Like, songs with three or four guitar parts that are so subtle and well arranged that it sounds almost just like one guitar. Until you pay close attention.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 14:29 (seven years ago) link
To be clear, I adore stings voice and the way he sings his lyrics. I just hate the words sometimes.
An older friend, a jazz guy I used to play guitar with, had seen the police live during 83 or so and said something I found memorable: "they were making an awful lot of music for three guys"
― iris marduk (Jon not Jon), Friday, 21 April 2017 14:45 (seven years ago) link
I often think of that comment when listening to Rush too
― iris marduk (Jon not Jon), Friday, 21 April 2017 14:46 (seven years ago) link
there has always been this weird relationship between Rush and the Police, at least as far as fan overlap, and in Rush's case, actively taking influence from the Police.
I still have a bit of PTSD with Sting. I never really loved his voice, but once I started paying attention to his lyrics, I got more and more annoyed, to the point I couldn't listen to them. However, Copeland is in my top 3 drummers of all time. I can listen to just his isolated tracks all day. And it's incredibly fun to play almost any Police song as a musician. I should probably work on resolving this, because deep down, I know there were great.
― Dominique, Friday, 21 April 2017 14:53 (seven years ago) link
My guitar teacher pinpoints Andy Summers genius at recognizing the way his sus and seventh chords and other weird ideas work so well with chorus and echo, the way the effects sort of imply or fill out these broken chords in cool ways.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 15:26 (seven years ago) link
otm, the effects are baked into the very musical structure, such a painter
― iris marduk (Jon not Jon), Friday, 21 April 2017 15:42 (seven years ago) link
yea there's some active overlap with prog there - "Synchronicity II" being the most obvious example. I think all three had a background in it at some point.
last time I heard Yes's Big Generator it struck me how many of the songs sounded like what the Police might've had they stuck around to 1987.
― frogbs, Friday, 21 April 2017 16:12 (seven years ago) link
Hell, even "Owner of a Lonely Heart" owes a huge debt to the Police.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 18:38 (seven years ago) link
and everything produced by Rupert Hine
― gimmesomehawnz (Jon not Jon), Friday, 21 April 2017 18:43 (seven years ago) link
I think all three had a background in it at some point.
Andy: Guitarist w/Eric Burdon & The Animals in their last gasp, proto-prog periodStewart: Drummer for Curved AirSting: Fusion dude
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 21 April 2017 18:46 (seven years ago) link
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lYi1fBalGeg/TSYXc8dbz_I/AAAAAAAAFm0/K92djhEReiw/s1600/sc00008742.jpg
andy was also in soft machine but that was firmly during their psych phase
― del esdichado (NickB), Friday, 21 April 2017 19:05 (seven years ago) link
plus they had that proto-Police band Strontium 90, with the 4th member being Mike Howlett of Gong
― frogbs, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:09 (seven years ago) link
Andy was in Soft Machine.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:10 (seven years ago) link
Ha, how did I miss that magazine cover?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:11 (seven years ago) link
And Men At Work, how capitalized on the relatively long wait between Police records.
Read a good interview with Stewart recently that for all the band's supposed dabbling, he'd only call maybe three Police songs at all reggae derived.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:13 (seven years ago) link
bring on the nightbeds too bigone world?
― del esdichado (NickB), Friday, 21 April 2017 19:21 (seven years ago) link
I dunno, there's a lot of reggae/dub influence all over the first three albums, less on the 4th and 5th. It's as much spatial as specifically structural, but it's definitely there.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 21 April 2017 19:26 (seven years ago) link
walking on the moon?
― akm, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:34 (seven years ago) link
So Lonely?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:42 (seven years ago) link
A singles compilation is all one really needs from this band - they weren't really a band that had a wealth of killer deep cuts.
― ...so music and chicken have become intertwined (Turrican), Friday, 21 April 2017 19:48 (seven years ago) link
Feel kind of cheated that sting hasn't given us an album of lute reggae yet
― del esdichado (NickB), Friday, 21 April 2017 19:49 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, maybe a singles comp and then another disc with Gradenko, Darkness and other faves from this thread
― calstars, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:57 (seven years ago) link
I like Synchronicity but it might be just because I remember my parents playing it when I was a kid
― calstars, Friday, 21 April 2017 19:58 (seven years ago) link
My fave Police review might be Xgau on that album, since he calls out the lyrics of Mother and Gradenko as high points.
Yeah, I don't exactly what Copeland was getting at re: reggae. He talks about it here around 3 minutes in:
http://www.thetrapset.net/bns-stewart-copeland-answers-listener-questions/
Basically something like "there are only one or two Police songs that are reggae as they might be played by Jamaicans." He calls Bed's Too Big a shuffle with a reggae-ish guitar, for example. I guess I understand, that minus the formal structure of reggae it's not reggae, just reggae-ish.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 20:01 (seven years ago) link
sting has taken up the lutehe always was a stupid coothe plucks a dowland air while his wife plays fluteyou've gotta humanise yourself
― del esdichado (NickB), Friday, 21 April 2017 21:23 (seven years ago) link
Sometimes the less I know about a musician's personal life the easier it is to enjoy their music
― calstars, Friday, 21 April 2017 21:50 (seven years ago) link
right thread this time!
as someone who hates the Police, I give Stewart credit for being accurate about the reggae elements in their material (ie "only a couple songs" bearing any real similarity to reggae)
― Οὖτις, Friday, 21 April 2017 22:13 (seven years ago) link
he's smart/literate enough to know that just moving the downbeat in the drum part around or having a strummed guitar chord on the offbeat doesn't make your song reggae
Trump is such an asshole he thinks becoming president betters him, when in fact him becoming president lessens the office.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 22:27 (seven years ago) link
not you too
― Οὖτις, Friday, 21 April 2017 22:31 (seven years ago) link
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/flashback-the-police-pass-torch-to-u2-20130924
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 22:48 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGpWksgEI8
How embarrassing for all involved
― calstars, Friday, 21 April 2017 22:53 (seven years ago) link
At least Edge didn't try to play.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 23:03 (seven years ago) link
Preach it, Edge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ELpJqa4PaY
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 April 2017 23:11 (seven years ago) link
Page: "gosh not sure if I can figure out how to play those two notes or not. Whoof"
― Οὖτις, Friday, 21 April 2017 23:13 (seven years ago) link
Stink n' Boner
― calstars, Saturday, 22 April 2017 00:14 (seven years ago) link
The video is cringeworthy as hell, but it's worth it perhaps to see Paul glance and smirk at Gordon at one point when they're sharing the mic, but G doesn't return the look, not willing to foresake the gravitas of the moment.
― calstars, Saturday, 22 April 2017 00:24 (seven years ago) link
And in the almost as difficult to watch Jimmy / David interaction, I wonder if there were any latent English / Irish musings in their heads
― calstars, Saturday, 22 April 2017 00:27 (seven years ago) link
His worst songs.
https://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/i-dont-subscribe-to-this-point-of-view-the-worst-of-sting-and-the-police/
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 02:07 (six years ago) link
v glad i saw them live before Synchronicity
― Supercreditor (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 02:23 (six years ago) link
"Synchronicity I"???????
― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 12 July 2017 11:07 (six years ago) link
'Synchronicity I' is excellent, as is the brilliantly unhinged 'Mother', which is one of my many personal highlights on that LP.
'Saint Augustine in Hell' has the hilarious part about music critics, too.
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 12:25 (six years ago) link
I actually like synchronicity a lot as a whole except for brontosaurus/lesson for us
― or at night (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 12:42 (six years ago) link
I used to love "Mother," now I wish Sting had sung it. Or, better, Andy's mom.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 12:43 (six years ago) link
I actually like synchronicity a lot as a whole except for brontosaurus/lesson for us― or at night (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, July 12, 2017 12:42 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― or at night (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, July 12, 2017 12:42 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Ha, yes!!
― The Anti-Climax Blues Band (Turrican), Wednesday, 12 July 2017 12:45 (six years ago) link
Let's rank their albums.
― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 19 September 2018 18:38 (five years ago) link
I would do something like
1. Reggatta2. Ghost3. Zenyatta4. Synchronicity5. Outlandos
damn, they're all good!!
― frogbs, Wednesday, 19 September 2018 18:41 (five years ago) link
Not canon, but disc 1 of the live album is pretty great too.
― dinnerboat, Wednesday, 19 September 2018 19:37 (five years ago) link
yea and the first few tracks of disc 2 are pretty decent too
always bothered me how the volume suddenly increases a 30 seconds or so into the first disc. such an obvious glitch, I don't get how it wasn't fixed
― frogbs, Wednesday, 19 September 2018 19:38 (five years ago) link