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Every Breath You Take: The Classics

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

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

Release Date: 2003-03-04
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 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 13: Don't Stand So Close to Me '86 14: Message in a Bottle [New Classic Rock Mix]

All of the classic Police hits I remember from my youth
They had some good songs, and I never changed the station when one of those songs started playing, but I never had any desire to actually purchase any of their music. Back in the 1980s, I sort of took The Police for granted. After all, there was more good music than a guy could possibly afford back in that most glorious of decades. Later on, when Sting went solo (and soft), a lot of his music really didn't appeal to me. I hadn't really thought about any of The Police's classic songs since then, not until I came across this album at a decidedly reasonable price (sort of a blue light special, you might say - even though it makes for a pretty bad joke). What is not pretty bad, though, are the classic songs in this collection.

In an industry where virtually ever singer/group sounds like someone else, The Police have always been distinct. The staccato beats driving the music, often with a uniquely reggae-influenced electronic sound, and Sting's uniquely plaintive voice make any of the group's songs instantly recognizable. At times, there's a downright ethereal quality to their music, especially in slower numbers such as Walking on the Moon and Invisible Sun, but they are at their best when delivering the more rhythmic, up-tempo, pop-oriented songs that made them so successful. I mean - you've got at least five downright iconic hits included in this collection: Roxanne, Don't Stand So Close to Me, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Every Breath You Take, and Wrapped Around Your Finger (those are my five, anyway; no doubt, some would add Message in a Bottle, King of Pain, Spirits in the Material World, and others to that list). These songs made an indelible mark on the 1980s, culturally as well as musically.

Is this the best collection of songs from The Police? Heck if I know. What I do know is that no collection of their hits could ever be considered a bad collection, and this one definitely includes all of the hits I remember listening to back in the 1980s. I can't say I care too much for the strangely-named De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da or the 1986 remix of Don't Stand so Close to Me (nor can I tell any difference between the original and mixed versions of Message in a Bottle), but everything else in this collection is timeless music that will always be a small part of me.

Stop, it's the Police!
The album kicks off with Roxanne, which I actually find kind of annoying. This Police collection is a great disc of early 80s rock, a whole bunch of hits I remember from the radio as a kid. There's a whole string of good songs after that though, with songs mixing with even better songs. There are two versions of Dont Stand so Close to Me and Message in a Bottle. In each case, I like the older versions better. Excellent Brit pop/rock.

My LP records and they're all scratched
Only one minor hit is missing ("Synchronicity II") and the gawdawful Puffy mix of "Roxanne" is - one can only hope - been wiped from the face of the Earth. This really is a five star singles collection. But having seen the band reunite on the 2007 Grammys, and how "Roxanne" still sounds amazing for a 30 year old song, "Every Breath You Take: The Classics" is a prefect reminder of just how much The Police commercialized "Punk rock" and made brilliant pop at the same time.

I remember buying "Outlandos D'amour" in the fall of 1978, right before starting college. I was just beginning to get into punk/new wave and "Roxanne" was such a giddy single that I had to have the album. I was enthused but also surprised. While the band played with punky brashness, there was stuff here that was way too sophisticated for punk. The tricky drumming of Stewart Copeland was a dead giveaway. . . The Police were more than those peroxided heads on the album cover.

When "Regatta DeBlanc" arrived, the aggressive "Message In A Bottle" served notice. Sting was a charismatic singer that could rock with the best of them, and Andy Summers' playing was really beginning to show that he was limitlessly inventive. The spacey reggae of "Walking On The Moon" pushed their experimentation to a new peak. While "Message" should have been the breakthrough single The Police deserved after "Roxanne," radio resistance to this new kind of new wave music forced the band to wait until the third album.

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" changed that. Irresistibly catchy, it spotlighted Sting's ability to write crafty pop songs. Then the enigmatic and literate "Don't Stand So Close To Me" went top ten, forcing even the staunchest critics to accept "Zenyatta Mondatta" and The Police. After all, not every rock band could quote Nabokov and top the charts with it. By now, the band had also become MTV darlings and Sting a heart-throb, an image he had no problem riding to success but still took issue with on the creative level. He wanted to make sure that The Police were regarded more as musical artists than video vixens with goofy song clips.

Success emboldened Sting and The Police experimented heavily on "Ghost In The Machine. " Gone were the pretty boy cover pictures and pseudo-Eurospeak titles. The stuttering time-signature of the title track and the Pink Floyd meets the Beach Boys of "Invisible Sun" were unlike anything The Police had recorded before. Still, it was the classic pop sounding "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" that was, well, magic. The mix of progressive and pop set the stage for The Police's finest hour.

If "Every Little Thing. . . " sounded like classic pop, "Every Breath You Take" sounded timeless. As everyone knows, the deceptively paranoid single cross-circuited and insta-catchy melody with lyrics that sounded like a pledge of devotion only to be undermined by the totally obsessive nature of the protagonist. The nature of the album "Synchronicity" was to allow each member to add his part as he saw fit (even though Sting was obviously the de facto leader by now). it led to the stripped down sound of "King Of Pain" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger. "

But that was as far as the band could travel together. Sting's ambitions (or ego, depending on your point of view) had moved past Copeland and Stewart's. The worldwide success of "Synchronicity" and the tour put the band on a hiatus that they never really called off. That leaves the sole new items here the pointless electronic remake of "Don't Stand So Close To Me" (from the "The Singles" collection) and a remix of "Message In A Bottle" that is all but indistinguishable from the original. "Every Breath You Take: The Classics" does allow for both versions of "Don't Stand So Close To Me," which makes that earlier collection obsolete.

However, the recently reissued Police library has at least two classic albums in it (in my opinion, "Synchronicity" and "Zenyatta Mondatta"), that rate picking up a few of the individual albums for their key tracks. (For instance, it is again my opinion, but both of the "new" tracks here could have easily been dumped for the likes of "So Lonely," "Driven To Tears" or "Synchronicity II. ") Still, as a collection of memorable radio and groundbreaking music, the evolution of The Police from punky white reggae to musical sophisticates makes this CD a must have if you don't want to go beyond the hits.

The CD layer is good.
It's nice to see Sony came out with a format that competes with cassette tapes.

A Very Good Selection of the Police's Pop
However, this CD seems to represent to majority of the Police's more popular songs. You may argue, as many people tend to do with "best of" and "greatest hits" albums, that the album missed this song, that song, or an entire group of songs. There are some singles missing, particularly from "Ghost in the Machine" and "Zenyatta Mondatta. " However, as with all collections, choices need to be made. The only surprise is that this CD still has 20 minutes available for music and rather than filling the space with other good music, someone may have made a marketing decision.

The first two songs are from "Outlandos d'Amour. " "Roxanne" seems to be a fan favorite; perhaps because "Roxanne" was the song that seems to have launched the Police's musical success. The third and fourth songs are from "Regatta de Blanc. " There is a strong reggae sound to "Walking on the Moon. " Reggae was a strong influence in the Police's early music, though the influence was much less perceptible by the time the Police released "Synchronicity. "

The album "Zenyatta Mondatta" provides the songs "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "De do do do, De da da da. " I enjoy both songs, but the eerie and creepy subject of the former song is but one of the numerous social challenges that the Police covered in their music.

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Invisible Sun," and "Spirits in the Material World," were all from the album "Ghosts in the Machine. " The first song was the most successful, reaching #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #3 on the pop singles chart, but I prefer the eerie and slightly progressive song "Invisible Sun" and the reggae influence pop song "Spirits in the Material World. " I think the latter two songs are more interesting and challenging than the mellower and more pop oriented first song.

The next three songs all come from "Synchronicity. " I was surprised that "Synchronicity I," which charted well, is not represented on this collection, particularly given the space remaining on the CD. However, the creepy "Every Breath You Take" and the poetic song "King of Pain" both charted well and are good representatives of this influential and popular album. The song "Wrapped around Your Finger" is another good song, but I prefer the other two songs to this one.

There are two additional tracks. The first is a 1986 recording of the song "Don't Stand so Close to Me. " I prefer the original to this over-produced and more electronic version. There is also a different mix of "Message in a Bottle. " I am prejudiced by my tastes, but I also think the original of this song was better.

The Police burned brightly in the five albums they recorded from 1978 to 1983. Even now songs such as "King of Pain" and "Every Breath You Take" sound fresh. Sting's experiences and knowledge attained as a secondary school English teacher frequently enhanced the power of the lyrics. The skill and creativity of the three members of the group also led to conflicts that led to the group's permanent dissolution after the release of "Synchronicity. " Perhaps there is a bittersweet pleasure is listening to this music time and again, but at least a legacy of their creativity and musical influence remains. The Police is yet another group whose music is better represented by their albums rather than any selection of songs from the albums. However, if you are interested only in the more popular songs of this multiple Grammy Award group, this CD is currently one of your best choices. Enjoy!
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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.