Tag: the police (Page 1 of 2)

I used to look on this album as The Police’s weakest record, but over time I have grown to really love it. Stewart Copeland’s contribution to the band often gets overlooked but his stamp and grooves are all over this record. Right from the off with the heavy groove of the title track (which is one of the best songs the band did), it has Stewart’s DNA everywhere.

The production is superb and Hugh Padgham should take a huge credit here. The only down point is Mother. I get that Andy wanted his songs on the album but sometimes you just have to take a back seat. It stands out so much because everything else is so damn good. The rest of the record is just the best and some of the best pop tunes laid to wax. I’m going for Synchronicity, that opens the album, as my favourite tune. It’s just a beast of a tune, and just consumes you with joy as it speeds on by.

The album would have been a nailed in 10 if it wasn’t for Mother.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

The Police are another band that made consistently good records, and they actually only recorded over a five year period from ’78 to ’83. It’s amazing to think that they achieved so much in such a short space of time. Of course there are the huge hits that you expect of The Police namely, Spirits In The Material World, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, and Invisible Sun. But, it’s the less famous songs that are the ones that I play the most.

Other than Demolition Man, which is on Side 1, it’s side 2 that holds the golden nuggets for me. The funk/reggae crossover of Too Much Information is incredible with a killer groove, and Copeland’s drumming is excellent. My favourite track however is One World, which Sting rearranged when he played it live as a solo artist. The fast reggae groove is so infectious.

They were an incredible band that sounded like no one else. I can listen to them over and over, and still get blown away. The production is top drawer and the whole album is sonically awesome.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

If any of you have seen the documentary of The Police that this album comes from, then you know what a killer band The Police were at this time. They were all still friends and hungry for success, as this was recorded at various venues throughout the world just after the release of their second album, Regatta De Blanc.

There are nine tracks on offer here and the band are just smokin’. All Sting compositions apart from Daethwish which was a whole band tune, and Can’t Stand Losing You which was written by Sting and two outside writers. I won’t go through the tracks here as I’m sure you’re all familiar but I will say this: there is no one else like The Police either before or after. I saw them on their first tour and this one, and they were freaking awesome. Side 2 of this release is one of the best live recordings you will hear. On this recording my favourite track is Bring On The Night; such a killer version.

10/10 from The Grooveman.