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Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings

The Police - Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings Audio CD

A fair review of the The Police "Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Police reviews here, or go back to the The Police tabs.

Band: The Police
Title: Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings
Rating:

Release Date: 1993-09-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Fallout 2: Nothing Achieving 3: Dead End Job 4: Next to You 5: So Lonely 6: Roxanne 7: Hole in my Life 8: Peanuts 9: Can't Stand Losing You 10: Truth Hits Everybody 11: Born in the 50's 12: Be My Girl - Sally 13: Masoko Tanga 14: Landlord [Live] 15: Next to You [Live] 16: Landlord 17: Message in a Bottle 18: Reggatta de Blanc 19: It's Alright for You 20: Bring on the Night 21: Deathwish 22: Walking on the Moon 23: On Any Other Day 24: Bed's Too Big Without You 25: Contact 26: Does Everyone Stare 27: No Time This Time 28: Visions of the Night 29: Bed's Too Big Without You [Mono Version] 30: Truth Hits Everybody [Live] 31: Friends 32: Don't Stand So Close to Me 33: Driven to Tears 34: When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still 35: Canary in a Coalmine 36: Voices Inside My Head 37: Bombs Away 38: De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da 39: Behind My Camel 40: Man in a Suitcase 41: Shadows in the Rain 42: Other Way of Stopping 43: Sermon 44: Driven to Tears [Live] 45: Shambelle 46: Spirits in the Material World 47: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 48: Invisible Sun 49: Hungry for You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toi) 50: Demolition Man 51: Too Much Information 52: Rehumanize Yourself 53: One World (Not Three) 54: Omega Man 55: Secret Journey 56: Darkness 57: Flexible Strategies 58: Low Life 59: How Stupid Mr. Bates 60: Kind of Loving 61: Synchronicity I 62: Walking in Your Footsteps 63: O My God 64: Mother 65: Miss Gradenko 66: Synchronicity II 67: Every Breath You Take 68: King of Pain 69: Wrapped Around Your Finger 70: Tea in the Sahara 71: Murder by Numbers 72: Man in a Suitcase [Live] 73: Someone to Talk To 74: Message in a Bottle [Live] 75: I Burn for You 76: Once upon a Daydream 77: Tea in the Sahara [Live] 78: Don't Stand So Close to Me '86

Perfect purchase
This purchase was an easy one, I'd wanted this album set for years (ever since I broke up with the guy I'd originally bought it for!) Great collection! I had excellent service and received it very quickly and it was in new condition just as had been specified by the seller! Great transaction, great cds!.

The Complete Recordings
every single song by them, boxset done the way it should be done. easiest way to get everything by the police.

misled
I feel that I was misled by the seller. I thought that I was recieving the dics with the book. They should have put in bold letters DOES NOT INCLUDE DICS- BOOK ONLY!.

where's the truth in advertising?
While it is fantastic to get FALLOUT and all the other obscure tracks digitally, I can't help but feel let down by all of the tracks that were NOT included in this set. Certainly not every note of every song THE POLICE ever recorded. Here's what I know for sure that has been released and is not on this set:

TRUTH HITS EVERYBODY - REMAKE: b-side on some European singles of SYNCHRONICITY II. This is totally different than the original version -- slow and moody.

DE DO DO DO, DE DA DA DA: versions sung in Japanese and Spanish.

DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME '86 (DANCE MIX)/DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME (LIVE): both on the 12" vinyl single of DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME '86.

ROXANNE - BACKING TRACK ONLY: never heard this, but read that is was the b-side to some obscure single released in Latin America at one time.

BEWITCHED: written by Andy Summers (probably during the ZENYATTA MONDATTA sessions) and featured in the video THE POLICE AROUND THE WORLD. This song was eventually released on Andy's second solo project with Robert Fripp, titled BEWITCHED.

And while we're at it, how about including some of the VIDEO MAGIC session work with German keyboardist EBERHARD SCHOENER? THE POLICE were side men for Schoener in late 1977, and recorded a full length album with him several months BEFORE they recorded OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR. And it sound nothing at all like 'em.

Plus there's Sting's single SPREAD A LITTLE HAPPINESS that was taken from the BRIMSTONE & TREACLE soundtrack, and it's b-side ONLY YOU.

How about Stewart Copeland's original demo for DOES EVERYONE STARE? Or Copeland's alter ego KLARK KENT and the song that got them on TOP OF THE POPS as KLARK KENT before they appeared as THE POLICE, titled DON'T CARE? Anyone who was around for the early days of MTV will recall another KLARK KENT tune being used as the theme music for a show called I. R. S. 's THE CUTTING EDGE -- this was THEME FOR KINETIC RITUAL.

If I didn't already know about these other lost tracks, I'd probably give the set five stars. The booklet and pictures are fantastic, and the set as it is should really be enough for the serious POLICE fan. But how can a company put out a statement that it contains every track, when it so obviously doesn't?.

EVERY Police compilation is WOEFULLY LACKING, get this!
It's Alright For You (contains the best Police guitar "hook"!)
2. My Faves:
1. Message in a Bottle
3. Visions Of The Night (Hard Rockin' Police!)
4. Roxanne
5. Peanuts (. . sang his song for much too long. . brain is gone. . . )
6. Too Much Information
7. Next To You (Sting's first great song!)
8. A Sermon (written by Stewart, sung by Sting, very perceptive!)
9. Reggatta De Blanc (great instrumental!)
10. Synchronicity I
11. Truth Hits Everybody
12. When The World Is Running Down (James Brown and T. A. M. I. show)
13. Omegaman
14. Masoko Tanga (Whatever Sting is saying, I like this song!)
15. Invisible Sun
16. Flexible Strategies (another great instrumental!)
17. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
18. Deathwish
19. Rehumanize Yourself
20. On Any Other Day (Stewart Copeland sings!)
21. Demolition Man
22. Synchronicity II
23. Don't Stand So Close To Me

There's many great Police songs that you'll be missing if you get the individual albums or compilation discs first!

Get Message In A Box first, THEN get the remastered individual albums (that are strangely lacking bonus tracks!) (They could have spread all the singles/b-sides/live tracks on the newer Police albums' five discs if they fit on these four discs!)

My FAVORITE BOX SET, hands down, because there's pieces of the �Police puzzle" that are filled in quite nicely with non-album tracks!

Message in a Box is not EVERYTHING. (And I don't mean those awful rap remixes!)
And don't get me started on the MIA Message in a Box Volume 2!!!

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You can see a complete list of all The Police discography, or go back to the The Police tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.