Review of "The Police"

The Police

Other

England

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too smart for punk, too loud for new-wave

punk/reggae/pop from the early to mid 80s

For a brief period the Police were the hottest rock band in the world, using reggae rhythms in stark arrangements with an angry, political, almost-punk sensibility. They got started a year after punk and new wave hit, but they brought tuneful songwriting and real musicianship to the table. In terms of innovation, the Police were probably the first band outside of Jamaica to internalize reggae and do something new with it. They broke up at the height of their popularity and songwriter/lead singer Sting went on to respectable solo success.

too smart for punk, too loud for new-wave

specific instructions: 1. go buy first album 'outland d'amour' 2. pretend it is 1978 and you are tired of the punk attitude and disco fever and arena rock 3. press play 4. feel incredible 5. complete collection (only 5 studio albums in all) i will leave it up to others to tal about personnel and specific album/song reccomendations

Once upon a time there was a boy named sting...

Well, I got interested in The Police just as they were in the process of breaking up. Saw them at Hollywood Park during the "synchronicity" tour. Driven apart by their different musical interests, and Sting's massive ego, the band was always a loose collection - Sting on bass, Andy Summers' on guitar, and Stewart Copeland on drums. But when it worked, it really worked. A good description might be Post-punk with the occasional jazz influence. As for albums, Just buy "Message in a Box" - it has everything that they ever commerically released. Also the soundtrack to "Rumblefish" is an interesting effort by Stew and Stan Ridgway of Wall of Voodoo fame.

British punk white guys do reggae. For starters.

The Police will always be *my* favorite punk band. And, if Sting wasn't such a wanker.. well, suffice it to say, The Police have such a great sound: melody/rhythm in bass (provided by said super-ego), Andy Summer's ethereal out-there guitar, and Stewart Copeland's ever-present high hat. (Remeber Peter Gabirel's "Red Rain"? Go listen to that cymbal at the beginning. Yep.) Buy Message in a Box. And, The Police Live. Believe it or not, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers have some decent solo stuff. Buy that. And, if you have to buy a Sting album, buy Soul Cages. I guess that's enough outta me.

more than just "roxanne"

...as i'm slowly finding out. i say "slowly" b/c i feel like i'm jumping on the police bandwagon about 20 years too late, but seeing as how i'm 19, i can't exactly be held at fault for this. regardless, the police's creative musicality and powerful songwriting are totally enthralling... not to mention the fact that "message in a bottle" and "every little thing she does is magic" are epic pop anthems in and of themselves. :D

Beyond Sting

Don't hold Sting's solo shortcomings against this fabulous band! The Police combined rock and reggae in a way that bands today still can't match. Choose your albums carefully. If it says "The Police" it's a winner!

Ahead of their time by about two decades

As a youngster, I had all five The Police albums and I never stopped listening to them. As an adult I learned to respect their marketing strategies. Now, with "ska-punk" making YET ANOTHER resurgence, I wonder if they weren't cyborgs sent from the future. Did you know drummer Stewart Copeland went on to score movies and TV shows? He's possibly best-known for "The Equalizer."

An opinion?? dont even go there......

One of the two bands who have never recorded a song I could not get into, easily my number 1 all time. Say no more

The Police represent 80s music at its best. While Sting has mellowed and gotten too touchy-feely in his solo work (a la Don Henley), the Police catalog remains important and influential...I doubt ska-core as we know it would exist without The Police. You could tell they were running out of gas creatively--Synchronicity was by far their weakest effort, a commercial mid-tempo sellout that left me wondering what happened to that cool little band I liked so much--but I always wondered if they would have righted the ship with a hypothetical sixth album. I digress...Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost in the Machine, on the other hand, are must-own albums. Before they broke up and XTC stopped touring, the two bands were on the same bill for a few shows...what I'd give for a time machine to be able see both bands live at the same time!