The Police: A Forgotten Band?

Not sure how you established that, but the initial UK release of "Can't Stand Losing You" was 1978 - peaked at #42 and then went to #2 in mid-1979 when reissued.

"Roxanne" got to #32 in early 1979 while a spring 1979 reissue got to #12.

So the Police apparently managed to score their first top 40 single in the US, not the UK, but they enjoyed much bigger success in the UK very soon after that.

They had a minor hit in the US right before they scored major hits in the UK. This doesn't mean they were popular in the US before the UK - it still took them years to build a real chart presence in the US, whereas they were charttoppers in the UK very quickly...

 

well, miles ended up managing sting through his first 7 solo records, so i imagine sting must have thought he'd done a good job on the police.

 

I play too and Summers work with The Police was a big influence on me -- especially his use of effects. But from his solo records and other stuff, I gather he's jazz influenced and I am sure has lots of soloing chops. I do recall at one point reading an interview with String or Copeland where they stated, they purposely didn't want a lead player who would be doing endless solo's and that's how they approached Summers with it, and I think he agreed -- thats what IMO makes the rock music of The Police sound so different compared to other rock music of the era.

 

On the 1999 (?) live DVD of Sting's show in L.A., Sting is interviewed about this and says:

"My relationship with Miles is a lot like a marriage.... except without the sex.

We... don't have sex."

 

Summers does have a quirky jazzy approach to solos. I have to go back and listen to a few Police stuff to remember, but I do recall there were a bunch of songs where he did some really amazing stuff.

 

I think the truth is a bit between the extremes. They were better than simply "an excellent singles band," as they often had several album tracks that were as good as the singles. However, there were usually at least a couple of duds on each record (usually written by Summers or Copeland), keeping any given record from being completely solid. With the possible exception of GITM. I actually like that one from start to finish. YMMV.

 

No. While The Police isn't talked about or brought as the guest on new TV broadcasts, several of the hits are regularly heard on radio and music channels.

By the way, today is Sting's birthday.

 

Well said. They definitely had plenty of great "deep cuts" beyond the singles on each of their albums, along with some less successful tracks. I also agree that Ghost In The Machine is their most satisfying listen from start to finish. If they had done one more really successful album after Synchronicity, I think that would have gone a long way towards cementing their position as one of the greats from the era, but it just wasn't meant to be. They still had a very strong run and remain well regarded, certainly not forgotten.

 

And a few mediocre ones, usually written by Sumner

 

No. Only "Don't Stand So Close to Me ('86)" was redone. They had reconvened to do an album "covering" their own hits for a final contract fulfillment disc, but then Stuart Copeland broke his wrist, so the whole project was jettisoned. Which is why Copeland is replaced in the new DSSCLT with a drum machine. And in place of the covers album, we got a singles comp, which also fulfilled contractual obligations, allowing them to part ways without any difficulties.

 

I think that, in spite of their excesses and perhaps offputtingly snooty persona, what the Police and Sting have is a legacy of very well written and crafted songs. I understand why Sting gets on some nerves, but IMHO he is in the upper echelons of songwriters.

 

To each his own, I suppose. But I usually liked all of the Sting songs.

To my ears, Sting only ever did a few true duds ("Masoko Tanga" from Outlandos d'mour; "No Time This Time" from Regatta de Blanc; "Voices In My Head" from Zenyatta Mondatta; "Secret Journey" from Ghost In the Machine; and "O My God" from Synchronicity). That's one per album. And those songs aren't even bad, per se, just meandering and in search of a hook, but still decent for background atmosphere.

The only songs that could really be considered "bad" were always Copeland or Summers ("Be My Girl, Sally" from Outlandos d'mour [Summers]; "On Any Other Day," "Contact," and "Does Everyone Stare" from Regatta de Blanc [Copeland]; "Bombs Away" and "The Other Way of Stopping [both Copeland] and "Behind My Camel" [Summers] from Zenyatta Mondatta; "Darkness" from Ghost In the Machine [Copeland]; and "Mother" [Summers] and "Miss Gradenko" [Copeland] from Synchronicity).

In fact, I think if Sting had insisted on writing all the songs, the band's albums might be a bit more highly regarded, as in some cases, the other member's contributions could be atrocious (I'm looking at you "Mother" and "On Any Other Day." But I'd be curious to hear what you thought were the "few mediocre ones" per album by Sting.

 

WRT the above post, there are some pretty egregious Summers and Copeland songs, but IMHO 'Does Everyone Stare' definitely isn't one of them. Certainly in my top 10 Police songs.

 

Next to You
Peanuts
Born in the 50s

It's Alright For You
No Time this Time
Etc

And looking at the credits a lot of co-writes, not sure if Sting had enough songs to carry the albums on his own.

 

Actually, I like all of them almost equally. If I had to rank them, it would be:

1. Ghost In the Machine
2. Outlandos d'mour
3. Synchronicity
4. Regatta de Blanc
5. Zenyatta Mondatta

And the only reason why some albums rank lower is because they had a bit more filler, IMO. But plenty of strong songs on every album, to my ears. I wouldn't trade any of them.

 

Judging from your list, I would wager a guess that you're not much of a punk fan, as all of the songs you listed were among their more punk-leaning songs. On that note, I don't think the Police were a punk band (or a reggae band, or a prog or jazz band). I think they were a rock band who dabbled in various other genres, as most of the best rock bands are prone to do. But one of those genres was punk, and IMO, all of the songs you listed are great examples of songs in the vein of that genre.

As for Sting not being able to carry the band, you may be right about that. But we also don't know if Sting would have written more songs, had the others not wanted to add theirs. So, I don't know if there's really an answer to that question. I was just suggesting a hypothetical scenario.

 

Fair enough. It's not one of my faves, but Mark Twain said, "Difference of opinion makes a good horse race."

 

I think there are a few reasons why they get ignored:

1. They don't have any new material / reissues / remasters / boxed sets, etc., and they haven't for quite awhile.
2. None of them are dead yet. With dead musicians, it's much easier to play the "What if..." game. Plus, their easier to promote / anthologize.
3. None of band members seem eager to capitalize on their legacy by touring again or promoting the band. They've all got better things to do.

For all of these reasons, the band is no longer a going concern. I wouldn't say that means they're ignored in the broader sense of the word. As someone else noted, 3.5 million streams is nothing to sneeze at. But for the purposes of this forum, they're literally old news.

 

Also, very well recorded and produced records. The ones with Hugh Padgham where quite astounding. For anyone who was around in the 80s that listened to Synchronicity and knows a bit about recording technology, its mind blowing how rudimentary techniques they used to make it.

 

No. I am a punk fan at least somewhat, guess I wasn't convinced by The Police in that vein.

 

And even those two get quite a bit of airplay on Sirius / XM stations.

 

This statement is probably very, very true.

I've always felt disappointed that Summers' and Copeland's Police contributions were so bad. Knowing them to be great musicians I expected much, much more from them in the writing department.

 

I think R.E.M. is one of those bands that will eventually get "rediscovered" by one of the next couple of generations. A song on a soundtrack or a reunion tour, and they'll suddenly be "hip" again. They're one of those band who was too good and too popular to totally disappear for good, I think.

But, yeah, the Police have never really gone away. They're all still active, whereas R.E.M. are all semi-retired.

 

Fascinating list. I never would have guessed, for example, that both A-ha and R.E.M. would beat out Prince. I also never guessed that the Beatles would be as far down as #4 (under The Chili Peppers). Weird.

 

Who?