"The idea in the Police was to write hit singles. We were a hit band. Our albums were supplements to the hits. We did some good album work, but it wasn't consistent. The albums were uneven."
From the Sting website, this being said, you can say, that they are a hits band not an albumband. So on this album you have the best of the best, and not the feeling like something is missing, that is something that makes this album great. The police is:
Sting: Bass, Vocals
Stewart Copeland, Drums
Andy Summers: Guitar
When the police had their first gig in Paris, they were all very excited about the city, after the gig Sting and the others went in town, about the things Sting saw there, he saw a prostitution in a red light district then he imagined how it would be to fall in love in one of those girls, when they made that song and put it on their first album, they were famous.
After that they made many records with many great singles on it, sometimes the rest of the album was a bit weak, 'cause they were a singles band. In 1983 The Polise released their last album ''Synchronicity'' after that Sting begun his solo career, with the fanbase he had from The Police his solo career turned out to be a succesfull one. Eventually The Police and Sting released this album in 1997. Here's the review.
The album kicks in with Message In A Bottle, one of the many great hits on this album, this song is from Regatta de Blanc. This song is very catchy, and it's about someone who's lonely and sends in a message in a bottle hoping that someone will find him. The instruments are all working very well together. After Message In A Bottle come Can't Stand Losing you from Outlandos D'amour, it's more raggae, with the use of the Echoplex they were ably to make a double rhytm effect. This song is one of the few weaker tracks on the album. Now a sting track, Englishman in New York, it begins very quit, also very catchy and the instruments work well together, the saxophone in it is very nice, and oh yeah this song is about Quentin Crisp a friend of Sting
Every Breath You Take, one of the most known Police songs, and absolut classic, with a good reason that is, the lyrics are very emotional, and the instruments match the lyrics very good, it's about loving someone and that you stalk the one yoo love, the backing vocals make it even more emotional sometimes. After that a quit drum beat witth some other instruments. This was a live favourite that didn't leave Sting's set after it's release, and I udnerstand why it's a very good song. After Seven Days the follow up single to Message In A Bottle, allthough it has the same feel as that song and has it's own unique sound, it is not as great as Message In A Bottle, one of the weaker songs on the album.
After that a Sting classic, Fields of gold, allthough this song didn't topped high in the charts, it received a BMI award in 1999 for achieving over 2 million airplays on US radio. It's a very quit song and more of a love song very nice. One of the more known songs from Sting.
After Fields Of Gold, another quit Sting hit, called Fragile, allthough not as good as Fields Of Gold, it's nice to listen to when you are tired and want something relaxing. After that a fun song to listen to, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic starts with a quit beat on the hihat and after like 30 seconds it gets more upbeat, a very good song has it's quit and it's upbeat parts, very good musicanship on this one, I really like Stewart's drumming here.
Now for a song that annoys the hell out of me, De Doo Doo Doo De Da Da Da, starts with a simple beat with some guitars, whent he vocals come in, it's a bit hard to hear them sometimes, and the chorus is a bit lame, weakest track on the album. After that some backing vocals, singing ''Free, free set them free'' If You Love Somebody Set Them Free begins, a good song, a bit lafter the backing vocals start Sting starts singing, the backing vocals work really well repeating over and over, then chorus starts a bit more up beat and after that more caing vocals. It's a really good song, which shows how good backing vocals can work. Another great one :) After that another Sting song, starting with some instruments that build up slowely as the singing comes in, very quit song, also very nice to relax too, not much special about this one. There are many remixes of this song, but those are all worse then the original.
Next a song from Sting's first solo album, starting with some kind of radio on the backgound, this intro is very vocal orientated, and that keeps on going till the vocals stop at the end, not the best song on the album. After that the encore of the Sting live show, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, this is one of my favourites, everything works well together, and it's just nice to hear. After that another one of my personal favourites, When We Dance, another love song, good to listen with a girl when you dance with her ;) It spent 7 weeks on the charts and I have not much moreto say about it, it's just good :)
After that, Don't Stand So Close To Me, it went on Nr1 and it spended 10 weeks on the charts in the UK, I don't understand why this one topped higher then some other, better, hits on this album. Not that this is a bad song, it's a very nice song, nice chorus, but a bit overrated. After that comes another overrated song, Roxanne, the song that started their popularity, it's very catchy but, it isn't the best way to end an album, it would have been a better opener. But too make it worse they putted a Puff Daddy Remix on the end of the album, they had plenty of other good songs and then they put something like that over there ... That was a bid of a mistake
Best of the album:
Message In A Bottle
Englishman In New York
Every Breath You Take
Seven Days
Fields Of Gold
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
If I Ever Lose My Faith in You
When We Dance
Don't Stand So Close To Me
Roxanne
Final Critics:This song has some very weak trakcs on it, while they had much more hits to chose from, like Kinf Of Pain, Synchronicity. But they just took too much Sting songs sometimes.
The musicanship and singing are great on this album
Final Rating 4,5/5
2nd review be gentle, comments and tips appreciated :)
