The Police

Certain Songs #1612: The Police – “Synchronicity II”

August 21, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Synchronicity
Year: 1983

. . .

So, as probably wouldn’t surprise many of you, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what it means to be in a band again. Or be in a band at all. Back in the day, I used to joke that being in the band — at least a local band — meant you had all of the responsibilities of both a job and a relationship, only you didn’t didn’t get paid and you didn’t get laid.

And given that I’m writing this just a couple of days before my band’s first gig since January 18, 1992 (not that I’ve been keeping track) — though it won’t post until afterwards — and in the intervening time, I think I’d forgotten all of the logistics, compromises and work involved. All of which is worth it when everything clicks, of course, and you’re making a sound that nobody has ever quite made before and everybody is contributing equally to that sound.

Certain Songs #1611: The Police – “Every Breath You Take”

August 20, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Synchronicity
Year: 1983

. . .

After releasing an album every autumn from 1978-1981, the Police took an extra six months before they came back with their fifth album, Synchronicty, a record that had the temerity to come out a full 18 months after their previous one. Of course, as far as the world was concerted, it was well worth the wait, as Synchronicity was the number one album in the U.S. from late July until Thanksgiving, except for one week where Thriller intruded.

It was part that weird 1982-1985 run where critically acclaimed albums also topped the charts: Beauty and the Beat, Thriller, Synchronicity, Born in the U.S.A, Purple Rain & Like a Virgin all took their turns, dominating the radio, the stadiums, and of course, the MTV, which I think had the world premiere of the first single from Synchronicity, the long-lost “Every Breath You Take.”

Certain Songs #1609: The Police – “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”

August 14, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Ghost in the Machine
Year: 1981

. . .

It’s weird to call the next-to-last album by an artist a “transition album,” but that’s certainly how Ghost in the Machine was perceived at the time: an expansion of basic sound of the Police that set the stage for whatever came next.

And at first, I was a bit leery of all of those horns and keyboards that were slathered upon all of the songs — after all, what made them interesting if not great, was the interplay between Sting’s bass, Stewart Copeland’s drums and Andy Summer’s guitar. And while all of that still existed, it was now buried beneath layers of keyboards. And weirdly enough, to me, at least, it actually narrowed down their sound a bit by removing all of the space that existed.

Certain Songs #1608: The Police – “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”

August 13, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Zenyatta Mondatta
Year: 1980

. . .

And then The Police became superstars in the U.S. In retrospect, I’m not really sure why it took so long, except that the U.S. was finally ready to accept “new wave” artists like The Police, and the things that helped them become major stars in the U.K. — i.e. good-looking dudes playing good-sounding songs — put them at the top of the pile.

And so Zenyatta Mondatta — which I kinda think is the weakest of all of their albums — made it to #5 on the U.S. album charts buoyed by radio play of songs like “Canary in a Coal Mine,” “When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around,” and “Driven to Tears,” which aided and abetted the two genuine hit singles “Dee Doo Doo Doo, Dee Da Da Da” and the jailbait bait “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.”

Certain Songs #1607: The Police – “Walking on the Moon”

August 12, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Reggatta de Blanc
Year: 1979

Welcome to my favorite Police song, the simple, sparse and sublime “Walking on the Moon.”

If “Message in a Bottle” made me reconsider the disinterest that had been engendered by the kind of annoying “Roxanne,” then “Walking on the Moon” was the tipping point that made me realize I was going to have to pay attention to everything they did from that moment on. Of course, saturation airplay probably helped, too: the newly-launched KKDJ played a shitload of police, as did MTV after it launched — The Police famously did one of those “I Want My MTV” ads — and KFSR in both it’s pre-and-post on-air states.

Certain Songs #1606: The Police – “Reggatta de Blanc”

August 11, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Reggatta de Blanc
Year: 2019

. . .

We don’t do a lot of instrumentals here at Certain Songs, which is a thing I’m probably going to write at the outset of every single instrumental.

And so “Reggatta de Blanc” is a rare bird, not just in the context of Certain Songs, but also in the smaller context of The Police, where it’s the only song I’m writing about that also wasn’t a single. It’s also the title track to what is generally considered their weakest album, though since it was also the first Police album I ever bought, I’ll admit to a soft spot for it.

Certain Songs #1605: The Police – “Message in a Bottle”

August 9, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Reggatta de Blanc
Year: 1979

. . .

Life comes at you pretty quickly when you’re 17.

Summer 1979 Jim, an idiot: “Because I don’t like that annoying “Roxanne” song that is all over the radio, I can safely ignore The Police’s clearly novelty fusion of reggae and punk and concentrate on the Clash, Jam, Television and Ramones albums that are turning my world upside down.”

Christmas 1979 Jim, a brain genius: “I just bought Reggatta de Blanc at Tower Records”!!!

Certain Songs #1604: The Police – “So Lonely”

August 8, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Outlandos d’Amour
Year: 1978

. . .

One of the things I absolutely denied in the 1980s, but have come to reluctantly accept with the benefit of time, hindsight, and a near-total banishment of actively listening to their music for a couple of decades due to overexposure: The Police were a tremendous band. Yes, I know, duh.

This is, of course a thing I knew at the time: that outside of The Clash — it’s always outside of The Clash — they were the pioneers of fusing punk and reggae. Plus, unlike The Clash, whose reggae got more reggae as their career moved forward, The Police added an extra dollop of musicianship and a whole steaming bowlful of pop (which in this case included looks) to their version of that fusion, which is why they were near-instant stars who were only getting bigger when they threw in the towel.