The Top 200 Albums of All Time: The Police

Zenyatta Mondatta: The Police (1980)
Zenyatta Mondatta marked the end of the Police’s early period. It demonstrates the influence of reggae and punk and features two instrumental compositions. The Police also investigated current events with “Driven to Tears” (poverty) and “Bombs Away” (Soviet invasion of Afghanistan).

Key Tracks:
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Driven to Tears

Ghost in the Machine: The Police (1981)
The album was inspired by Arthur Koestler’s novel, The Ghost in the Machine. The book deals with the concept that the mind is not independent of the body and humankind’s tendency toward self-destructive behavior. Twelve years after the album’s release, “Demolition Man” became a belated hit.

Key Tracks:
Invisible Sun
Spirits in the Material World
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Synchronicity: The Police (1983)
The band moved away from reggae and their earlier influences creating one of the seminal albums of the 1980s. Synchronicity made The Police the biggest band in the world. The albums multiple hits made the band an omnipresent force on the radio and MTV for two years. Alas, Synchronicity helped destroy the band as tensions between Sting and Steward Copeland came to a head as the Police reached the peak of their popularity.

Key Tracks:
Synchronicity II
Every Breath You Take
Wrapped Around Your Finger
King of Pain

Quotes of the Month: April 2010

Quote of the Month: "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans,"

-Stephen Hawking

Dumb Quote of the Month: "My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."


-Congressman Hank Johnson on the deployment of 8000 marines to Guam.

and now the rest:

"The truth is that I never played organized baseball. While I love watching it, my skills are not where they need to be."

-Barack Obama on throwing out the first pitch of the Nationals’ season

Obama Lies! Grandma Dies!

-A Sign in Clinton Twp, MI protesting Obamacare


"30 Years ago when I wrote 'The Wall' I was a frightened young man," Waters tells Spinner. "Well, not that young -- I was 36 years old. It took me a long time to get over my fears. Anyway, in the intervening years it has occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss with it's concomitant inevitable residue of ridicule, shame and punishment, provides an allegory for broader concerns: Nationalism, racism, sexism, religion, whatever! All these issues and 'isms are driven by the same fears that drove my young life."

-Roger Waters

"This really is transparent bollocks”

Craig Murray, Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan and a fierce critic of the Uzbek regime, after Sting took a major payday to play for the dictator’s daughter and then gave a perfunctory reason to explain it away.

"What we need is a president, not an athlete”

-Newt Gingrich

“whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower”

- Barack Obama (well that explains his economic policies designed to make us Zimbabwe!)

"I love the people of Islam but their religion, I do not agree with their religion at all. And if you look at what the religion does just to women, women alone, it is just horrid. And so yes, I speak out for women. I speak out for people that live under Islam, that are enslaved by Islam and I want them to know that they can be free”

-Franklin Graham

"I don't care if I'm Cy Young or the 25th man on the roster, if I've got the ball in my hand and I'm on that mound, that's my mound ... He ran across the pitcher's mound foot on my rubber. No, not happening. We're not the door mat anymore."

-Dallas Braden on Alex Rodriguez

"He just told me to get off his mound. I was a little surprised. I'd never quite heard that. Especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career ... I thought it was pretty funny actually."

-Alex Rodriguez on Dallas Braden

"Bob is not authentic at all. He's a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception. We are like night and day, he and I."

-Joni Mitchell on Bob Dylan

"She's just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour. I mean it's just ridiculous."

-British PM Gordon Brown

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Worthy Acts Part IV

Here is the final installment.

The Smiths


Pro: Unique, massively popular, influential, there is even a great feud

Con: 1980s band

Steppenwolf

Pro: Hitmakers, generation defining song in “Born to be Wild”

Con: Canadian, Born to be Wild is a bit cliché

Sting

Pro: Incorporates Jazz and other influences, tons of hits, he is Sting

Con: Influence is with the Police, at times pop and at times jazz rock, Already in with the Police

The Stray Cats

Pro: Brian Setzer is a great guitarist, unique, influence, important songs, more than a throwback act

Con: From the 80s, not top of mind

Donna Summer

Pro: Mixed rock with disco

Con: She’s the disco queen

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Pro: One of the greatest guitarists ever

Con: Died in 1989

Hank Williams Jr.

Pro: Influential in rock circles, crossover act

Con: Country star

Yes

Pro: Archetype Prog band, survived many changes, blended classical music into rock

Con: They are a prog band, not a lot of hits

Warren Zevon

Pro: No one sounded or wrote like Warren Zevon, influenced and worked with Bruce Springsteen, David Letterman, and REM, and influenced Kid Rock among others, Great writer

Con: His stuff might be too out there

#26: The Police

The Police formed at the height of Punk and outlasted it. Some consider them the first New Wave Act since they were neither classic rock nor punk. They incorporated jazz, punk rock, and reggae into their work. In fact, they were one of the first acts to incorporate reggae into their music.

In 1977, The Police began their slow climb to greatest band in the world. Drummer Stewart Copeland formed the band with Sting and Henry Padovani. Padovani was a weak guitarist and was later replaced by Andy Summers. Their fusion of rock, jazz, and especially reggae into their act was novel especially in the United States. They soon earned a recording contract.

Their first album contained the hit “Roxanne” which was completely unique. It did not sound like rock or punk or disco. The song provided an introduction into the U.S. and Australia and got them a gig at the CBGB punk club. Their second album made them stars in England and included “Message in a Bottle.” They toured the world and released a third album that included “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.” The band was now a worldwide sensation.

While the band thrived, front man Sting became a star. He appeared in movies such as Quadraphenia and later Dune. This led to a conflict of egos with Stewart Copeland. The tension continued throughout the early 80s and served to destroy the band as they conquered the world. By 1983, they were the biggest band in the world. Their album Synchronicity spawned several smash hits including one of the decade’s most iconic songs, “Every Breath You Take.” In fact, that song beat out “Billie Jean” for song of the year at the Grammy Awards.

There was no official split. Sting did a solo album and Copeland did some work on his own. Summers waited for the band to reunite. With the exception of three concerts for Amnesty International in 1986 and a completely reworked re-release of “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” the band would not play again until the 2007-08 reunion tour. Between 1986 and 2007, Sting got married and bragged about 6 hour tantric sex, Copeland made a documentary on the Police (very good), Summers worked as Dennis Miller’s musical director, and the group was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Rock n Roll Moment: In one South American banana republic, Andy Summers kicked a military policeman that was attacking fans. He was threatened with arrest, but managed to get out of the country.

Essential Police:

Outlandos d’Amour (1978)
Reggata de Blanc (1979)
Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)
Ghost in the Machine (1981)
Synchronicity (1983)

The Police Top 10:

Every Breath You Take
Roxanne
Can’t Stand Losing You
Message in a Bottle
So Lonely
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
King of Pain
Wrapped Around Your Finger
Synchronicity II
Spirits in the Material World