Track Listing

1. Spirits In The Material World
2. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
3. Invisible Sun
4. Hungry For You
5. Demolition Man
6. Too Much Information
7. Re-Humanise Yourself
8. One World (Not Three)
9. Omegaman
10. Secret Journey
11. Darkness
12. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9882 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .19 pounds
• Running time: 45 minutes

CD Description
In the wake of ZENYATTA MONDATTA's massive success, the Police edged even further away from their earlier reggae leanings, but instead of moving into the mainstream, they continued experimenting with sophisticated textures and exotic rhythms. Sure, there's the archetypal hummable pop hit, which Sting manages to throw in with virtually every album (here it'sthe romantic, frothy "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic",) but there's more darkness here, both musical and lyrical,than on any previous Police recording.
Sting picks up onthe social-consciousness thread of ZENYATTA's "Driven to Tears" on several tunes here. From the bleak "Invisible Sun" to the rage-against-the-machine sentiments of "Too Much Information and "Rehumanize Yourself", the lyrics speak of the soul's inability to keep pace with advancing technology and all its pitfalls. It's not all gloom and doom, though, as the propulsive, funky "Demolition Man" and "Hungry for You" attest.

Customer Reviews

"From Darkness to Light & not end of the world! by 'The Police'?"
As someone who started to listen to Roots Reggae after 1979 and the influence on me was the 'white reggae band': the Police & their hit single: "Walking on the moon" and this track is from the "Reggata De Blanc" album and not "Ghost in the machine" (GITM) album - which this review is about!

The Police are perhaps one of the greatest bands & especially between 1981-3 period. To many people, the Album "Synchronicity" stands out. However, I found the GITM the fourth Police studio album as my choice & synchronicity album does contain their best ever hit: "Every Breath You Take" may be reason for it being more popular than this Album?

The GITM 1st track: "Spirits in the Material World" is a great opener, followed by the brilliant "Invisible Sun" which is a tribute to those living amid the turmoil and violence in Northern Ireland & was unfairly banned, because a certain broadcaster viewed it as pro-IRA!

Other good racks are "Secret Journey"; "Every Little Thing She Does..."; "Darkness"; "One World" & "Omegaman".

As for other tracks, on the whole they were average tracks but that does deter me from complimenting on the band's thoughtful approach to issues through their lyrics!

You will see light in the darkness
The Police's fourth studio album saw them expand their sound from previous albums with the inclusion of brass sections and an increase in the use of keyboards rather than the more traditional three piece sound of the first three albums (bass, guitar and drums). Luckily for The Police this evolution did not prevent them from scoring a massive hit with "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" (throwaway pop IMO!) whereas the other two singles (Invisible Sun (referencing "the troubles") and Spirits In The Material World) are rather more thoughtful songs as seems to be most of the album. In terms of the other tracks, it ranges from the brilliant "Secret Journey" ("you will see light in the darkness") and "One World" to the rather laboured "Demolition Man". Sting's songwriting is generally very good on this album and as previously mentioned above he could still write a great pop song. I would add an honourable mention goes to Andy Summers's "Omegaman" while Stewart Copeland's "Darkness" is possibly not the best song he wrote for the band.

In conclusion, this is one of my favourite Police albums as it attempts to change the (winning) formula of the first three albums although in reality probably sowed the seeds for Sting's future solo career...

Back With A Vengeance!
The two-year gap between this album and the previous Zenyatta Mondatta, allowed the band to craft some really excellent songs, and change musical direction once again. The fast pop / reggae crossover of previous albums briefly appears with Rehumanise Yourself, but the rest of the album (with the obvious exception of Every Little Thing...!) is musically a lot more substantial. There is extensive use of synthesiser and saxaphone, which Sting learned to play in a few months, prompting Copeland to (only half) jokingly label him as a "crummy little creep"! The relational cracks between those two, which ultimately broke up the band, were obviously well-known by this stage, but they seemed to have spurred them on to greater things in this album. Sprits In The Material World is a great opener, followed by the brilliant Invisible Sun (ridiculously banned, because a certain broadcaster viewed it as pro-IRA!). Whilst Sting could obviously still write great pop songs (Every Little Thing...), this was altogether more serious stuff. Other great songs include Omegaman, Secret Journey and Darkness, but the rest of the album doesn't quite hit the spot, hence only 4 stars.