Mighty Tom Gladly Turns Himself In - Volume 12 - The Police - Undercover

Mighty Tom Gladly Turns Himself In – Volume 12 – The Police - Undercover


Weird Al Yankovic. I was, and continue to be, a fan. In 1984, I was finishing up 8th grade.

One year out from Rocky Raccoon blowing my mind, Zenith experiences in the back porch. Broken Legs and Michael Jackson. Bed Pans and the Pipes of Peace. Nuclear War and Calculators. Tutors with fleas and a president with a disease.

“King of Suede” was out there. I knew all about “Eat It” and “Beat It” and videos in general were considered important and entertaining, but “King of Suede” touched on something a bit deeper. The Police were a popular band that I was aware of, but kept at some distance, content at that time with my exploration of the Beatles and forcing myself to choke down some Van Halen in an effort to assimilate more fully into the community. Synchronicity was the biggest album that I didn’t really know about. The songs were everywhere. The videos were fascinating. I love love Sting jumping around the candles, revealing Mephistopheles with bare feet. And the song “Synchronicity” itself was intense, Mad Max uniforms and passionate posturing. Whoa! An intellectual brand of pop music that was definitley intriguing, even if I didn’t fully understand it at the time, I was a bit drawn to it, but not to the point of buying their albums, although I think it was by chance that I did not own a copy of Synchronicity. Perhaps I was scared. “King of Suede” was out there.

The melody of Weird Al’s song haunted me and it took some time before I actually made the connection, that this was indeed a parody of “King of Pain” by the Police. Beyond the humorous words and sounds, the power of the Police came through. Synchronicity, Weird Al, and the Videos would become my first experience of note with the Police. I went on to buy, on tape, Sting’s The Dream of the Blue Turtles and The Police compilation, Every Breath You Take – The Singles.

This was my Pre-Mixdorfian experience of the Police. I was a fan, but based on the band’s hits, not their albums.

How appropriate then, that we are presented with Undercover, Volume 12. I love it! For several reasons. One, it reminds of my Mixdorfian experience of the Police, which I’ll get to in a moment. Two, what great timing – just seems like a great time for some Police. Three, although I have all the albums on cassette (all but one taped from our Eastern Friend), my iPod was without Police protection. In a shuffle, you can be sure that Lauper continues her attempt to get into trouble.

During the last year in High School and into college I can remember at least talking about The Police with Mixdorf and Dan. Dan had the Singles on CD and I can remember being struck by his ability to analylise some of the musical moments in some of the songs. I have a store bought cassette of Outlandos d’Amour – I seem to remember having bought it while in High School, but I am reasonably sure I would not have bought it until after contact with Mixdorf. The other albums were taped from CDs, in college, utilizing the technology of the greatest boom box ever – the aforementioned Sharp. Listening to the tapes fascinated and entertained me. And now, this visit to the past, has been a pure joy. Such power in the CMC – to bring again, remember, introduce, experience once more – music from our past. Bridging the cassette to the CD. Teens to thirties. Virgins to sex fiends.

Sure U2 may remind you of our EF, but digging deeper, you will find a civilization that was thriving. Just looking at the covers of the Police albums reminds me of this time. Sacrafices of Pizza to the Sharp sitting on an altar high above a basketball rim, the cool breeze of a summer night playing with our young minds.

Sting once claimed that “the Beatles are probably why I am a musician today.” Well many people did, but the reason I mention this, is that, like the Beatles, they were such a tight, simple, passionate, original band. Beyond the words or their respective legends or the famous break-ups or storied solo careers or their place in Pop/Rock history, they began with a firm musical style. While the Beatles in their day were back-beating away driving hardcore Rock’n’Roll, the Police were hard at work riding the end of Punk right into Alternative Rock with ska reggae rock, warming up colleges for REMs and U2s, which Mixdorf alluded to with his “baton.” And as Mixdorf, at this point, lettuce move on to the songs.



Be My Girl-Sally

Love this song. A great, bold beginning to Volume 12, nicely bookended with “Hungry For You.” This song really sparked my imagination in college. Still does today. I love Andy’s Monty Pythonish voice and both the intro and ending are so catchy, love the harmony and the way it works itself up to fruition. And yes, the wailing voice is eerily similar to one of the Synchronicitys. I love the playfulness and purity of their craft. Sting would revisit this idea on a song from “Soul Cages.”

I am intrigued by the dichotomy of the personality on display in this song. Sting’s voice and voices represent the manic deisres of a frustrated man. He desperately wants Sally, but in the real world Sally does not want him – all he can do do is call out his request in his head, “won’t you be my girl.” Only in the privacy of his own home does Andy’s voice take over – confident, sophisticated, but completely delusional. The refrain returns as he wavers between realities. The wail is likely the frustrated and anguished moans of the man as he realizes that once again, he doesn’t really have Sally. Great song.



So Lonely

A great little song. Simple and I agree with Mixdorf – a great standard to demonstrate how good the individual players are. I love the harmonies and am always amazed at how high Sting could/can sing. I wonder when he discovered that. Almost squeaky at times, but very high and raspy. He has an excellent understanding of harmony and vocal arrangement. Possibly most amazing, a comparison made often by Dan and I – his ability to play bass and sing at the same time like Paul McCartney. Amazing. I know there are others that could/can do it – but both their bass styles greatly added melodically to the song, not just rhytmically – adding to the difficulty of playing and singing simultaneously– at least to me. Dan, I’m sure could add a whole lot more to that.

The drummer and the famous singer overshadowed Andy’s guitar, but he quietly provided solid rock guitar and explorations into the wildly experimental. I love the bluesy inflection at 43 seconds. And yes, Stewart, a master of the hi-hat and an extraordinarily tight drummer.

A telling line, “In this theatre that I call MY soul, I always play the STARRING role.” This, in 1979, but a look into the future to Sting’s solo career. Look world, I So Lonely – LOOK it’s ME, forget these other guys – DON’T see them. SEE ME. See, So Lonely!



Can’t Stand Losing You

Easily the most popular song on Vol. 12, due largely to its inclusion on the Singles compilation. A great, bouncy little number that was easily accessible – lyric wise. And whoa, he’s talking about 6 feet 10 (Men at Work would try this a little later) and LP records – well wait a second, I know what that means. Excellent words that were surprisingly concrete. And for Police fans and Sting fans, big words too. Who else was rhyming with a word like “confidence?” By the way, I love the drop out in stereo at 1:10, it lasts about two seconds, much like Day Tripper. A little “oh” before the big goodbye, provides one of those wonderful comical moments that can only be found in music.



Regatta de Blanc

It’s funny and weird and GREAT!! I love the build up to the chas and then the dramatic e ohs. The whole song keeps building up on itself. It’s silly, but dramatic. A coexistence that must have befuddled the voters – they had NO choice but to give this song an award. They’d be scared not to. At the time, it was simply too wild. And they weren’t sure where they were coming from-- “white reggae?” Well, the whities in control couldn’t keep that down.



The Bed’s Too Big Without You

A fun song. A warning to potential cheaters. One mistake may be the end. A whiny song with great bass and drum arrangements. The star of this song is the guitar. I love it, great great sound. Fluid and seemingly free, but amazingly tight. The guitar is the woman, and when it disappears, we know exactly how Sting is feeling – fortunately, at least, we have the memory. Is it enough? – perhaps, but only to get by.



Bring On The Night

A great great song. The guitars in the verses are wonderful. A fantastic flavoring of sounds and rhythms. I love the slip into the choruses and the guitar exclamations at the end of the song. The Police at their most ska–like. I wondered if No Doubt ever listened to the Police. I wonder too, if this marks the beginning of Sting’s Vampire tendencies. God saying goodbye, the future is unknown, I couldn’t stand another hour of daylight – I am not suggesting that this is how the song makes me feel – in fact it doesn’t at all, but lyrically, and knowing Sting down the road, I believe the case could be made that this may be an early Vampire song. Or maybe it’s just October….Scary….I love October…I love the fall…..the fall of Sting from a god loving mortal man????? To a creature of the night….or just a nightly romancer…seduction around each and every corner.

However Sting’s intention, I do believe it is more than simply wanting a particular day to be done, I do think it has more to do with at least flirting with the darker side of existence.



Man in a Suitcase

I love this song. I can remember loving this song from the Mixdorf tapes. So catchy and fun. I also like the use of airport noise – nice touch. And yes, now that you mention it – IT DOES sound like the Jane’s Addiction voice at the beginning of “Stop.”

There have been many songs singing the woes of life on the road. Poor Rock Star, having to travel all over the world. This song steps out of the emotional appeal for pity, thankfully, and is quite funny…you know rock stars with suit cases…don’t they usually HAVE somebody to carry their luggage and prepare their rooms. Stings early dance with the perfect English gentleman – a soul he will marry in his later solo albums.



Canary in a Coalmine

More evidence of intelligence in Rock, at least back in the early eighties. Oh..canaries..cause they are used to test for poisonous gases in the deep places of the earth…what a use for a creature…wow…intelligent…influenza ---oh a bigger word for the flu….BIRD FLU…wow he was forecasting our current problem…intelligent….

But really…I think Sting and the Police took some crap fro being intelligent, they kinda were the first, that became popular and the ways in which fans dealt with that were wide and varied – and sometimes hostile. Is it nerdy? Is it highbrow? Is it NOT cool? We didn’t know the answers, because ALT Rock hadn’t really come into being yet. This was a pop band, not Van Halen. Can we smoke to it? What do we do. Well, you listen to it, and if that’s all you do, than so be it. A great song with a serious ska vibe going. A swift song that is full of bounce and interesting arrangements.



Secret Journey

I can see Mixdorf’s “Wrapped Around Your Finger” connection. I do wonder what exactly Sting was getting at with this one. Be your own religion. Know your own faith (and yes we all know that Mixdorf knows his own Faith). A much more serious song – introduced with and wrapped up with the scary synths of spiritual travels. I like the song, but to a point. It is no “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” or some of the other songs on the album. It’s kinda preachy, isn’t it? And I am not exactly sure what he is trying to convey. Maybe it is simply urging folks to go on their own spiritual journeys to discover their true faith – and maybe that’s it? Maybe the scary end of the worldish music is making me think that it is more or that there is something else to it. I guess it is simply to find your own religion with an anti-establishment angle. Fellow Englishman John Milton would agree, and maybe Sting is keeping that connection alive through the ages, while cementing his own English identity, again, a theme he will carefully explore through-out his solo career.



Hungry For You

Love the song. Love our EF and his “Sting getting his France on.” You can hear Homer Simpson attempting to sing this song. The chorus always catches me and makes me smile. Love the sax and sex.


Closing

I love love this collection. Bringing it into the digital age. I love the simplicity of the cover and the choices of song. Weird Al would agree that The Police are one of the greatest Pop bands of OUR time and certainly of the early MTV video age. It is about time that the Police invades me iPod and I will likely be buying Synchronicity quite soon. The listens to the Mixdorf tapes in the Red Escort are in need of an upgrade. I have loved these songs and love again these songs. Great Compilation! And Thank You for sending it along.


BS: Bring On The Night – three or four others were also candidates

SIWHI: Rehumanize Yourself