Stephen's "Undercover" comments.

As much as I wish I could write about my knowledge of The Police prior to listening to this mix, I can’t. Like most, I didn’t join this party until “Synchronicity.” There were the multiple hit singles off that, then the Police ceased to be. Sting’s debut solo album sold a zillion copies, and everyone forgot about the other two members. I remember seeing Stewart Copeland playing on David Letterman in 1990 with his group Animal Logic, but that’s the last I saw of him.

“Synchronicity” was everywhere, so it’s a wonder I can listen to the album now and not think of that time period so closely. “Synchronicity” fed the early music video age, so… well, the album was huge, is what I’m saying. But I’m still a fan of “Wrapped Around Your Finger”, so I use that as a point of comparison for this compilation.

“Be My Girl – Sally”: A nice guitar introduction, a driving pop hook, a simple repetitive lyric, and then—what kind of psychotic little tune is this? At first the spoken-word middle section struck me as simply juvenile and something a bit of a throw-away (a bit of business about marrying a sex doll?). The end of the song includes a disturbing female howl, like somebody screeching from the basement. So, lyrically, a bit of a disturbing bookend, given the driving guitars and vocals. It got my attention: this song would work well as a Side 1/Track 1 on a regular album release.

“So Lonely”: I wonder what a early-adaptor Police fan expected in the late ‘70s.This one finds the group smack in the middle in that ska/reggae mode that seemed to represent the sound they were going for at the time. The song is uptempo (and ‘driving’ again, like the first song), but it builds up to that energy. I’m a huge fan of this song’s intro, the opening drum tap and Sting falling right into a bluesy wail about an empty “theater of my soul”. A bit of jamming on the guitar, the bass rolling along. Someone snuck in a harmonica. As much as these guys hated each other towards the end, they sound like they’re having a great time here.

“Can’t Stand Losing You”: A bit of disclosure: I first heard this song the night I graduated from high school in 1989. I swear, it was Pat who put this on and I distinctly recall him singing along to it. I swear that’s how I heard it the first time.

I have always thought of this song as the kind of “fuck you” that any guy may feel towards his partner during a break-up. A particularly nasty, co-dependent break-up. Hey, I’ve been there, felt that. The threat of suicide is as straight-forward and blatant as I’ve ever heard in a pop song. Not that the threat comes off as real, just the feeling behind it. The lyrics have the same undertone that carries through “Every Breath You Take”, a scary song about possessing and dominating your partner. “Losing You” is that guy, younger, already struggling. I agree with Pat, I love how the bass works us into the song.

“Regatta de Blanc”: This song reminds me of FM radio. Or the test record you hear at the high-end stereo dealership. My dad would take us to “look at stuff” at Audio America, and this is one of those songs they’d wind up playing to show off the new speakers. The guitar part soars and dips over the drums for all of this song’s short duration, and the wordless lyrics (Spanish, I guess, but really meaningless) accompany and then wind up leading the song out. All very “sonic”, except instead of Pink Floyd-like wooziness the song keeps picking up speed. Again, I can’t get past the feeling I’m sitting in an audio room in the late 70s while the dealer cranks this up to 11. It does make me want to buy new speakers. Differential: I see a bunch of kinds getting stoned in a wood-paneled basement and discovering MTV. Either way, the speakers are big.

“The Bed’s Too Big Without You”: The rhythm, that little bit of reggae where the guitar part speeds up above the base, is my favorite part of this song. Then the echo of the “thud” of the drum in the song’s break close to the end. Love that, too. Of all the songs on this disc that represent that heavy reggae thing The Police seemed to be about at the time, this is my favorite one. Sting’s lyrics are sweet and fun, but sort of erasable.

“Bring on the Night”: Sting takes control. Of course, I’m just guessing that, since Sting used this song as the title and lead-office of a two-disc live album in 1986. So, in my head, this song is married to Sting. The atmosphere here is more subdued and mature, the strings creating a real “night with starry sky” imagery.

“Man in a Suitcase”: I don’t know if I ever got the sense from the later stuff, but early Police had a notably ‘live’ sound. I think about how the ‘80s bred a tolerance for electronic percussion (almost any Rolling Stones album from that decade is an example). Here these guys sound all together, in one place, and it’s tight. Another thing I take for granted is the brief pop song; this one clocks at 2:20, while…

“Canary in a Coalmine”:… comes in at just two-and-a-half minutes. Both these songs play well together, maintaining that live effortlessness. I do like the lyrics here. I’m waiting to call someone a canary in a coalmine now.

“Secret Journey”: And so, the ‘live’ feel gives way to studio-augmented expansion. I remember “Spirits in the Material World” when it was on the radio, and this song fits with that. I like the movement towards something new and different, and the message here is more thoughtful. But I’m less excited about this song as it stands on its own. Perhaps this song suffers from the most, away from the context of it’s home album.

“Hungry for You”: I think this is a great closing choice as a “deep cuts” chronicle retrospective. We know what happens from here. Perhaps Sting may never have thought he’d be in ads for luxury cars and women’s underwear, but it kind of makes sense now. I good closer, if not the collection’s best by a long shot.

Overall: What, I’m invited to this group and I’m gonna trash the first disc I get? Actually, I couldn’t in this case. The Police catalog may be easy pickings, but this 10-song mix tells a pretty good story.

Best song: “So Lonely”. The best of the early stuff, so the best here, in my opinion. As a sidenote, I feel equipped to see the new Police documentary now.