Police - Ghost In The Machine [Digipak]
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Free Music Notes for Ghost In The Machine [Digipak]
Free Music Review: The best Police record, but by no means perfect
Hit: 5 Stars
I give Ghost in the Machine the nod over Zenyatta Mondatta and Synchronicity because of its wonderful unique tone and sound. Sting really takes over on Synchronicity, so this is the last record in which The Police, as a trio, (particularly Stewart Copeland) contribute to the creation of the music.
The synth work on GITM is outstanding. None of it sounds dated, which is atypical of 80's rock music. The synths sound gorgous, warm, dark, and evocative. The first three tracks heavily feature synths, beginning with the angry opening Spirits in the Material World, followed by the joyous/sad Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, and continued into the dark, throbbing Invisible Sun. The first three tracks almost seem self-contained and should be listened to in the order they are presented. They fit together perfectly.
Then the record takes a nosedive. Hungry For You, Demolition Man, and Too Much Information are the weakest tracks and they are bunched together (I suppose better that, than interspersed). The fundamental problem with these tracks is that Sting tries to be funky. Bad choice. Sting is not funky, never has been, never will be. Instead of groovy, he comes off dull, repetitive, and silly.
Even though this is the best Police record, I still tend to skip these tracks. It may seem illogical that I would rate this record so highly, and yet asmit that there is a significant weak spot here to be avoided. But, the fact is that even if you cut out the bad spot, what remains is a wonderful rich selection of music. And even though it isn't a full album's worth, the fact is that neither Zenyatta Mondatta nor Synchronicity devlivered a full album's worth of perfection.
Once you get past Too Much information, the rest is gold. Rehumanize Yourself does have one anoying flaw: the noisy sax solo. I blame Sting for this. In his attempt to infuse horns that remind us of violence he put something into the mix that just doesn't blend, and the overall effect is somewhat grating. One World is one of the best Police jams. Stewart Copeland really shines on drums.
The closing tracks Secret Journey and Darkness are a fantastic finish. I almost think of Secret Journey/Darkness as one song, much like Spirits in the Material World/Every Little Thing She Does is Magic/Invisible Sun blend together at the beginning of the record. One could even take it one step further and notice that Hungry For You/Demolition Man/Too Much Information also blend together (it just happens that they are much weaker than the rest of the record).
I can't help loving the way this record opens and closes. I am more than able to forgive it for falling flat in the middle. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic was a megahit for The Police and I suppose if I had to pick one song from Ghost in the Machine for my mix tape, that would be the one. But, I would rather listen to Spirits/Every/Invisible in order, skip to Rehumanize Yourself, and then close the album with One World/Secret/Darkness. When I hear Secret Journey/Darkness I always get the sensation of entering into a dark tunnel or (I know it sounds silly) the beginning of the Space Mountain ride at Disneyland when your car passes through the tunnel with the laser beams and begins climbing. This music gives me that strong emotional/physical sensation of being pulled into something intriguing, mysterious, and dark. I love it.
One thing I forgot to mention is that The Police are, as usual, a great band and a joy to listen to. The album is unique in their cannon because the synths play such a strong role, they bring a 4th sound to the overall presentation. Unlike Zenyatta Mondatta which was mostly just Vocal, Bass, Guitar, and Drums, Ghost in The Machine is a much fuller sound. I don't necesarily think it is a better sound, but on this particular record, it works fabulously.
Free Music Review: Dark social and political commentary you can dance to!
Hit: 5 Stars
I still can't decide whether I like this album or Synchronicity better. Almost immediately after you slip this album into your CD Player and are greeted by the opening drumbeats to "Spirits in the Material World", you will hear the basic musical germ that would be taken to new levels on Synchronicity. But on Ghost in the Machine, the Police offer us a more unrefined version of their rapidly maturing musical talent.On their previous album, Zenyatta Mondatta, the band's lyrics became more political and philosophical. For this album, the music evolved as well. Influences of reggae and jazz become even more noticable in Sting's songwriting, and he manages to incorporate them brilliantly into the stew of pop, punk, and hard rock that already made up the Police's signature sound. The result: an album of explosive rhythm and energy, both lyrically and musically. Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland are all in outstanding form. Here's a few thoughts on some of the songs to better illustrate:
-As I stated earlier, the first song reaches out and grabs you with the reggae beats of Copeland's drums. Stings lyrics are melodic, and a perfect rythmic complement to the music. But while being catchy, he also waxes philosophy at the same time ("There is no political solution/To our troubled evolution/Have no faith in constitution/There is no bloody revolution"). This style, started on Zenyatta Mondatta, becomes more mature here, and is repeated in many forms on this album.
-Probably the best known song on this album is "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic." The bouncing drums and keyboards are almost enough to make you forget that Sting is singing about the personal torment of being unable to tell the woman he loves exactly how he feels ("Oh, I've tried before to tell her all the feelings I have for her in my heart..."). The same thing happens on the song "Too Much Information." Sting's lyrics and Copeland's music are a perfect match, even though you wouldn't think it. Sting appears to be singing about the torture of living in the information age and being connected to entirely too much news on several different media, but he sings about it over a horn and guitar-laden beat that sounds almost like club music.
-As their style changed, Andy Summers's guitar became less a solo instument, and more a rhythm instrument. But I consider "Demolition Man" one of his finest moments of musicianship. The high point here is definitely the long-winded guitar solo that the song finishes up with. Summers's guitar sounds wonderfully dirty, and yet he manages to make it sing. It's truly incredible, and it makes "Demolition Man" one of my favorite songs on the album.
-"One World (Not Three)" is a song that smacks of reggae. But in a good way. The stereo-fading and reverb of the vocals (especially at the end) gives it a very spooky quality. But again, it's done over music that Bob Marley probably would have written if he were still alive.
All in all, the Police manage to cram so much into just 45 minutes of music. As I said in my review of Synchroncity, Sting's glory days were with the Police, and not in his solo career at all. This is definitely one of the best albums to come from the 1980s, from one of the best bands in that time period.
Free Music Review: Rightly revered.
Hit: 5 Stars
There must be a reason why this album is revered by Police fanatics.I am one of those people.
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is on my short list of the greatest singles ever. I think it's a perfect song. It also is the oddball tune on this dark and somber album. It's also, unfortunately, the one with the poorest production quality. You can hear the engineers struggling, over the various iterations of the album (vinyl, half-speed master, CD, box, remaster after remaster), clean up this track...but honestly, I could listen to it through a tin can hooked to a string.
That said, the remainder of the album does evoke memories of "Who's Next"...in that Townshend expanded the Who's sound with a synthesizer to great effect. The Police add keyboards and a horn section to do the same. "Spirits In The Material World" and "Invisible Sun" demonstrate the former, while "Hungry For You" and "Too Much Information" show off the latter.
You can still hear their reggae-punk history in songs like "One World" and the song that foreshadows the world-conquering "Synchronicity" is probably "Secret Journey", a forgotten gem near the end of the album.
Objectively, it's not a perfect album..."Omegaman" is weak, "Darkness" is moody (better as a movie soundtrack) but just OK, "Demolition Man" is endless...
...but subjectively, this album is perfect. I am once again a teenager, cruising down PCH in a black 1979 Camaro Berlinetta with my high school girlfriend by my side. How can I give it anything BUT five stars?
Free Music Review: Their best album; here's why....
Hit: 5 Stars
The Police were predominantly a singles band; whilst every album contains at least several well-known singles or album tracks, each also has a certain amount of filler. Here's a test: remove the best 5 tracks from each album and see how the remainder sounds. In my opinion, 'Regatta' and 'Synchronicity' come off poorly with lots of filler, 'Outlandos' is OK, 'Zenyatta' is a creditable second, but the easy winner is 'Ghost'; I believe it has very little music that could be called filler.
A number of reviewers have panned the middle section of 'Ghost', but to my ears it lends the album a cohesive energy and groove lacking on the other albums. Sure, those middle tracks are a bit repetitive, but so is James Brown! It's the sound of the Police trying, with varying success, to add a bit of funk'n'groove and early eighties eurodance to their white reggae and pop/rock. There was a sense of burning ambition in many of the releases of that era and this is no exception. Yes, it can be a dark and sometimes sombre listen, perhaps in places its grasp exceeds its reach, but give me an exciting failure over a dull success any day. Also, of all of the Police's albums, 'Ghost' has matured best with age; twenty-plus years later it still sounds fresh and involving.
For me, a good album should be one that flows from start to finish without my attention wandering, where I feel no inclination to skip tracks, where each song is framed by the others and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. For me, 'Ghost' is one of those albums, and I never seem to tire of it.
Free Music Review: To Dr. 5 Stars
I first came across your ilk when I read your review of the Police here, so I read all of your pathetic reviews before commenting here! To sum it up, you are a RACIST! All of your reviews are Ethno-Centric, One-Sided, and Biased! Let's start with Elvis! Elvis did Chuck Berry better than Berry did without the Stupid Duck Walk and Oily, Greased Backed Duck Tail that he still wears today! Now there's Kenny G, whites have been doing jazz right alongside blacks since the start of the genre and Eminem's mockery of Hip Hop, well Hip Hop is a mockery anyway, there has never been anything musical about Hip Hop or Rap for that matter! No musical talent needed to sample and steal music from other Artists and get away with it without paying the royalties for the samples and music that has been stolen! So, The Police are the most successful non-Caribbean mockery of Reggae, Huh? I think your problem with the Police is just that, they were successful with Caribbean Reggae! Hey Stupid, ever hear of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh? Of course you have, I've got a lot of both in my collection and Neither one of those Artists were as Ethno-Centric and RACIST as you are and they were very Successful! Why don't help us folks, Black and White, who are trying to get along together and put the past behind us by crawling back into that F***ing Deep, Dark, Sewer you call home!