "Message in a Bottle", their first #1, featuring an immortal riff, although "Bring On the Night" has one nearly as good, and the slower faux-reggae "Walking on the Moon" was deservedly a hit as well. To balance out the more serious material written by Sting, there are a few songs on side 2 that were penned by Copeland, which are lightweight and memorable ("Does Everyone Stare" has an addictive and endlessly repeated chorus, while "Contact" uses a super-catchy guitar riff in place of one). All this and you get the title track, a two-part jam-based rocker with a memorable wordless vocal that's worth the price of admission alone. I feel like this is where you can really hear the band exploit their strengths, as this comes before Sting started to take control of the group. The result is comparable to albums like This Year's Model and Black Sea, and perhaps even a little better than those.

Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
Another refinement, to the point where the punk influence is non-existent. Essentially this is based more on grooves rather than riffs, with the guitar parts generally taking a backseat to the bass and vocals. Not surprisingly, this is the point where the band starts to become "Sting & the Police". Most of the material is well written - there were two more chart topping singles ("Don't Stand So Close To Me", "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"), both of which are high points, and a couple of Sting's bass-driven, politically conscious songs ("Driven to Tears", "When the World is Running Down"), where Sting tell us what's wrong with the world in his eyes, which is the type of thing that got him a lot of hate over the years (although these ones are not really so bad). This takes the album into a more midtempo and stable direction, with the only fast paced tunes being the bouncy, reggae-influenced minor hit "Canary in a Coalmine" and Copeland's "Bombs Away", which is a lot of fun. However, there is a rushed feeling here - four of the tunes are either instrumentals or nearly so, which is a little strange for a rock album from a group of this stature. "Voices in My Head" works fine, with an echoey, groovy riff and some amazing drumming, but "Shadows in the Rain" is dark and dreary and a little bit too long. This gives the album sort of a divided feel, although in the end none of it really drags (even though Summers' instrumental is ugly and unmelodic, at least it's kept short, and Copeland's is catchy and fairly melodic), thanks to the impressive chops of the band members. These guys were playing at such a high level that nothing they can do really drags the album down much. Track this down if you liked the first two.

Ghost in the Machine (1981)
This is a big shift in the band's sound, as they start to give way to synthesizers and fill a bunch of tunes up with saxes. Like all Police albums, the songs are generally well-written and played, and both Copeland and Summers contribute their best songs yet ("Rehumanize Yourself" and "Omegaman", both highlights). But Sting’s basically in charge here, which might be why most of the songs are so preachy. There were actually four singles taken off the album, but the one everyone knows is "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", an absolutely giddy and uptempo number (it almost sounds like Sparks!) that deserved its top 5 spot. The others were too slow and lyrically heavy to have made it too far - "Spirits in the Material World" was a modest success, but it's little more than an updated version of their reggae-based older material with synths instead of guitar, but this one has lines like "they subjugate the meek/but it's the rhetoric of failure". I can see both the other singles (“Invisible Sun” and “Secret Journey”) being torpedoed by the same thing. That said, how much you really enjoy this album depends on how much you like the upbeat, sax-dominated middle part - some of the tunes are groovy and energetic but overlong ("Demolition Man" and the Marley-influenced "One World", which are otherwise first rate), and some are catchy but obnoxious ("Hungry For You", "Too Much Information"). However, Copeland's "Rehumanize Yourself" seems to nail everything just right, resulting in one the band's most hook-filled and melodic songs yet. Despite its flaws, the songwriting again keeps everything afloat; there are plenty of neat bass parts and big choruses, and in the end they do retain most of what made them great.

Synchronicity (1983)
By this time, the Police had basically become Sting's backing band, and it's clear that he's making all the decisions here. Granted, Ghost was a big step in this direction, but at least that record had spunk and an upbeat single, while Synchronicity is one big, serious artistic statement with a target on its back. And though this really the epitome of "mature" 80's classic rock, Sting really is on top of his game here, and it's a shame his solo career didn't turn out more like this. The lyrics are more poetic, and for once he doesn't butcher his metaphors. And his vocal skills are at a peak too – he still has the punk growl, but he can be smooth when needed, and he’s able to play up the atmosphere of his songs. The fruits of all this show themselves on Side 2, with a murderer’s row of radio staples – "Synchronicity II", "Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain", and the chilling "Wrapped Around Your Finger". For all his sins, he nails the morose, melancholy mood of his songs, and despite their overplaying on FM radio, they’ve held up well. To cap it off is "Tea in the Sahara", which, jazzy rhythm aside, is practically all atmosphere, making it the slowest and most reflective song the band ever did. There’s a noticeable lack of energy here (did these guys really used to be a punk band?), which might turn off fans of the other records – there really isn’t any, outside of "Synchronicity I", which would be a thrashy-riff rocker if not for the keyboard lead, and "Synchronicity II", which really IS a thrashy riff-rocker, albeit one that plays more like progressive rock. Confused? Well, it’s got multiple sections, an extended running time, epic lyrics, and sounds almost exactly like Rush. It's the only Police song that commands a big atmosphere and is probably the best thing on here. It's also the only song with a guitar lead, which does not bode well for the rest of the album. In particular, the first side is filled with ideas that either aren't developed enough (the "worldbeat" excursion of "Walking in Your Footsteps"), or probably shouldn't have made the album in the first place (Sting's limp "O My God", which maps out his Blue Turtles sound, Summers' jarring "Mother", which is ugly and chaotic as hell). At least Copeland's "Miss Gradenko" is fun (certainly, nothing else is). The result is an album that somehow feels less than the sum of its parts, but it wound up being enough to temporarily dislodge Thriller atop the album chart, cementing the Police as the one-time biggest band in the world. In fact, it's actually quite similar to Thriller, in that it's filled with both massive, immortal hits, and moments of "wait, how did this make the album?". I feel like I'm rounding up on this album, but the second side is so well done and pitch-perfect that I can't help but endorse the thing, even if it does away with almost everything I previously liked about the band.

Live! (rec. 1979, 1983, rel. 1995)
Having never released any live albums during their run, Andy Summers decided to retroactively release a double one, with one disc being taken from the early '79 version of the band, and the other taken from the completely different post-Synchronicity '83 version. A clever idea - it's essentially two live albums in one, but neither encapsulate everything good about the band, instead drawing from the two extremes of the group’s sound. The first disc is the better one, showing off the young, energetic, and punky side of the band. I'm guessing that Reggatta de Blanc wasn't out yet, since they perform less than half of it (including the title track in the middle of "Can't Stand Losing You", which rules), while doing every song from Outlandos save "Masoko Tanga" (which means yes, you have to hear the blow-up doll monologue again). The remainder is two of their early punk singles, "Fallout" and "Landlord", both of which are well-worth hearing. The band may be sloppy, but they play fast and seem to be having fun onstage, clowning each other and bashing everything out, each member seemingly trying to finish ahead of everyone else.

Now, contrast that to Disc 2 material, where they don't really even sound like a cohesive unit anymore - there's a few extra personnel on stage, including a couple of backup singers, a bad idea that could have only been thought good in the 80's. So Stew and Andy are pretty much kept in the background, turning the whole thing into the Synchronicity show - okay, it's a good album, but more than half of the tracks come from it, including tunes that don't really mesh well with anything else, like "O My God" or "Tea in the Sahara" (which actually does gain some beautiful harmonics). Unfortunately, the other half seems phoned in - the set list is very much a "greatest hits" one, with the only non-FM staple being the "Reggatta de Blanc" jam that was thankfully kept in "Can't Stand Losing You". The sad thing is they just don't have the energy of the studio versions (although it's nice to hear "Spirits in the Material World” with guitars, it's flaccid otherwise), and the backing vocals make things a lot worse. Sting's contribution to all this is non-stop mugging ("I can't hear you!"), turning songs like "Message in a Bottle" into audience sing-alongs. The good news is that both "Synchronicity" tracks rule, and I really like the rehaul of "Walking in Your Footsteps" (could do without the backing vocals though). So yeah, this is a pretty divided set - no Police fan really needs this, but disc 1 is a good listen, while disc 2 is evidence that Sting's ego wound up destroying the band. But despite all my complaints I have to give it a good rating – the band’s talented, the songs are almost all great, and it probably will satisfy anyone who wanted to hear a live album from the group - unless the thought of backup singers makes you puke, in which case just keep the first disc.

Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings (1993)
A 4-disc set containing every Police track ever released. This includes all five studio albums (Reggatta unfortunately, is split over two discs), some live tracks, alternate mixes, and, most importantly, 15 non-album tracks, including early singles, soundtrack work, and B-sides, appearing in the order they were released. This is definitely a good thing; I stick by my ratings of the studio albums, so it's great to see there was more material out there, and most of this stuff is worth hearing. There's a good helping of their early punk side, including one fantastic single that shouldn't be forgotten ("Fallout"), and a re-do of a Strontium 90 tune, "Visions of the Night". The Zenyatta era gets some nice B-sides, including the bluesy "Low Life" which is as good as or better than most of the album material and should have been included. The Ghost era has one groovy sax-driven instrumental ("Flexible Strategies") and some soundtrack work - there's another instrumental with interesting synth backing and a memorable hook ("How Stupid Mr. Bates"). And there's one amazing Synchronicity era Sting tune that could have been a big hit and should have made the album ("I Burn For You", another one written for a soundtrack). So I'd consider three of these tracks essentials for the Police fan, although anyone who likes the band will want to hear them all - okay, the torture soundtrack "A Kind of Loving" is intolerable, and Andy's songs are pretty weird ("Friends", "Someone To Talk To"), but this is only priced at about 3x the cost of a normal album, and this contains five. Your Police collection should start and end here.

Certifiable Live in Buenos Aires (2008)
Only released in Best Buys (so far), this is a CD/DVD set of the Police's high-profile reunion tour. I saw this show in Milwaukee and I can say it's a perfectly fine translation with a slightly different setlist - "Synchronicity II" here instead of "Demolition Man", but otherwise just about what you'd expect - almost every song off their Greatest Hits albums ("Spirits In The Material World" is missing here) plus some of the more Sting-centric other stuff like "Driven to Tears". Oh, and most of the stage banter is in Spanish, but it's all Spanish 101 stuff anyway, and you have to at least give Sting credit for not suppressing his ego just because he doesn't speak the language. The surprise is a good helping of Outlandos material - over half the album is played, showing that maybe Sting finally remembered why so many people still loved this group. So how do the Police sound, 25 years after their last studio album? They don't rock out like they used to, slowing down the punk rock tunes a tad ("Next to You", "Truth Hits Everybody"), but they're such good songs that it's not a big deal. Sting doesn't hit the high notes anymore - you can tell he's aged a bit, but his voice is still solid and expressive. Summers' technique is intact and Copeland is surprisingly as good as he's always been. So yes - the reunion tour definitely is The Police and not just an imitation of their former selves as the first few shows (supposedly) were, and they seem comfortable enough onstage to improvise a bit. The thing about much of The Police's material is that it's so well-written and thoughtful from a pop standpoint that it doesn't sound strange or awkward coming from a bunch of guys in their mid-50's the same way a reunion of, say, The Jam would. These songs haven't aged a bit. I can say the setlist is basically inscrutable and it's free of the problems that weighed down the other double-live disk, but this isn't really necessary for anyone who isn't a huge fan to start. The good news is that there's a neat percussion ensemble on "Wrapped Around Your Finger", a good version of "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" without any keyboards, and a pretty funky rendition of "Walking In Your Footsteps" - why couldn't they have done the studio version this way? And it sounds great too - if you missed the tour, this is a fine substitute. But it's still more of a 'homage' than a 'performance', and let's face it - you'll know if you want this regardless of what any review could tell you, so all I can really say is that it's a little better than you probably expect.

Appendix

Here are a few albums that I have that are Police-related (I may put Andy Summers' albums here if I ever find any, but Sting and Copeland will get their own pages)

Strontium 90 - Police Academy (rec. 1977, rel. 1997)
Strontium 90 was the name of the proto-Police, featuring the trio plus former Gong member Mike Howlett, who put this album together. It's really just a comp of demos and some live stuff, with barely enough to cover an album, but hardcore fans should track it down anyway. It sounds like a rough version of the early band, but with an extra guitar player and singer, whose slurred, sometimes mumbled vocals are a stark contrast to Sting, who mostly just yells. Some of the material is pretty nice - Howlett's "New World Blues" features some nice riffing and great backing vocals by Sting, and "3 O'Clock Shot" is a catchy rocker whose music and lyrics would show up in different Police songs. A couple of other future-Police songs show up here - the album opens with a bang with future B-side "Visions of the Night" (great tune, but it didn't really fit the Police) and includes a solo acoustic version of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", which would become a huge hit 4 years later. That's the stuff that should be interesting to Police fans, as the other material is kind of hit-or-miss - their take on funk ("Electron Romance") is interesting, especially hearing Sting shout "Baby, I'm a dynamo!", but they don't have many original ideas ("Lady of Delight"). It all ends with a couple of live cuts, which are pretty sloppy and have sections in which the band members get lost, but I think it's understood that this is was all done in the first month or so of the band's existence. Not something you'll want to listen to with any regularity, though it does pose a pretty interesting "what if?" scenario (can you really imagine Sting sharing the stage with another singer?).

Dance Floor Virus – The Ballroom (1995)
I can’t find any information on this album, so I’m going to make some up – Dance Floor Virus is the side project of a couple of disgraced German producers/DJs and one guy who does a seriously good Sting impersonation. It may even be Sting's kid. It's too obscure a release to have any actual Sting involvement, but whoever sings this nails his voice like, 95% of the way, and that's not easy to do. It’s totally out of print, and really isn’t any good, but I have it so I'll review it. Basically the album is a collection of 9 Police songs, mostly the hits, re-done as Eurodance tracks. Some of it kind of works, as it’s basically garbage Eurodance with a good sense of melody, and they don’t completely botch the tunes here that actually kind of lend themselves to the style (“Synchronicity I”, “Spirits in the Material World”). Nothing I’m really eager to hear again – this stuff just doesn't date well, and they adhere too closely to the originals to really take off and do something interesting. I mean, this whole album could have been made in the span of 24 hours, as there's strikingly little innovation here, and only about three synthesizer presets get used the whole way. If you don't really like dance music this album's going to be one “I can’t believe they did that!” after another. Comes with 3 ‘bonus’ remixes, including an ambient “Message in a Bottle” that actually does show some outside-the-box thinking and is worth hearing a few times, but it’s the last track, so whatever. Let's not do this again.