Track Listing

1. Don't Stand So Close To Me - Nigel Gray, The Police
2. Driven To Tears
3. When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around
4. Canary In A Coalmine
5. Voices Inside My Head
6. Bombs Away
7. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
8. Behind My Camel
9. Man In A Suitcase
10. Shadows In The Rain
11. The Other Way Of Stopping
12. Don't Stand So Close To Me - Derek Burbidge, The Police, Kate Burbidge

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24028 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .19 pounds
• Running time: 42 minutes

CD Description
For their third album, the Police, now official megastars, began to move away from the new wave-reggae hybrid they introduced on their first two releases. There's a bit more funk in the rhythm section on tunes like "Driven To Tears" (a tune that also represents a heightened socio-political bent in the lyrics). Andy Summers' avant-garde roots are also more apparent here, as on the eastern-flavoured "Behind My Camel",and the quirky, abstract tone of "Shadows in the Rain". On the ominous-but-catchy "Don't Stand So Close To Me" Sting plays Cole Porter, rhyming "shake and cough" with "Nabokov". The album is best known for the monster hit "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", ostensibly a nonsense song, but under the surfacethe lyrics bear a serious message about global alienation and postmodern disaffection.

Customer Reviews

Silly name, silly album.
I have only got into The Police in the last 6 months or so (admittedly in a big way), so if I said I have been a lifelong fan, I'd be lying. But I have listened to all 5 of their albums, so I feel I am in a position to give a decent review of this, their third album.

It's very much a transitional album, slowly moving away from silly, but madly catchy pop reggae to a more mature rock sound. Actually, most of this album is silly, but you hear the band's sound deepening with rich echoey guitar textures and a bit more use of the keyboards (check out the dark brooding synth at the start of the album).

The opening track, their third number one single, Don't Stand So Close To Me, is Sting's tale of a teacher giving into temptation to an underage pupil. It's surprising material for a No.1 hit (perhaps autobiographical ?). But the verses are wonderfully dramatic, Sting's voice ranging from terse begining to almost hysterical finish. Yes, the chorus seems to ruin the atmosphere created, but it's nonetheless mightily catchy, and it also has a rather strange Middle 8.

When The World Is Running Down.... is the highlight of this set, it's only got three chords, an incredibly simple bass riff and straight-to-the-point drumming, but it sparkles and the sound is fabulous. Sting's melody and voice are amazing as they weave around, seemingly creating a new kind of English language. The middle 8 consists of one note ringing through a delay on guitar whilst the rhythm section do their simple but mesmerising part.

The distant sounding, African style vocals of Voices Inside My Head are another example of Sting's use of World Music elements which add a blend of exoticism to the album. This effect is completed by Stewart Copeland's Bombs Away, a daftly catchy song about Banana Republics (any song which mentions attractive female rebel soldiers will always be a hit with me !). Overall lyrically The Police are more interesting and inventive than most other pop/rock bands. The song contains a marvelous Arabesque Guitar solo from Andy Summers.

The rest of the album is solid stuff, songs you'll undoubtedly like but perhaps not love. An examaple of this is the albums's second single, De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da. A touching verse is rather annoyingly interrupted by a plain silly chorus. It's good and catchy, but not a classic, like many Police songs.

Overall this a good, fun album. The Police were pretty consistant in their albums, so they are all worth purchasing. In the next four years after this, they'd make their two best albums, become the biggest band in the world, and proceed to nearly kill each other. But that's another story.

Great Moments, But.....
This is my least favourite Police album - even though it occasionally reaches the heights of its predecessors, it leaves me wondering where the rest of the songs disappeared to. Even the album cover disappointed me - not a patch on the previous excellent efforts, the superstars look rather aloof and self-important as they stare out impassively from the corners of a pyramid - it's almost Spinal Tap! Extensive touring was obviously the background to this album, as the band wooed the far corners of the globe, racking up sales of their first two albums. Musically, they moved on yet again - from white reggae to.... hmmm.... pop???! The hard edge has almost totally gone, but there are some great moments on this album - Don't Stand So Close To Me and Driven To Tears are particularly good, along with the well-crafted Voices Inside My Head and the post-apocolyptic When The World Is Running Down.... Andy Summers is now making huge slabs of sound, creating that jangly, echoey, flanged style that so many people identify as his alone. Man In A Suitcase and Canary In A Coalmine are catchy pop / reggae in style, and ultimately not that satisfying and some tracks just feel like fillers - Behind My Camel and The Other Way Of Stopping being prime examples.

zenyatta mondatta the police
I first bought this album on tape in the 80s. I loved it then and it's just as brilliant now. The Police have written so many monumental songs.This is pure musical genius. This is 10/ 10 !