The Police - The Police (2007) WMA320

THE BAND: Sting/Gordon Sumner (vocals, bass), Andy Summers (guitars), Stewart Copeland (drums & percussion).

THE DISCS: (2007) 28 songs on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 110 minutes (Disc-1 at 50 minutes, disc-2 at 60). Included with the discs is a 6-page fold out containing song titles/credits/times, band photos, a "Police Raid Madam Wong's" (1979) advertisement poster, a 1-page intro, what songs came from which albums, and year released. Remastered digi-paks were released in 2003 of the band's entire catalog - with the sound on this Police compilation being superb, I'm assuming these are digitally remastered... but fail to see in the liner notes indicating so. The song "Fall Out" is the only song to not be featured on one of the band's 5 studio albums - recorded prior to the band's debut in 1977 with Henri Padovani playing guitar. Label - A&M Records.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Outlandos D'Amour (6 songs), Reggatta De Blanc (4), Zenyatta Mondatta (5), Ghost In The Machine (4), Synchronicity (8), bonus track (1).

COMMENTS: Their rise in England was quick. Going from small pubs to monstrous tours and sold out stadium dates in less than 5 years. Releasing their first studio album in 1978, to their last in 1983. They covered several music categories - punk, jazz, reggae, rock & pop. Millions of albums sold, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame members each... every music collectors library needs some Police in one way or another. Don't want to purchase all their studios albums or the pricey boxed set ("Message In A Bottle: The Complete Recordings"), this 2-disc compilation is THE place to start. THE GOOD: All the celebrated hits are here - "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You", "Message In A Bottle", "Walking On The Moon", "Don't Stand So Close To Me", "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Spirits In The Material World", "Every Breath You Take", "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "King Of Pain", etc. There are some excellent deep album cuts including "Hole In My Life", "Bring On The Night", "Voices Inside My Head", "Demolition Man", "Murder By Numbers" and "Tea In The Sahara". Songs are presented in chronological order. To me, this is a bonus - you can hear the band change/grow from album to album... from raw punk, to polished pop rock outfit. The sound is flawlessly crisp. The 3-fold cardboard case is sturdy and well put together. THE NOT SO GOOD: No compilation is perfect and this one isn't either (however it's very close). Three small gripes. 1. - A few important (but not critical) songs missing - "When The World Is Running Down...", "Secret Journey", "The Bed's Too Big Without You", and the oddball from their debut "Be My Girl - Sally" (also - nothing from their underrated '95 live album). 2. - Large amounts of unused disc space - 30 minutes on disc-1 and 20 minutes on disc-2 - this is criminal. Including the 4 omitted songs (mentioned previously) and a few live tracks would have made this collection perfect in my book.. plenty 'o space. And lastly, 3. - Why the heck did it take almost 25 years to get here? Now that it's here, I suppose it was worth the wait. OVERALL: Excellent mix of Police tunes any way you slice it. Looking for a studio album - start with "Zenyatta Mondatta" or "Synchronicity" (beware of the song "Mother" here). Looking for a great introduction to The Police - look no further (5 stars).

by R. Gorham "RCG2"

TRACKLIST:
Disc 1:
01 - Fall Out.wma
02 - Can't Stand Losing You.wma
03 - Next To You.wma
04 - Roxanne.wma
05 - Truth Hits Everybody.wma
06 - Hole In My Life.wma
07 - So Lonely.wma
08 - Message In A Bottle.wma
09 - Reggatta De Blanc.wma
10 - Bring On The Night.wma
11 - Walking On The Moon.wma
12 - Don't Stand So Close To Me.wma
13 - Driven To Tears.wma
14 - Canary In A Coalmine.wma

Disc 2:
01 - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.wma
02 - Voices Inside My Head.wma
03 - Invisible Sun.wma
04 - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.wma
05 - Spirits In The Material World.wma
06 - Demolition Man.wma
07 - Every Breath You Take.wma
08 - Synchronicity I.wma
09 - Wrapped Around Your Finger.wma
10 - Walking In Your Footsteps.wma
11 - Synchronicity II.wma
12 - King Of Pain.wma
13 - Murder By Numbers.wma
14 - Tea In The Sahara.wma

WMA 320Kbps 44100Hz STEREO

MARCELODRGZ