This is the first of these that I am doing on a band/artist for whom I don't have any specific affection, which isn't to say that I dislike them, but I don't really know the back catalogue beyond the famous songs. I only own one Sting album (10 Summoner's Tales) and like it well enough.
OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR (1978)
'Sue Lawley, Sue Lawley, Sue Lawley (feel Sue Lawley)' Oh how we laughed at the apparent homage to the nation's favourite newsreader. It was probably some Radio 1 DJ of the ilk of Mike Read or DLT that first pointed it out. I was expecting a lot of white-boy reggae and there is plenty here, but the opener 'Next to You' is fairly standard punky rock. I think it is Sting's high pitched squawk that generally sets them apart. The now unfashionable repeat-to-fade is a common feature of the songs and, when you start to consider it, is a quite odd concept, what are we supposed to think? That the band will continue with the refrain in perpetuity as they wander off into the distance? Or maybe we are buggering off because we're fed up with them? I was slightly surprised by the harmonica on So Lonely. Some of the subject matter is quite challenging, especially in the hits, 'Roxanne' (Prostitution) and 'Can't Stand Losing You' (Suicide) are possibly not standard hit parade fare. 'Peanuts' seems unremarkable until they start screaming 'PEANUTS!' at the end in a not-unlike Noddy Holder style. 'Born in the 50's' is a more conventional rock sound, with the exception of the angry vocal. Oddest track is probably 'Be My Girl - Sally', with a spoken word ode to a blow-up woman in the middle, presumably it's Andy Summers as it's done in a slight Lancashire accent. Masoko Tanga finishes it off, which is probably the most strongly reggae influenced track on the album.
Message in a Bottle starts off partway into the first bar, I'm sure of it. It's still a great song with a nice structure, moving from the rolling verses to the more jerky chorus. Maybe I'll find a misheard lyric on every Police album. In this case I always realised that it was "A year has passed since I wrote my note", but I always half wanted it to be "A year has passed since I broke my nose". A couple of the songs on the album are what I would describe as ska-influenced although 'Bring on the Night' has a more African sound. 'It's Alright For You' has a verse structure reminiscent of Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'. 'Any Other Day' strays into a New York New Wave sound. Side 2 (as was) opens with Walking on the Moon. In the words of Tim Minchin when discussing hymns - some of the chords are quite nice but the lyrics are dodgy. 'Giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon; I hope my legs don't break, walking on the moon'. That's not even sixth form poetry, more like primary school. It finishes with 'No Time This Time', which borrows its central riff from the 60's Batman theme tune. I'll say this for them, they were quite diverse within the confines of what was musically fashionable at the time. Boring album cover art so far as well.
Their last album with a silly, pretend foreign language title. Cover art is a slight improvement although someone obviously thought their phizogs would sell records. I criticized 'Walking on the Moon' for bad lyrics, this one opens with 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' which is much better, telling the story in a sparse way and supported by some unexpected key changes. There is one hiccup, 'Just like that old man in that book by Nabokov' smacks of just showing off how well read Sting is. It's well known that he spent a spell as a teacher so we must assume its written at least partly from experience. For a really creepy take on the song check out Glee's mash up with 'Young Girl'. Overall the sound is much more accomplished and there are some real groundbreaking moments. Complicated basslines that would influence Duran Duran and their like in the coming decade are in evidence. My misheard lyric for this album would be Canary in a Coma, instead of 'Canary in a Coalmine'. Maybe Morrissey was a fan? 'Bombs Away' probably has relevance now with it's themes around interventions in places like Afghanistan. 'Behind My Camel' is purely instrumental and resembles a soundtrack for a Hammer version of the Mummy. I admit that I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' was all about, only to find that Sting claims it's a nonsense lyric along the lines of 'Doo wah diddy'. It's a good catchy song, so he achieved his goal.
I was looking forward to yet another head-shot of the three band members on the cover and instead we get this clock-radio display thing. It's supposed to represent them and you can just about see that the middle figure is suffering from a Sting feather-cut, but it doesn't really work. The album opens strongly with three singles: 'Spirits in the Material World', 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' and 'Invisible Sun'. Spirits... goes back to their preferred reggae style with strong guitar chops all through. My best guess on Every Little Thing... is that it's about unrequited love. Invisible Sun is the most interesting track on the album, with it's kind of repetitive industrial sound. As for the rest, if I can't really get into an album the first time round I'll give it another go but I found this so boring, with repetitive songs that I really can't be bothered. 'Demolition Man' was resurrected by Sting for the Stallone/Sandra Bullock movie of the same name, but I seem to remember that the reworked version was much better (I have it on Guitar Hero: World Tour so maybe I'll check it out on that). 'ReHumanize Yourself' is playfully frenetic, but we'll have less of the potty-mouth if you don't mind Mr Sumner. I think the closer, 'Darkness', is intended as a meditation on being caught in the rat-race. One more Polis album to go. I have to say that so far, they have not really filled my criteria for a bit of artistic progression, sticking to the reggae and punk influences that served them well at the beginning. Let's see what Synchronicity has to offer.
Cover art news! They're back, but this one is more interesting. Copeland the muso, Summers on the phone and Sting's got his chest out. The opening title track (there is a Synchronicity I and II on the album) is all a bit urgent and jumbled. It's followed by 'Walking in Your Footsteps' which draws on some nice bongo drumming sounds and has a jungly feel (by which I don't mean all that Booyaka! Booyaka! Jungle is massive! rubbish). 'O My God' is a bit nondescript but morphs into a bit of smooth jazz at the end. Now, 'Mother' comes as a bit of a shock. I guess it's Stewart Copeland on vocal, the instrumentation is somewhere between Moroccan bazaar and fairgound hurdy-gurdy and the vocal is a supremely bonkers mix of crazed speech and hysterical laughter. My wife, J. would call it 'interesting' by which she would mean 'crap'. Things calm down again with 'Miss Gradenko' and 'Synchronicity II'. We Then move into a purple patch with 'Every Breath You Take', 'King of Pain' and 'Wrapped Around Your Finger'. Every Breath... really is nothing like anything else they've done.I seem to remember a slightly modified version was done for Spitting Image which was quite effective when juxtaposed with the puppets. 'King of Pain' is pretty bleak stuff but is a good song nonetheless. 'Wrapped Around Your Finger' is also low key but retains an air of menace. It finishes with 'Tea In the Sahara' and 'Murder by Numbers'. which are fairly unremarkable, but do point to where Sting was going. I think they finished on a high, this is their best album in my view although I'd still rate 'Don't Stand..' as their best song. Now let's look at what Gordon did next....
And to finish.. The Police's top 'collars'
Diminished responsibility: Peanuts
Rhyme Crime: Walking on the Moon
Vice Squad: Roxanne
Vandalism: Demolition Man
Stalking: Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
Chief Super: Don't Stand So Close to Me.
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