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The Police
Otherwise known as Sting: Part 1
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The Police
Otherwise known as Sting: Part 1
You ought to own:
Strontium 90 - Police Academy (1977)
It's only fitting that this is the first band I review, after all, the Police
are the first band I really got into. See,
when I was younger, the Police were the only band I'd ever want to listen to,
even though they broke up the same year I was born.
Now that I listen to a lot more bands, I can still see why I liked them
so much. Frankly speaking, past the
creative explosion of music in the early 70's, I'm with Starostin and McFerrin
in saying that the Police were really one of the few bands that mattered at that
point. Here's a reason why – the
Police hardly ever wrote a bad song. Out
of all five of their albums in their relatively short career, there's maybe one
or two songs I can say I don't like, and even those I can enjoy from time to
time. Even though the word Sting is
synonymous with the words 'overproduced, mainstream bullshit that everyone likes
but me' these days, I can confidently say that this man
may have been one of the best songwriters of the late 70's/early 80's (along
with Andy Partridge, Brian Eno, David Byrne, and other people the Police have no
connection to).
Even though the songs were simple - mostly everything is of the
conventional verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse or bridge/chorus structure, and the
time signatures were mostly the standard 4/4 thing, the Police were certainly a
band that really could have done much more if they weren't so good at writing
songs this way. Not to mention they were excellent musicians.
Sting (previously of Curved Air, as if anyone’s ever heard of that) was
practically a bass god - he could write and play some of the best bass lines ever,
not to mention his voice was one of the defining traits of the band.
A less cultured person might tell you that he's whiny and too
high-pitched, but honestly, do you know anyone with such a range?
But the biggest attraction for me was Stewart, because I would personally
consider him along with Bill Bruford for the title of best drummer in the world.
Really Stewart's strengths lay in the cymbals, hi-hats, and snares, where
he would really wreak some serious havoc by playing the absolute fuck out of
them. Listen to "Bring on the
Night" if you don't believe me. Hell,
listen to any of the albums except for Synchronicity and you'll see what I mean.
This leaves guitarist Andy Summers, probably the weakest member, but
that's not really saying anything so forget I said it.
He wasn't really a great soloist or anything, and I seriously question
his abilities to all-out jam (although he's alright at is), but he rocks the
rhythm guitar house. Really, it's hard to see Andy's shortcomings because the
Police really emphasized his strengths, that being that he can play even the
trickiest rhythms. But really this
guy was anything but a rock guitarist, which is probably why after the Police
broke up he did a lot of avant-guard stuff that I really can't say I'm a fan of,
but his solo album with Robert Fripp really seemed to work out well as the two
are a lot alike.
Here's a bit of cool trivia for you: did you know that the Police originally
wanted to be a prog band? You see,
even though they started punk, (then turned reggae, got all jazzy and ended up
adult contemporary), none of the members were really punkers to start.
Sting and drummer Stewart Copeland wanted to go prog and Andy was trained
in classical guitar, but keep in mind this was 1976, when the Ramones-based punk
movement was starting and prog rock had been successfully ruined by ELP.
So, as it turns out, being a punk band was really the only way to get
signed. And punk they were.
Well, for a little bit anyways.
See, even with all these review sites out there, and most of them review the Police, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that mentioned Strontium 90. This was really the ‘first’ Police band, basically taking the same band with one more member. The lineup was:
Stewart Copeland – Drums
Mike Howlett – Guitar, Vocals
Sting – Bass, Vocals, and occasionally guitar
Andy Summers – Guitar
Strontium
90 – Police Academy (1976-1977) 
Best Song: Visions of the Night
Those parenthesis show the years this was all recorded. For the record let’s say this is almost like the Police’s
’77 album, except Sting only wrote three of the numbers here, and
subsequentially the only good ones. There’s
really only seven songs on here, with two of Howlett’s being done live.
Let me say a little about Howlett’s effect on the record – despite
the fact that he wrote most of the material, he’s really not all that great.
The playing is sloppy, his voice is okay, and Sting totally outperforms
him. And he can’t write a song
without rearranging those letters to spell “derivative”. Lady of Delight, for one, sounds like it was written in about
five minutes. Towers Tumbled is
basically the same two notes, and even those notes are the same ones.
And it’s more than 5 minutes long!
Good lord! Electron Romance
is kinda neat though, but only because it’s funky and Sting sings it, and
finally we get "New World Blues", the only Howlett song on here that I
actually like, because there’s neat guitar riffage throughout.
Also his voice works here.
Sting’s contributions are a little better, kicking things off with the most
punkish song ever to come out of the man, "Visions of the Night".
Really, this man could write a good punk song…this is one of the songs
that really show the potential of Sting had he continued down this path.
3 O’Clock Shot is also a good one, shown off here in a live setting.
It’s one for the fans really. It
uses the same lyrics that appeared in “O My God” 6 years later, as well as
the guitar riff from “Be My Girl – Sally” that would come off the
Police’s debut. Frankly, it’s
better than the both of them. And also for the fans, there’s an early version of “Every
Little Thing She Does is Magic”, done here as an acoustic number.
It’s not particularly the greatest thing but still quite interesting.
But hey, overall, it’s still not quite worth the price, considering the live stuff is sloppy, there’s only 9 tracks (although the liner notes keep referring to track 11, which I don’t get), and 7 songs, and also considering that only the Howlett tracks are really entirely new (well, Visions of the Night is on the box set), you’re really not getting much. But hey, if you’re a really big fan of the Police, go ahead.
Okay, so they disbanded after ’77, because face it, they were never gonna make
it. As Mike Howlett writes,
“Nobody wanted to know about a group of ex-Gong, ex-Curved Air,
ex-everybody-you-ever-heard-of-from-the-sixties and an ex-nobody”.
I’m assuming Andy Summers is that third one.
I’ve heard a lot about his prior career but really it’s just a
mystery to me. So after this,
Stewart and Sting form the Police with a guy named Henry Pandovi, who actually
designed the first Police logo, the one with the eagle.
It kicks ass. But Henry
probably didn’t, you see Andy Summers joined after he was thrown out for
sucking up the place, and as a result, we get the legendary lineup of:
Stewart Copeland – Drums
Sting – Bass, Vocals
Andy Summers – Guitar
Best Song: Truth Hits Everybody
You know, I actually have a
mirror with that cover photo on it, all outlined in black, but quite frankly, I
haven’t a faintest clue where the hell it is.
(10 minutes later) Never mind, I found it.
(It's now in my dorm room, and you better believe everybody's jealous) What
an oddity that thing is – just goes to show you how big these guys were even
from the start. I mean, think of it, somebody must have bought this thing.
Anyways, I like this album. I
don’t adore it like some people do but I definitely do like it. I consider this the most rootsy of the Police’s albums.
And you at home are thinking, ‘of course, it’s their first’.
But I also consider it the most inconsistent.
Remember up there when I said that there was one, maybe two songs I
didn’t like from this band? Well,
they’re both on here. But hey,
let’s not be so negative! Instead,
let’s look at all the good things the Police did in 1978.
"Roxanne", for one, is probably the song you all know because it was
famous. Well, "Can’t Stand
Losing You" also, but they’re really the same song, just Roxanne is a
tango (no, really! I read it
somewhere!), and "Can’t Stand Losing You" is reggae.
But I love the guitar line to "Roxanne", it's the bass…
playing both on and in between the final note in the chord sequence that really
makes this song neat. I wonder if
that’s what makes it a tango. Not
that I know what really makes anything a tango, but if you gave me something by
the Stones and something by that hot net tango factory, I probably could pick it
out. Not that I’m good at such
things. I’ll admit now I can’t
tell the differences between:
Punk and
Grunge
Techno and
Electronica
Hip-hop
and Rap
Sad Songs
and Waltzes
New Wave
and Shit
Actually, did you know that the Police are considered a New Wave band?
See, they were from the new wave of music after the 70’s stuff
was…hell, I’m guessing it’s the synths they’d use later on, but really,
I have no idea, just that the term “New Wave” is used to describe some
really cheesy songs.
Which is precisely what you’ll find on the end of this so-called ‘record’.
I don’t like "Born in the 50’s", because it lacks that
Police ‘memoribility’…see, I’ve probably heard this record more than you
have or ever will, and it still takes a while before I remember the way this one
goes. Even worse, there’s the
lone bad song in the Police’s discography, “Be My Girl – Sally” (we’ll
get to "Mother" later, a song which isn't good but also isn't
completely ruined like this one). It’s
a neat guitar riff (and only I know that they actually wrote it a year ago), but
the vocals are unnecessarily annoying, and the song is obviously cut off from
whatever it was before, resulting in one of the sloppiest edits this side of
Zappa. And then Andy Summers starts
talking about a blow-up doll. This
so-called “monologue” was actually written by some pervert who’s been
published in some newspaper. You
know, this could almost be a cool thing if Roxy Music hadn't done the same damn
thing on their records, thereby fucking up the whole idea.
Luckily, the closer "Masoko Tanga" kinda redeems it.
Maybe it’s a tango (or tanga, whatever), but it sounds reggae, not to
mention that groovy bassline that Sting was oh-so-good at in those days.
Also, I heard Sting was in a trance when he recorded it.
There’s no lyrics, just Sting making noises with his mouth.
But the sort of noises that sound like words, only they aren’t.
Unless you count “oh-oh-oh-oh” a sentence.
Still, there’s nothing else like it in the Police discography.
By the way, there’s also some punk here.
But not
a whole lot, and I’m guessing that most of the punk stuff was the earlier
material. “Next to You” is the
same thing as “Landlord”, another song that’s not on the record, but
it’s on their live album so you can compare.
This one’s a better song anyway. Those
kickin’ drums in the intro along with Sting growling out the lyrics in quite
the angry fashion make this a pretty good introduction to the Police’s career.
Plus, I’d say that “Peanuts” and “Truth Hits Everybody” are
most decidedly punk. The latter in
particular I really do like. Simply
for that one head banging part called “the chorus”.
And what the hell is that thing they use on “Peanuts” anyway?
It sounds like a snake charmer that makes circus noises and sorta puts a
damper on the song. Oh yeah,
“Hole in my Life” is good too. Almost
sounds like a showtune. I like that
major/minor progression thing. I
wrote a song like that once.
I almost skipped over that song that everyone says is the best, called “So Lonely”. Well, Sting even admitted that he stole the thing from Bob Marley. It’s really maybe the most reggae-ish dong they’ve ever done, but I’m not going to sing its praises (or its lyrics) because I really don’t see what’s so darned special about it. I mean, I like the song and all, but it’s certainly not the best thing on here. Anyways, I wouldn't recommend this album as your first Police one, because it's actually one of the worst ones...it's not bad, in fact it's quite the opposite, but there are better choices out there.
Best Song: Bring on the Night
For one, Stu’s playing is exceptional, and this is the main reason why I chose
to upgrade it from the pathetic rating of four and a half.
I can’t think of another album where the drumming is so…well,
consistent. See, unlike a lot of
the albums I really like, Reggatta is one that really anyone could get into.
Out of the eleven songs, only two are out of the ordinary as far as pop
is concerned – both of them Copeland songs, being “Does Everyone Stare”
and “On Any Other Day”. Both of
them are great, really, particularly the former, which is only out of the
ordinary for the beginning part, until it turns into one mega-catchy
ultra-extended chorus. And the latter is a comedy song.
In fact, as far as Stewart’s concerned, he had more to do with this
album than any of the others. His
name shows of on the writing credits of six of the songs!
That’s more than half! In
addition to those two songs I just mentioned, he also does “Contact”,
featuring one of the catchiest guitar riffs I’ve heard in quite some time.
He even sings on some of the songs too!
He does all the lyrics to “On Any Other Day”, the beginning of
“Does Everyone Stare”, and even backing vocals on “Bring on the Night”!
Okay, he’s not the greatest singer in the world, but at the very least
it shows the band actually working together.
So you take these ingredients, being Stewart’s exceptional drumming and cymbal
tapping, Sting’s groovy basslines, and Andy’s precise rhythm guitarity, and
you get an amazing album. I don’t
even have to point out how much Sting’s songs rock the house, “Bring on the
Night” being my favorite for that confusing guitar riffs, but also “Walking
on the Moon”, which, by the way, is one of the weirder ‘hits’ the band
ever had, considering how…well, I suppose ‘otherworldly’ it is.
It does sound like it was recorded on the moon, doesn’t it?
Well, not really, but there’s this weird noise you can just barely hear
in the background…I wonder if I’m the only one that notices such things.
There’s also the group-written title instrumental, another oddity in
the catalog, but what a great one it is. Those
weird guitar tones with a multi-tracked Sting shouting out “cha! cha!”, then after a strange non-lyrical verse (eioo, eiore)
the song just totally rocks out and blows the house away (BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
OH YEARGH).
Best Song: Don't Stand So Close to Me, or maybe Canary in a Coalmine if you're in a good mood
So here I am, trying to write my review for Zenyatta for the sixth time,
realizing I don’t really know what I want to say about this album.
See, it was originally 4 stars, but I realized I liked it so much I’d
just give it an extra half-point conversion.
Now, I’ve heard rumors of every Police album being rushed, but this one
actually shows. It was as if they
were trying to make a more polished version of Reggatta and then six songs in
they realized they had a deadline. So
they retooled one of their tunes and added a few instrumentals. And by instrumentals, I mean, some of them have words.
The first song is "Don't Stand So Close to Me", probably the best way
to open an album that the Police ever thought of. Awesome as well are: Sting’s bass lines, Stew’s drumming, and
Andy’s…well, they’re all great. I
mean, what is “Voices Inside my Head” without that constant cymbal
full-frontal assault? Or “Driven
to Tears” without that sweet three-note bass line?
I like Stu’s “Bombs Away” too.
We’re bombing Afghanistan now, too.
So there’s a lot of things I’m not so keen on, but for the most part there isn’t a song I’d say that drags down the album, except maybe “Shadows in the Rain” for being too long. Even those two instrumentals are good. Hell, “Behind my Camel” won a Grammy. It shouldn’t have. It’s mean and ugly for sure, but it’s not even the best one on the album. I prefer the secret spy thriller “The Other Way of Stopping” because it’s catchy as hell for a song with no words. But yeah, all the total/near instrumentals have that problem where they don’t really develop. Not that it's a big problem, after all, if the band can hold a groove for 5 minutes, why not? I mean, listen to "Voices Inside My Head"...the drums man, the drums! Copeland single-handedly converts the song from boring to exciting.
Also, the bouncy “Canary in a Coalmine” is a great song.
Too bad the band cannibalized it on Side 2 with “Man in a Suitcase”.
Same beat, slightly different rhythm…so nothing’s new.
Best Song: Rehumanize Yourself
So I realized something today. Boy
do these albums get high ratings! Well,
I love ‘em, so deservedly so. Anyways,
this is the so-called beginning of the Polizei’s more “serious” phase
where Sting was politically “active”. Funny,
because only “One World” and “Invisible Sun” really echo that, and maybe
“Spirits in the Material World”, while the rest are all about whatever songs
are about these days.
So that’s less than half, ya see?
So anyways, the first three songs are the ones that everybody’s heard.
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” in particular.
It’s a great song, but you’ve heard it before, so what’s more to
say? “Invisible Sun” is good
too, being one of the darker songs in the Police’s career.
You know, with the depressing verses (“they would kill me for a
cigarette”), and uplifting chorus (“there has to be an invisible sun/which
gives its heat to everyone”), this song is really an experience.
I can see why that shitty X-Files movie wanted it.
“Spirits in the Material World” was a hit too, but I can’t say I
liked that one too much. Sting can
yell in a high fashion, but straight-up singing it is kind of annoying.
So besides that, here’s a reason why this is a great album: the songwriting,
of course is excellent. Andy does
his best song here – “Omegaman” has that strange guitar riff I can’t
quite get my head around, but for once (and the only time he’d ever do this)
the song actually fits the Police style! Stu
does his best song here as well – “Rehumanize Yourself” features one of
the catchiest keyboard lines ever, with plenty of hooks about. Honestly, this is one of the ten greatest Police songs, and
one of the top three you’ve never heard.
His other song, “Darkness”, ends the album on a dark note (really?),
but it’s still great. Piano
based, that one is. Like “Does
Everyone Stare” but replace the lyrics of male insecurity with things like
“I wish I never woke up this morning”.
Great! Sting’s got great
stuff throughout too. It’s funny,
after “Invisible Sun” the record turns all jazzy, featuring horns in the
next five songs. Weird, huh?
So the first one of these is called “Hungry for You” and it basically sounds
like Sting took a crash course in French and failed, so to commemorate he
recorded a song in French while the horns play “doot doot” over and over
again. HOLY SHIT FREUR REFERENCE!
And what else? “Demolition Man” is another overlooked jam.
Sting himself covered this in like 1993, using every Hollywood trick to
replace a good old fashioned jam (hence why everyone is whining about things
like "HAY IT'S JUST TOO LONG" . I
mean, yeah, these songs are good. They’re
almost all overlooked too, especially “Secret Journey” which nobody seems to
talk about, considering it’s like a prequel (and better version) of “Every
Breath You Take”.
So besides that, here’s a reason why isn’t a great album: the songs drag on
quite a bit. Demolition Man is,
according to my computer, three seconds shy of being six minutes. Take that sentence, replace “six” with “four” or
“five” and you would be talking about a great song.
“One World” sure seems long too.
I don’t care how great that melody is, it’s the same thing over and
over, especially in the end. I
think Sting is just playing with us at that point, don’t you?
Hey, I realize I started a lot of paragraphs with the word “So”. And I’m not even reviewing Peter Gabriel!
Best Song: King of Pain
There’s a reason why people call this “Synchronicisting” or something less
intelligent but equally satirical and a little easier to say.
This is basically a Sting solo album with the other members somewhere in
the background. Andy Summers plays
along, taking the opportunity to use his crazy guitar noises whenever he can.
Sting even lets him contribute the single most-hated track in the Police
discography, “Mother” (not exactly sure why, as Copeland was writing great
pop songs mile-a-minute for his side project, Klark Kent).
I can dig Egyptian rhythms, you see, but good lord!
Andy’s wailing as loud as he can, and as a result the song is a little
freaky, but considering it’s placed between two pretty mellow songs on an even
more mellow album makes this song stand out, but not in a good way.
To go against popular opinion for once, I’ll say that I do *kinda* like
this song. It’s at least interesting, which is more than you can say about
most of this album. That’s
because you see, Sting and Stewart never got along.
Stew’s role here is certainly diminished, to the point where his
presence is almost non-existent. He gets one song, the two-minute excellent pop number “Miss
Gredenko” which salvages the album a bit.
So, once again, I gotta talk about Sting’s stuff. The two Synchronicity songs are good. The first one is quite excellent and tricks me into thinking this is gonna be an excellent album each time. It starts with a…uh…keyboard line? That’s a strange way to start for the Police, but through Sting’s multi-tracked vocals, incomprehensible lyrics, and barrage of horns at the end, it all works out in the end. Now the concept of Synchronicity, as fully explored in these here lyrics, is this: two concepts, ideas, or objects, to which there is no relevant connection, are actually connected in some metaphysical way. Synchronicity II, the heaviest and most kick-ass song on the album, sort of gives an example of this. But you people are too quite to point out that Synchronicity I and Synchronicity II don’t have anything to do with each other. To that I say THAT’S THE WHOLE FUCKING POINT! The concept of synchronicity is two events that are unrelated. The two Synchronicity songs are unrelated. So...?
Now the thing about Synchronicity is that it was popular. If you don’t own this album, you can listen to it by
stealing it from your parents. It
was one of the biggest sellers of the ‘80s.
It dethroned “Thriller”, for Christ’s sake!
All this because of this song called “Every Breath You Take” which
has celebrated it’s 5,000,000th play on classic radio
recently…Jesus! Who’s counting?
My stance on the song is this – it’s not a high point on the album
because I’ve heard it too much, it’s simple, and sort of boring.
But it is a fantastically written song.
I’ll defend it because I hate Puff Daddy for bastardizing it.
There’s others too, like “King of Pain”. Again, this song is fantastic, even more so than “Every
Breath You Take”, but still a little boring.
See, the Police are great at reggae, jazz, punk, even good ol’
fashioned rock, but adult contemporary? Has
Sting yet realized that there is not a single good adult contemporary song?
Strike number three comes with the spooky “Wrapped Around Your
Finger” but he throws a fit and stays in for “Tea in the Sahara”.
That’s a lot to sit through, considering you’ve probably heard all of
this a billion times before. But if you haven't, let me just say that each
song on Side 2 is pretty excellent (well, save for "Tea in the Sahara"
which really drags). By the time you get to the last song, you’ve realized
that Andy’s left too. Leaving
Sting all alone. “Fine by me”,
he says, “I’ll just go solo and show you who the real Sting is!”
So the fake Sting is off recording awesome instrumentals like “Reggatta
de Blanc” while the ‘real’ Sting would rather tell you that if you love
somebody, then set them free. I
think that song is about a kidnapper. “Every
Breath You Take” is definitely about a stalker.
See, nobody knows that, and because of that, the people of the United
States have had to listen to it five million times on classic radio.
Okay, first side. I like “Walking
in Your Footsteps” because Stew’s on it, playing worldbeat this time.
It’s missing something, though. It's
just too shallow and simple despite the complex percussion.
And
what can I say about this “O My God” song?
It’s decent, I guess. I
almost feel sorry for Sting because of the lyrics.
“I cannot turn the other cheek/it’s black and bruised and torn”.
See, unlike a lot of you Sting-haters, I actually like the majority of
Sting’s lyrics. See, pretension
is like a bell curve with a steep drop-off – if you know how much of it to
use, it’ll turn out great. Sting
knew his limits.
By the way, this was the time when CDs were just getting to be popular.
So in order to get people to buy CDs and tapes and not the record that
came out weeks earlier was to add a bonus track!
“Murder by Numbers”, it’s called, and it’s actually quite good.
Better end than “Tea in the Sahara”, anyway.
Final verdict? Too important of an
album to pass up, but you really should get one of the first four instead,
unless you really like some of the songs on here.
And so the Police break up at the height of their popularity. Seriously, they were huge at this point - everyone knew who they were, and Synchronicity was so overplayed that people began to hate it. The break-up spawns four things to happen. Number one, Sting’s solo career, A.K.A. “Sting”. Number two, Andy Summers begins his solo career, A.K.A. “shit”. Number three, Stewart Copeland actually makes interesting music that I want to hear (mostly soundtracks that I don’t have, but also something called Oysterhead in 2002 that I like quite a bit and will review later). Number four, a greatest hits package with a re-recorded “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” with a “’86” suffix. It sucks. Fast forward to 1995, where a man named Andy Summers thinks we need a live album…
Live!
(rec. 1979, 1983, rel. 1995) 
Best Song: Walking in Your Footsteps
The Police’s live album is neat, but I suppose that’s only because it’s
unique. The Police that recorded
Reggatta de Blanc and the Police that recorded Synchronicity were different
entities indeed. So we get one disc
of each! Now here’s the thing;
I’ve heard plenty of live recordings from the Police, so I can say that this
set is, at best, “average”. It
just seems like Andy remastered two insignificant recordings.
Okay, Disc 1. The band rocks, but
they’re loose and sloppy. This is
right around when Reggatta was released, so they only do a few of the bigger
songs off of it. And the title
instrumental, too, right in the middle of “Can’t Stand Losing You”. That rocks. I’m
guessing they were jamming during that middle section one day and came up with
this strange new rhythm that they’d use on their next album.
Anyways, Outlandos is certainly represented here, a whole lot in fact.
They do nine songs from it, being everything except "Masoko Tanga". Plus
four from Reggatta, leaving two songs, because both CDs have 15 songs.
Those two are an early punkish single “Fall Out”, which is great, and
“Landlord”, which is great as well, except they re-did it as “Next to
You”. But the set is not perfect.
First off, the band is sloppy. I
already pointed that out, but just listen to those people talking in the band!
They’re all trying to talk at once!
Also, the first song mysteriously increases in volume a minute in.
The band does rock, the material is good, and it’s mostly played well, but I
gotta dock it because they end the show on “Born in the 50’s”, which
sucks, and THEN do “Be My Girl” as an encore!
And there are people cheering during the monologue!
No, audience, don’t do that! You’re
only encouraging them!
Disc 2? Okay, here’s an idea! Let’s do every song from Synchronicity! And add backup singers! What the fuck!? WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS! WHO THINKS BACKUP SINGERS ARE A GOOD IDEA! IS THAT YOU ANDY SUMMERS!?
Now do you see the problem? Songs
from Synchronicity don’t work live, because in a live setting things are
supposed to change. Songs are
supposed to go faster, be played different, and generally rock the house, just
like how much of Synchronicity doesn’t. There’s
a few exceptions: Synchronicity I and II, (done here without a break which is
cool) work fine. And “Walking in
Your Footsteps” is much better here than in the studio, surprisingly.
Then after that, we get to hear the following:
Versions
of songs that are ruined because of backup singers (Spirits in the Material
World)
Good
albums not being represented (Reggatta de Blanc and Ghost in the Machine get
one song each?)
Stupid
audience singalongs (King of Pain)
Stupid
audience (they don’t even know what De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da sounds like
BEFORE the first verse starts? Don’t
they know this is one of their most famous songs?)
None of
Andy’s or Stew’s songs. Apparently,
Sting and Stewart haven’t been getting along for a while, so not only
would he usually not sing Stew’s songs, but he would also change the
lyrics when he did. What a
dick!
All of
Sting’s Synchronicity songs, most of which sound the same as the album,
but worse because of backup singers. (O My God)
Tea in the
Sahara with a guitar part! Wait,
that one’s good.
I never like listening to the second disc.
Regardless, this ain’t a bad release…could be much better though.
Maybe you like backup singers. I
think it’s time for another Police Live release.
One disc, maybe like Zenyatta period (or Ghost, but I’ve never heard
them live then…don’t know if they brought in horn players or what), before
they lost their souls. I mean, is
there anything special about Disc 2 of this?
No, it’s just the band going through the motions.
Stew doesn’t even care by this point.
Sting even sings himself out a few songs into it.
In short, no one really should need this. Even
if you’re a huge Police fan like me, you’ll hardly ever listen to it.
I mean, it’s not even as if they caught them on a good night.
Disc One does, at the very least, have a few great performances and a
couple of non-album tracks, but that’s really not enough to warrant a
purchase.
Best Song: Well, out of the unreleased stuff, probably "Low Life" or "Fallout", otherwise, take your pick!
The early stuff is plenty good - while Outlandos D'Amour showed signs of punk, songs like "Fallout", "Dead End Job" and "Nothing Achieving" are fully punk songs, with "Fallout" and "Dead End Job" being actually really great punk! And there's also a re-recorded "Visions of the Night" from the Strontium 90 days, as well as a GREAT (no) and TERRIFIC (no) re-recording of "Don't Stand So Close To Me" which happens to be one of the box set's worst songs! There's a few quality instrumentals, like "Shambelle" and the Ghost outtake, "Flexible Strategies", as well as some shouldn't-have-been outtakes like "Low Life" and Sting's great "I Burn For You" which really should have been on Synchronicity. There's also some soundtrack material which isn't very good (at least "A Kind of Loving" isn't, because that screaming girl ruins everything), save for the synth-driven instrumental "How Stupid Mr. Bates" which is a big question mark on the Police discography. Okay, anyways, just get this set, you'll LOVE it! 55 stars
