The Police - The Police
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Free Music Notes for The Police
Free Music Review: Not the definitive collection, but a great career overview
Hit: 5 Stars
To kickoff their overwhelmingly-anticipated reunion tour, A&M Records has released a new compilation of the Police's finest work. Unlike their previous compilations, this new compilation, titled simply "The Police," spans two discs, with 14 songs on each disc. Those old one-disc compilations always seemed shallow to me - collecting their #1's just wasn't enough. I felt that only through a 2-disc set could those unfamiliar with the Police get a feel for the group. "The Police" accomplishes that goal, providing a fine sense of the group's style through 28 tracks, ranging from their rare first single, "Fallout," to "Tea in the Sahara," which finished off the original LP of the group's final album.
"The Police" has all the greats - you know, "Roxanne," "Message in a Bottle," "Don't Stand So Close to Me," "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," "Every Breath You Take," etc. - along with a number of less-appreciated gems like "Demolition Man," "Driven to Tears," and "Bring on the Night." The breakdown of the songs picked from each album is as follows:
- "Outlandos d'Amour" (1978): 6 tracks.
- "Reggatta de Blanc" (1979): 4 tracks.
- "Zenyatta Mondatta" (1980): 5 tracks.
- "Ghost in the Machine" (1981): 4 tracks.
- "Synchronicity" (1983): 8 tracks.
Every single great from "Outlandos d'Amour" is contained in the collection, and for that the set deserves some applause. Only one great is absent from "Reggatta de Blanc," but it's one of the band's most popular songs, "The Bed's Too Big Without You." Two of the band's very finest are absent from "Zenyatta Mondatta," Sting's post-apocalyptic anthem "When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around," and his delightfully pop "Man in a Suitcase." At least two tracks are overlooked from "Ghost in the Machine," "Rehumanize Yourself" and Andy Summers' bombastic fan favorite "Omegaman" (and possibly Sting's mystical "Secret Journey" as well). Needless to say, with an almost suffocating 8 tracks present, nothing from "Synchronicity" is overlooked. But the omission of those beauties mentioned above, 5 or 6 total, is upsetting. I would also have loved to see "I Burn for You," from the "Brimstone & Treacle" soundtrack, here. It's one of the group's most brilliant compositions and has been sorely neglected for years.
A rather curious aspect of this collection is the placement of the tracks. They are presented chronologically by album, but not in the order they would appear on the album, which is odd. Odder still is the decision to do that, and then to put the dreamy "Tea in the Sahara" at the end of the collection rather than the band's signature tune, "Every Breath You Take." Why not let "Tea in the Sahara" drift off into its ethereality and then finish things off with a bang with "Every Breath"? This is a minor detractor, though.
As a die-hard Police fan, I have my beefs with this compilation, but I would still highly recommend it to those unfamiliar with the band. They were truly one of the greatest groups of all time, and "The Police" is a fine way to get a sense of their style. However, due to the problems listed above, it's by no means the definitive collection, though it is the best one so far. All in all, it's a great career overview which I highly recommend.
Free Music Review: Copacetic POLICE anthology
Hit: 5 Stars
THE BAND: Sting/Gordon Sumner (vocals, bass), Andy Summers (guitars), Stewart Copeland (drums & percussion).
THE DISCS: (2007) 28 songs on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 110 minutes (Disc-1 at 50 minutes, disc-2 at 60). Included with the discs is a 6-page fold out containing song titles/credits/times, band photos, a "Police Raid Madam Wong's" (1979) advertisement poster, a 1-page intro, what songs came from which albums, and year released. Remastered digi-paks were released in 2003 of the band's entire catalog - with the sound on this Police compilation being superb, I'm assuming these are digitally remastered... but fail to see in the liner notes indicating so. The song "Fall Out" is the only song to not be featured on one of the band's 5 studio albums - recorded prior to the band's debut in 1977 with Henri Padovani playing guitar. Label - A&M Records.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Outlandos D'Amour (6 songs), Reggatta De Blanc (4), Zenyatta Mondatta (5), Ghost In The Machine (4), Synchronicity (8), bonus track (1).
COMMENTS: Their rise in England was quick. Going from small pubs to monstrous tours and sold out stadium dates in less than 5 years. Releasing their first studio album in 1978, to their last in 1983. They covered several music categories - punk, jazz, reggae, rock & pop. Millions of albums sold, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame members each... every music collectors library needs some Police in one way or another. Don't want to purchase all their studios albums or the pricey boxed set ("Message In A Bottle: The Complete Recordings"), this 2-disc compilation is THE place to start. THE GOOD: All the celebrated hits are here - "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You", "Message In A Bottle", "Walking On The Moon", "Don't Stand So Close To Me", "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Spirits In The Material World", "Every Breath You Take", "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "King Of Pain", etc. There are some excellent deep album cuts including "Hole In My Life", "Bring On The Night", "Voices Inside My Head", "Demolition Man", "Murder By Numbers" and "Tea In The Sahara". Songs are presented in chronological order. To me, this is a bonus - you can hear the band change/grow from album to album... from raw punk, to polished pop rock outfit. The sound is flawlessly crisp. The 3-fold cardboard case is sturdy and well put together. THE NOT SO GOOD: No compilation is perfect and this one isn't either (however it's very close). Three small gripes. 1. - A few important (but not critical) songs missing - "When The World Is Running Down...", "Secret Journey", "The Bed's Too Big Without You", and the oddball from their debut "Be My Girl - Sally" (also - nothing from their underrated '95 live album). 2. - Large amounts of unused disc space - 30 minutes on disc-1 and 20 minutes on disc-2 - this is criminal. Including the 4 omitted songs (mentioned previously) and a few live tracks would have made this collection perfect in my book.. plenty 'o space. And lastly, 3. - Why the heck did it take almost 25 years to get here? Now that it's here, I suppose it was worth the wait. OVERALL: Excellent mix of Police tunes any way you slice it. Looking for a studio album - start with "Zenyatta Mondatta" or "Synchronicity" (beware of the song "Mother" here). Looking for a great introduction to The Police - look no further (5 stars).
Free Music Review: Really Good
Hit: 5 Stars
This is as complete a Police compilation as you will find. The sound is great and the tracks are essential. Personally, I think they should have included "When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around. " That was a great, underrated song. To be honest, I didn't care a whole lot for their "Synchronicity" album, hence the songs from that album. "Every Breath You Take" is the best song on that album. But for a complete Police career retrospective, this one is good and the best, to date.
Edit: Actually, I hadn't heard much of the "Synchronicity" album, since it's release in 1984, so I must say, when I heard many of the songs from that album on this disc, I was reminded of the fact that "Synchronicity", in fact had some quite good songs. I had remembered them as being bland and of not much substance, I guess because the main song I remembered was "Wrapped Around Your Finger", a song I'm not particularly fond of. But, actually all of the other songs from that album were pretty good, I must admit, after hearing them again, 23 years later.
Free Music Review: ...but only four stars for the American version
Hit: 5 Stars
For those who bemoan the lack of additional songs, specifically 'The Bed's Too Big Without You', I would recommend seeking out the Australian or British edition of this compilation; it has all 28 songs from the American release and includes 'Bed's Too Big' and 'Rehumanise Yourself'. These two songs rectify the shortfall of songs from 'Regatta De Blanc' and Ghost In The Machine' (only four each on the American version) and makes it feel a significantly more comprehensive compilation.
Yes, there are still tracks missing that would make it truly perfect, but remember that the Police only released five studio albums; if A&M had added yet more tracks to this compilation it would have come close to negating the need to buy the original releases and they were never going to allow that to happen were they? So the thirty-song version is about as good as we could ask for, it's an excellent blast through the past. Enjoy!
Free Music Review: Can a Police Compilation be better than this?
Hit: 5 Stars
I can think of only one track that belonged here but isnt and that would be "When The World Is Running Down." But the extra attention that is given to early Police over previous attempts at a compilation make this collection far superior. When I saw this collection included "Next to You", "So Lonely", "Regatta De Blanc", "Canary in a Coal Mine", and "Voices in My Head" , I had to have it. I never tire of hearing Stewert Copelands drumwork in the last 60 seconds of "Voices". The inclusion of "Tea in the Sahara" also bumps up the credibility. Listening to this collection gives you every side of the Police, not just the softer radio version of the band as was the complaint of their "Evvery Breath" greatest hits. Whoever compiled the songlist here did their homework.