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Every Breath You Take: The Singles

The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles Audio CD

A fair review of the The Police "Every Breath You Take: The Singles" 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: Every Breath You Take: The Singles
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Roxanne 2: Can't Stand Losing You 3: Message in a Bottle 4: Walking on the Moon 5: Don't Stand So Close to Me '86 6: De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da 7: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 8: Invisible Sun 9: Spirits in the Material World 10: Every Breath You Take 11: King of Pain 12: Wrapped Around Your Finger

The Police: Every Breath You Take (the singles)
I had it sent normal 3rd class mail and arrived at my house within 4 days of purchase. This product was in brand new factory shrink wrap like it said in the advertisement. The cd is ingreat condition and I would reccommend it to anyone who enjoys The Police.

A good collection, but missing some key titles
Some standards are missing (So Lonely. Although this is a good collection of Police's songs, I regret not having spent the time to better review the playlist before purchasing it. . . ), and I may very well end up buying a more exhaustive one.

The singles ...
Also, Synchronicity II is missing, as far as I can remember, it was a hit on radio station and on MTV. A great collection of hits from the band, I agree with the other reviewer about "Don't stand so close to me" I would have prefer the original version. . . Am I wrong ?
Overall, you have almost everything you need if like me, you like to get back in the 80's to reminds you the old good times.

A Dated Greatest Hits Collection
This is an honor that The Police are most worthy of. It is hard to believe that a band can become a Hall of Fame band with just five studio albums to their name, but The Police are such a band. The Police were sort of an off-shoot of the Punk Rock movement of the late 1970s. The band would eventually encompass other influences - namely Classic Rock, Reggae, Jazz, Dance, and even Folk. For the most part, it is fair to say there was a Punk Rock and Reggae influence on the band for their first two albums" - "Outlandos D'Amour" and "Regatta de Blanc". Both of these albums were terrific efforts - mostly because The Police used applied their unique style to a formula that worked. The Police would soon transform their sound to a more Classic Rock sound. With each successive album ("Zenyatta Mondatta", "Ghost in the Machine", and "Synchronicity"), The Police would continue to grow as a band and incorporate a variety of genres into their sound. Following "Synchronicity" tensions were high among Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland and there were questions on whether The Police would continue. However in 1986, The Police would embark for a short reunion for the "Amnesty International" concerts (for what would be their last reunion for many years). As a way to promote that reunion, The Police would release their first greatest hits collection - entitled "Every Breath You Take - The Singles". This collection would focus on The Police's "hits" over their five albums. While it does provide a snapshot of The Police's music portfolio, it ultimately is a dated greatest hits collection.

"Every Breath You Take - The Singles" takes tracks from each of the band's five albums. Two tracks from "Outlandos D'Amour" ("Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You"); Two tracks from "Regatta De Blanc" ("Message in a Bottle", "Walking on the Moon"); One track from "Zenyatta Mondatta" ("De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"); Three tracks from "Ghost in the Machine" ("Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", "Invisible Sun", "Spirits in the Material World"); Three tracks from "Synchronicity" ("Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain", "Wrapped Around Your Finger"). One of the big attractions to this collection when it was released was that it (at the time) was the only album that contained a new version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" - simply titled "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86". This was a slower, more somber version of the original version from "Zenyatta Mondatta". Sting clearly doesn't hit the higher notes like he did ont he original. This version also contained a slightly altered lyric (adding the word 'famous' to 'that famous book by Nabokov"). The general consensus was that this 1986 version did not stand up to the original - I subscribe to that theory.

One strength of this collection is that the tracks are chronologically arranged by the studio album they released. This allows you to see how a band has progressed over time. In the case of The Police, this is essential because I think it is important to hear how their sound evolved. The exception to this rule in the new version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" is slotted right before "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". While this is when the song was originally written, it wasn't when the song was recorded. I would have still placed this version of the song at the end of the collection.

When considering a greatest hits compilation, it is important to know that bands often release several flavors of compilations.

"Every Breath You Take - The Classics": This is actually an Updated Version of "Every Breath You Take - The Singles". It includes both versions of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and an additional version of "Message in a Bottle" (that version is not found on "Every Breath You Take - The Singles"). For the most part, this collection preserves the chronological ordering of the band.

"The Very Best of Sting and The Police": This provides a mix of Sting's solo work with some of The Police's best hits. There are two versions of this collection - one from 1997 and one from 2002 with the latter one being more complete. These compilations do not preserve the chronological ordering of the band.

"The Police - The Police (2 CD Anthology)": This is a 2 CD collection that was released in 2007 to coincide with The Police's 2007 reunion tour. This collection is much more comprehensive than the "Every Breath You Take" collections. It is important to know that all of the songs found on "Every Breath You Take - The Singles" - including "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" are found on this collection.

"Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings": This is exactly as advertised. It includes every song from each of the five studio albums as well as some B side songs, live tracks, and songs not originally found on CD. These songs are arranged in chronological order on four CDs. It also includes the "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" version.

One thing that is unusual for a greatest hits collection is that "Every Breath You Take - The Singles" contains the lyrics for all of the tracks. While back in 1986, "Every Breath You Take - The Singles" served its purpose, the recent 2 CD Anthology and "Message in a Box" collections are much more comprehensive. It is also worth noting that these particular collections contain all of the tracks that are on "Every Breath You Take - The Singles". If one is considering a greatest hits collection of The Police, I would easily opt for the "Message in a Box" first, then the 2 CD Anthology. You are going to get so much more for your money. .

Vehicle for "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"
When The Police managed to find the right balance, this odd fusion -- jazz complexity and a punk edge hidden under chirpy pop or reggae -- resulted in some of the most interesting hits of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Police started out, strangely enough, as a punk band made up of older musicians with jazz and reggae sensibilities. The "Every Breath You Take" compilation draws songs from each of their albums and exhibits the wide variety of styles through which they could maneuver.

Problem is, that volatile mix produced musical and personal tensions that came to a boil after the "Synchronicity" album (which quickly went multi-platinum). The band members took a break to work on other musical projects, but relations did not improve and when they regrouped in the studio all they could manage was a drippy remake of the song "Don't Stand So Close to Me" that showed where the singer's new pretensions would be moving him.

This hits package was the vehicle for releasing that swan song, and everything about it (from the album name to the packaging to the song selection) shows that they were aiming for pop fans picked up by the last album. Their attempt succeeded; the compilation shot to Platinum and eventually achieved Multi-Platinum RIAA certification. A subsequent release under a new subtitle, "The Classics," added the original DSSCTM and a new mix of "Message in a Bottle," but there are so many copies of the older compilation floating a around that it still serves as an effective and cheap way to sample the band.

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.