Police - Synchronicity POLL

But no, I'll go for title track #1, which I wish was longer.

Synchronicity II for me. But I do have a great love of Mother and hell, the whole rest of this album.

It's still my favorite Police actually, but that's because I haven't consciously gone through their catalog as an adult. I just continue to enjoy it the way I have since my Mom first bought the cassette and played it in her truck on long drives.

Was it even a single in real form?

Oh yeah. It reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard charts. And, as Wiki notes, "(i)nterestingly, King of Pain was the only single from Synchronicity that did not have an accompanying music video."

I was a young 'un, but I remember "King of Pain" hearing a lot on the radio (around Big Country's "In a Big Country" and H&O's "Family Man"), so its chart position makes sense.

*but I remember HEARING "KOP," rather

I thought Family Man was mostly an MTV music-video phenomenon. I can't even remember hearing it on the radio. Great song, tho.

I for one am pleased to not see the CD bonus track "Murder By Numbers" included although it's better than at least half the songs on this album, but it's just refreshing to see an accurate representation of the original release for once.

The lyrics of The Police, although consistently terrible, have always been overshadowed by how great the music is (in this one person's opinion). This is why songs like "Tea In The Sahara" are so good. Unfortunately, some people just can't get over bad lyrics.. which seems to be the case with most people posting here.

"O My God" is not shitty because the bass line is sick, and the outro is sublime.

And "Synchronicity 1" is way underrated.. I think I'm voting for that.. okay I just did.

I was a young 'un, but I remember "King of Pain" hearing a lot on the radio (around Big Country's "In a Big Country" and H&O's "Family Man"), so its chart position makes sense.

I suddenly want to make a huge 1983 mix.

H2O is the 1982 hit album from the duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. It featured three Top 10 U.S. singles, including "Maneater" which was the biggest hit of their career, spending four weeks at the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The album title is a play on the chemical formula for water, where "H" is for Hall, and "O" is for Oates.

late 82 album = singles charted in 83 stfu

no! I was responding to Daniel about "Family Man."

yeah i'm down w/ tea in the sahara, even if it prefigures the solo sting tripe that was to come. i don't put much stock in lyrics though - unless it's so blatantly over-the-top or forgrounded in such a way that i can't get around it.

i think Becker/Fagen lyrics are the only ones where i actively pay attention and am not consistently dissapointed or embarrassed.

fore-

im all on defense today. sorry

Am I the only one who really, really loves Miss Gradenko?

yeah, sorry

What a mildly stupid fate I have.

King Of Pain by a mile

This.

THERE'S A LITTLE BLACK SPOT ON THE SUN TO-DAY

THERE'S A SALE ON OUR GABARDINE SUITS TO-DAY

"every breath you take" is unassailable even if no one ever needs to hear it again

OTM. It's a perfect song, a gorgeous recording, and a deserved juggernaut of a single. And, while it's weird to call it this, a monster riff.

Am I the only one who really, really loves Miss Gradenko

Maybe, but I do really, really like it.

The results of this poll may surprise you, Abbot.

Weird, I had never noticed that Murder By Numbers was a cd bonus track before.

I'm pretty sure this was the first album I ever bought new from a store with my own money (as opposed to from a garage sale; that was the White Album). I still pretty much like this record and think it was the best thing the Police ever did, and I like Mother too, because it has a pretty strong Crimson vibe to it. This album also introduced me to Paul Bowles and other stuff that was cool to be into when I was in junior high, even if it now seems kind of pretentiously passe. Anyway favorite song is probably Synch 2.

"Wrapped Around Your Finger". Best Police song ever.

I like all of the singles here. Among the non-singles, "Tea In The Sahara", "Synchronicity I" and "Walking In Your Footsteps" are great, while "Mother" is of course horrible.

And, hey! Yes "Murder By Numbers" was great!

I don't understand why people hate Mother so much. I guess I would expect Geir not to like it, but I love its utter madness. I've heard Murder By Numbers, it's okay I guess.

Mother is a delight. I played that damn song so many times in 2001. Real Mother kick.

It reminds me off a sillier/creepier (longer) '5% for Nothing.'

I really, really hate "Mother". I'm all about crazy songs where someone just screams, but really.

It is pretty out of place, I will admit.

It was "Mother" that prepared me for the likes of Captain Beefheart and Wild Man Fischer

"Synchronicity II" is awesome and really not overplayed for me - not sure what it was like at the time but it's now the Police single you never here. Sting may lay it on thick in places ("another suburban family morning" etc) but there's some really great moments of stridency and man, yeah, Summers is kicking ass on this one. Love the "BA DA DA DANG DANG BRANG A DANG A DANG DANG" after the part about how the guy's eyeballs ache. And the spooky evil rising from the dark Scottish lake works for me - the two parallel plots make a nice pair of really detailed daily breakdown versus really vague/menacing.

It's probably supposed to be some psychoanalytic BS where the dark Scottish lake is the guy's subconscious but I like it better as just this totally separate thing happening, "Meanwhile, far away, unbeknownst to our hero..."

That said, this is the one Police album I haven't yet been able to make myself spring for a dollar copy of and so I'm not voting.

There's two versions of the cover art on the original LP. One has a bare breast. One does not.

Also, a lot of copies are not actually black, but semi transparent purple. Hold yours up to the light and check.

They play 'Synchronicity II' as bumper music on Coast to Coast AM episodes about synchronicity.

DO YOU SEE

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

After this poll started I listened to this album about 400 times. Soooooo goooooooooood.

I love how he says 'HUMILIATING kick in the CROTCH."

I think Mother is great! It's so fucked up. I'm tempted to vote for it. Or Sync I. Can't decide.

I thought ILM hated this album. Pleasant surprise that I was wrong. Best thing Sting was ever involved in of course.

Yes because ILM is all one brain.

"Best thing Sting was ever involved in of course"

Yes, except for DUNE.

the one that goes "I WILL LISTEN HARD TO YOUR TUITION"

I stop caring about the Police after their third album. And by this one, I basically can't stand them. My wife, on the other hand, is a huge fan -- first concert she ever saw, etc. When I asked her what her favorite track was, she said she didn't have one because it's meant to be listened to as an entire album. But when pressed, she named "Synchronicity I," for being the "most rock." So I'll vote for that.

Also, we just checked her copy, and the vinyl is in fact translucent purple -- looks pretty cool! We can't find any bare breasts, however (except for those belonging to actual Police members.)

Holy shit! Mine is purple too! Wow, you would never see that unless you held it up to the light. I had to go get another record by someone else and hold it up to the light just to prove my sanity. I wonder why they didn't make it more obvious, because it's really beautiful. I don't see any bare (female) breasts on mine, either, though. The Asian lady standing near Summers is the only female I see on this.

Also subtly translucent: Neil Young's Tonight's The Night

Yeah I heard about the purple thing a long time ago. Pretty subtle and unexpected for the era and label. The bare breast one isn't terribly rare (I don't think), just obviously wasn't as widely distributed.

The Revolver interview:

https://www.sting.com/news/title/revolver

Man, that Pittsburgh joke reminds me of an awkward evening with a loud relative.

Lmao

Revolver: Bands like the Offspring cite 'Can't Stand Losing You' as an important early punk song. Wasn't it banned by the BBC?

Copeland: Actually, we got a lot of mileage out of it being supposedly banned by the BBC. In fact, all that really happened was that we didn't make their playlist, so we turned that into 'Banned by the BBC'.

Sting: Wait a minute - it was 'Roxanne' they wouldn't play. Then we had that publicity campaign with posters about how the BBC banned 'Roxanne'. The reason they had a problem with 'Can't Stand Losing You' was because the photo on the cover of the single had Stewart standing on a block of ice with a noose around his neck, waiting for the ice to melt.

Copeland: Oh, so it was all my fault?

Sting: No, no, I applauded you for doing that Stewart. The only problem is... you didn't actually go through with it. (laughs)

seriously they could reunite without instruments for a comedy banter tour and I'd be first in line for tickets

We’re watching Only Murders in the Building; turns out Sting is in the show, in kind of an amusing way (speaking of comedy).

Sting otm about Copelands rhythms being completely in danceable though

for bookmarkers who might not have seen: When the World is Running Down, You Make the POLL of What's Still Around – ILM Artist Poll #116 – THE POLICE - (Voting is open until Sunday, Nov 27)

box set coming:

https://wmgk.com/2023/08/22/sting-confirms-police-synchronicity-box-set-is-coming/

Does the world need a Sychronicity boxed set?

tbh, except for Pet Sounds, I can't think of a single rock album box set that needed to be box set. They all should have been carved up into separate releases - e.g. a remastered (or remixed) edition of the album, a live album, and an outtakes/demos/studio rarities compilation. But economically speaking, when it comes to reissues, album box sets are the most viable products a label can come up with.

Looking forward to that 21-minute version of "Mother"

A whole disk of "Mother" ala the Fun House sessions.

the motherlode

Looking forward to that 21-minute version of "Mother"

― pplains, Wednesday, 23 August 2023

Extended remix by Arthur Baker.

this is an album that easily could have landed in my top 50 if I'd thought about it. certainly interested in hearing outtakes, but like most box sets, I'd go for a digital version.