The Police - what's the best album?

carrying over from the discussion about royalty splits in that Soul Coughing thread, The Police are a great example of a band that probably would've had better records if they just split songwriting credits equally no matter who came up with the main idea. both because they might've collaborated more and Copeland and Summers wouldn't have fought so hard to crowd out Sting's more developed songs, and because those guys all contributed so much to the arrangement of every song that they deserve credit.

I always think I'm going to love Ghost in the Machine when I put it on as the first three songs are so good but then I never enjoy anything else until Omegaman, those last three songs are actually all really great.

First three and last three songs on Ghost are the best thing they ever did.

xp the Police are always the first band I think of when I hear Doughty go on his thousandth rant about how he was the songwriter and thus deserved way more credit and everyone was just leeching off him and zzzzz...there's a reason why there aren't really any good covers of the Police out there. hearing Sting put things together on his solo album definitely gives some creedence to Stew's claim that the Police used Sting's songs and lyrics but little else. nothing in Sting's solo career sounds anything like the Police, outside of parts of Synchronicity of course. then again I don't recall Sting trying to take credit for everything on that level, as much of as prick as he is (and seeing him live, he definitely came off like a prick, but hey...he's a prick I like)

'Synchronicity' is my favourite.

My fave track from them is "Fallout", but with such spotty albums, i have to give my album vote to Synchronicity for it relative consistency.

I always found Born in the 50's quite annoying from the first album.

Yeah! It's not even true!

Sting was just] about born in the fifries. Stewart and Andy were not.

So, "We was born.. born in the fifties" should be "Speaking personally, I was born.. born in the fifties"

Copeland was born in the fifties iirc. It was just Andy Summers that was the old man in the band. He's in his 70s now btw, which is just astonishing to me.

oh, ok then...

Maybe Sting and Stewart both sing the song, and Andy just keeps quiet and plays..

More than likely, the song is from their Henry Padovani days...

He keeps quiet and thinks 'I hate these twats already'

He's in his 70s now btw, which is just astonishing to me.

I guess it's not so astonishing if you think of him as a contemporary of the Stones and the Animals etc who got his break a lot later on in life.

They had better songs and musical interplay on some of their other albums but I always liked Ghost in the Machine as that record has a distinct vibe through the whole record. I think part of it is that there is synth throughout most of the record and it's like the same synth and when added with the echo guitar kind of gives that album a somewhat uniform sound, which gives it a pretty distinct flow compared to the Police's other albums.

These interview excerpts are amazing, thanks Alfred.

Kitchen Person and Naive Teen Idol otm about the first and last three Ghost in the Machine tracks, Omegaman/Secret Journey/Darkness is such a great bit of sequencing.

agree with all that has been written here - all albums have filler, sting is a prick, etc. considering that, 'Ghost...' and (to a lesser degree) 'Synchronicity' feel more coherent for me - if not in songwriting terms, at least in terms of mood and sonically/production-wise. I'm going for 'Ghost...' since it was the first record i heard from them, apart from one of the greatest hits.

I'm looking through the tracklistings and I keep changing my mind. Reggatta is probably the most listenable front to back.

lol this is grim

Post-Police (1984-2007)
Summers' solo career has included touring, recording, composing for films (including 2010, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, The Wild Life and Weekend at Bernie's), writing books, and exhibiting his photography. In 1992, he served a brief stint as Musical Director on the short-lived Dennis Miller Show.

I'm looking through the tracklistings and I keep changing my mind. /Reggatta/ is probably the most listenable front to back.

To that point, something that's mostly forgotten now -- when Ghost came out, the critical consensus was that the denser production by Hugh Padgham didn't play to their strengths. In retrospect, it was a pretty amazing left turn -- one I kind of wished they had explored more on Synchronicity.

the Police seem like they had one of those rare charmed careers where each album was bigger than the last, but once they hit their peak all boats lifted and hear songs from all five albums pretty equally, even the first two from before they 'broke' America.

and they were, I guess, the Biggest Band in the World in '83. Rare for a band at the peak of its powers to simply....stop.

The only other one I can think of is The Jam splitting around the same time - although they obviously weren't as popular worldwide. Some obvious parallels between the two as well.

okay reading these quotes of them bouncing off of each other is reminding me of why I ever liked Sting in the first place

Like them all. But going for Zenyatta Mondata for 2 reasons:
1) it features the first pop song I was really mad about Don't Stand So Close to Me (fish aged 5)
2) Shadows in the Rain and Voices in My Head

his Klark Kent stuff is like a lost Police album

I dispute that "Don't Care" could have been a Police song

OK:

Outlandos best album though it's very close and Regatta is probably my sentimental favorite and one I've listened to most times in my life (w/ Synchronicity second)

Worst filler tie between "Born in the 50s" and "On Any Other Day" though I can't deny really digging the SOUND of both these songs.

Cosign love for "Fallout" -- if they'd put it on Outlandos my vote would have been easier. Have never heard the B-side, "Nothing Achieving," is it good?

Listening now, no, "Nothing Achieving" is not that good.

On Any Other Day is the best of the filler.

I dispute that "Don't Care" could have been a Police song

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, April 12, 2013 9:53 AM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

agreed but if you have the Kollected Works comp (I don't know what's on the actual album) you can hear that a lot of these songs were written for someone with a higher range. the overall sound is much closer to the Police than anything Sting's done!

that group interview is really really great by the way

I note that it is dated April 1.

I actually bought that issue of Revolver while waiting two hours for a table on Mother's Day 2000.

at a mall Cheesecake Factory.

that's when i'd reach for my revolver too

I've often been half-tempted to call up record stores asking what Police albums they have in stock, just to see how they pronounce the titles of the first three...

But is the interview real? That's what I'm asking.

yes. it's probably just their april issue and when someone wanted to put an exact date on it they defaulted to "april 1."

Worst filler is Secret Journey or Omegaman

no way, both those are great

Yeah. I'm listening to the back half of Ghost in the Machine now and it's terrific. Dunno why the band describes it as a dense, crammed album since the bits of saxophone and synth remind me of what Steely Dan might have done had they stuck around through New Wave and Gone Political.

Shall have to listen again. Liked Secret Journey at the time, but recall it now as a bit corny. Omegaman seemed like a rush job.

That interview is real. Supposedly it was recorded to be bonus material on remasters of the albums, but was discarded for obvs. reasons. (makes 'drinky-drinky' motion with hands) Revolver (which had just launched as an American answer to Mojo or Q) picked it up and ran it in their first issue.

I like the idea of Sting thinking, "Man, I miss the boys, let me invite them to Tuscany for the weekend for swimming and wine," then regretting it as they start beating each other's asses again and vowing never to speak again

bet it happens once a year at least

i watched that Police documentary that Stew put together a few years back and that is definitely how they always talked to each other

I thought for sure I was gonna vote Ghost in this but I am surprising myself by hovering my finger over the Zenyatta button instead. I would propose that the guitar sound on 'When the World is Running Down' is one of the most edible ever put to tape.

what would it taste like?

Zenyatta!

a smooth, translucent slice of pickled ginger

I was gonna say: a martini with St Germain instead of vermouth, with a slice of cucumber.

i concede to you!

"Voices" is so dope you listed it twice!

I heard voices iirc