(The Police) My top 25 Favorite songs

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Pretty interesting interview series from Sting. He talks about the meteoric rise of The Police.

I know the fans wanted more. But I've come to see why the breakup was inevitable. When you're at the pinnacle, surely the only way to go is Down.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

The Police were a great band. Such a unique sound.

It’s hard to give out superlatives in art. But I rate Stewart Copeland as maybe the best drummer ever. With a variety of influences, Stewart made drumming an art form.

Ironically, this led to artistic disagreement between Stewart and front-man Sting. Sting viewed Stewart’s drumming as being too aggressive. He thought that Stewart’s heavy drumming sometimes drowned out Sting’s vocals.

The Police discography has often led analysts to note that there’s no wasted motion. They only made five albums, and that was it. It’s hard to find a bad Police song.

In 1984 they were touring to support SYNCHRONICITY, their most commercially successful album. After an epic performance at Shea Stadium, Sting was almost resigned to that being the end. After a sabbatical where each member worked on side projects, there was talk of a sixth album. But that never materialized.
One reason was that Copeland had broken his collarbone in a horsing accident, which prevented him from being able to play the drums. After Eight years together (and at the pinnacle of the rock world), they went their separate ways. They came back together for one reunion tour (in 2007-2008) and just a few other times.

Much has been made of The Police breaking up at that particular time. Sting had released a successful solo album and may not have felt compelled to have the constraints of a band. Some have pointed to the creative differences between Sting and Stewart, but they have mostly diffused that. Guitarist Andy Summers may have summarized it most aptly when he said that maybe it was for the best. They knew that they had produced a great catalogue, so why mess with something of such quality?

*This list was much tougher for me. The Police don’t have many bad songs.


If you want to win a bar-bet, ask: *Which band formed first: The Police or U2?
…For the life of me, I would have said The Police.
…The Police band members were older. But U2 formed when they were still high-schoolers.
…U2 technically formed in 1976, The Police formed in 1977. So, the answer is U2.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

25) Don't Care (by Klark Kent)
...This one's an Honorable Mention.
...Special credit to Stewart for absorbing all Sting's ego-laden verbal abuse.
...Was released by Stewart under a pseudonym.
...Backed by assistance of Sting and Andy.
...Released a few months b4 The Police hit the charts as a group.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

24) Regatta de blanc
...Holy shit, listen to Stewart's drumming on this track. Just saying:

[ChuckyTheGoat]

23) It's Alright for You

[ChuckyTheGoat]

22) One World

[Optional]

You don't have to put on the red light Chucky.

One of my fave bands as a teenager.

Saw them in Sydney in early 80s with a support band called The Sunny Boys, who I also went mad for after that.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

21) Message in the Bottle

[ChuckyTheGoat]

You don't have to put on the red light Chucky.

One of my fave bands as a teenager.

Saw them in Sydney in early 80s with a support band called The Sunny Boys, who I also went mad for after that.

Salud, Opti. Yes, thank goodness I don't have to put on the Red Light anymore.

What a band, wow. Went back and reviewed their catalogue. Fantastic.

And I've come to grips with them not making the sixth album. Sting may have run out of creative juices for lyrics. If I can find the Andy quote, I'll post it, he said it perfectly.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

20) Don't Stand So Close to Me

[ChuckyTheGoat]

19) Driven to Tears

[ChuckyTheGoat]

18) When the World is Running Down

[ChuckyTheGoat]

17) Canary in a Coalmine

[ChuckyTheGoat]

16) De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

[ChuckyTheGoat]

15) Cant Stand Losing You

[ChuckyTheGoat]

14) Roxanne. If you hear this being played at a wedding, might be a red-flag:

[ChuckyTheGoat]

13) Man in a Suitcase

[ChuckyTheGoat]

12) every little thing she does is magic

[ChuckyTheGoat]

11) Rehumanize Yourself

[ChuckyTheGoat]

10) Darkness. Top 10 theme = many of my favorite Police songs are NOT their biggest hits:

[ChuckyTheGoat]

9) Born in the 50's

[ChuckyTheGoat]

8) Walking in Your Footsteps

[ChuckyTheGoat]

7) Miss Gradenko

[ChuckyTheGoat]

6) Synchronicity II

[ChuckyTheGoat]

5) Spirits in the Material World. Stewart has talked about how challenging the drumming is on this track. Listen to how unique the sound is:

[ChuckyTheGoat]

4) Demolition Man

[ChuckyTheGoat]

3) Walking on the Moon

[ChuckyTheGoat]

2) Tea in the Sahara. So simple, but so good:

[ChuckyTheGoat]

1) Invisible Sun. I know there are political overtones. Sounds so good to me:

[magpie878]

I'm shocked someone agrees with me that Invisible Sun is their best song.

Great band. I also go with Ghost in the Machine as best album.

[Optional]

I'm shocked someone agrees with me that Invisible Sun is their best song.

Great band. I also go with Ghost in the Machine as best album.

You guys must be younger than me.

Outlandos d'Amour and Regatta de Blanc by far their best albums and I think I see only 1 song from either on Chuckys list.

Where's Roxanne? Cant stand losing You? Beds Too Big??

This list hurts my heart a little :\

[magpie878]

I was born in 1973. Roxanne is good but has been so overplayed over the years, I'd rather hear almost any other song off Outlandos than that one. And, to boot, we're allowed to have differing Police opinions, age be damned!

[Optional]

I was born in 1973. Roxanne is good but has been so overplayed over the years, I'd rather hear almost any other song off Outlandos than that one. And, to boot, we're allowed to have differing Police opinions, age be damned!

I'm a bit older than you. The early albums are part of my teenage party years and happy times. When Roxanne comes on the radio I still get a feel good moment from that opening line.