The Police Roll Call (7/20/07)

[TheDirector217]

No.  But you all act like this is some foreign shit, which kinda kills me.  By the time they got to Synchronicity, they were full on in this direction.  The washing away/reigning in of the punk kinda started with Ghost In The Machine & Zenyatta Mondatta.  The Ramones were full-on/the blueprint for punk, while The Police had elements of punk in their music.  These were classically trained musicians who had WAAAAAY more chops than your average punk band.  That's what made The Police special.  They pulled off the punk/reggae thing without sounding like white men fascinated with/raping the culture while tossing in "jazzy twists" .  The Clash were probably the only others that pulled this off as well.  On the other hand, you have i.e. "D'yer Maker" & "Cherry, Oh Baby."  And that's coming from someone who unabashedly loves The Stones & Zeppelin.  (Though The Stones redeemed themselves with "Waiting On A Friend.")  
 
 

Originally posted by econo:
  Would you go see The Ramones and expect to hear artful renditions of Judy Is A Punk?
 
   

Originally posted by Brian Wallace:
  I'm with The Director on this one.  Who wants to see a Xerox of 1983?  Well, I guess a LOT of people do with regards to the Police.  Some of you have to take off your nostalgia/rose-tinted glasses.

[/b]

[vansmack]

Originally posted by westendgirl:
  YES! This sums it up for me! I must have missed your review of the Bay area show,  

Vansmack's review of the Bay Area show

[TheDirector217]

Originally posted by miss pretentious:
  becoming quite the master of holding three beers plus a camera i see? and, in the dark with sunglasses on no less?

You'd be surprised at what I can do in the dark, lovemuffin.        
 
 I kid, I kid.  After years of concert-going, it becomes second nature.

[xneverwherex]

smackie - did you see sting when he was touring for ten summoner's tale?? he was doing police covers then and i have a feeling they sounded closer to the police music, than their so-called reunion tour. at least i remember them sounding nearly as great as i remember hearing them growing up    
 
 i saw him in irving meadows (is that what it was called?) in case you were at the same show  

[ggw]

Originally posted by TheDirector217:
  (Though The Stones redeemed themselves with "Waiting On A Friend.")  
 

Don't overlook one of the greatest duets of all time:
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUZNymIvEoQ

[Brian_Wallace]

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
   

Originally posted by TheDirector217:
  (Though The Stones redeemed themselves with "Waiting On A Friend.")  
 

Don't overlook one of the greatest duets of all time:
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUZNymIvEoQ [/b]

I thought you may have been referring to this one:
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex6K3E8iVBY
 
 or maybe Jagger and "Drunksy."
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1MupAc-wbU
 
 Brian

[TheDirector217]

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
   

Originally posted by TheDirector217:
  (Though The Stones redeemed themselves with "Waiting On A Friend.")  
 

Don't overlook one of the greatest duets of all time:
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUZNymIvEoQ [/b]

That was silly of me.  Duly noted.  It goes on the iPod tonight . . .

[vansmack]

Originally posted by TheDirector217:
    By the time they got to Synchronicity, they were full on in this direction.  

It's also why they broke up.  And if the direction was going to continue, they were right the first time and should have stayed broken up.
 
 But their catalog has way more punk in it then it has jazz - don't change history because of Stings solo stuff.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
  smackie - did you see sting when he was touring for ten summoner's tale?? he was doing police covers then and i have a feeling they sounded closer to the police music, than their so-called reunion tour. at least i remember them sounding nearly as great as i remember hearing them growing up    
 
 i saw him in irving meadows (is that what it was called?) in case you were at the same show    

It's Irvine Meadows (great outdoor venue by the way), I've seen a lot of very memorable shows there.
 
 But no.  I've never seen Sting live.  I don't even own a Sting solo album (although Smackette might).

[TheDirector217]

Originally posted by vansmack:
   

Originally posted by TheDirector217:
    By the time they got to Synchronicity, they were full on in this direction.  

It's also why they broke up.  And if the direction was going to continue, they were right the first time and should have stayed broken up.
 
 But their catalog has way more punk in it then it has jazz - don't change history because of Stings solo stuff. [/b]

I beg to differ.  Go back and listen, friend.  
 
 Outlandos - More or less punk
 Reggatta - Punky/reggae
 Ghost & Zenyatta - More jazz influences/little reggae
 Synchronicity - Culmination of the past 3 albums, pretty much no punk at all.  Even though "Synchronicity II" rocks like a motherfucker, that has NO punk in it & was representative of the direction they were taking.  The catalog shifted so much from "Next To You", "Be My Girl", & "Roxanne" to this point it was ridiculous. And in all likelyhood, had they not become the biggest band in the world & Sting's ego didn't increase tenfold over the course of 5 albums they may not have broken up.  Then again, Sting is documented as saying that he never thought the band would make it past 5 albums so maybe he was always looking t the front door. IMHO, that it what makes The Police stand out from any other group in music history.  They were the only ones that went out on top.  The Beatles "Let It Be" was a mess.  The Stones never left.  (And in the interest of keeping it funky here, tossing my fandom aside The Stones haven't put out a classic album in 27 years. Tattoo You.)  U2, verdict's still out on them.  Clash, Cut The Crap.  Nuff said.  Look at every band of the past 40 or so years that was the "biggest band in the world", The Police were the ONLY ones that left at their height.  That in a nutshell is the history of The Police.
 
 Then Sting went solo, & proceeded to never rock again, seemingly doomed to be the soundtrack to your visit to the dentist/doctor's office for all eternity.  Until now . . . .
 
 I hope they don't release another album, cause anything short of a landmark LP is goiing to tarnish their legacy.  Just my $.02 . . .

[Brian_Wallace]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  But their catalog has way more punk in it then it has jazz - don't change history because of Stings solo stuff.

I disagree with that.  I'll give you most of "Outlandos D'Amour" but by "Regatta De' Blanc" (their SECOND album) they had gone mostly jazzy/world beat.  "Walking on the Moon," "Bring on the Night," and "Bed's Too Big Without You" aren't even close to punk.  There were two punkish songs on their second album ("It's All Right For You" and "No Time This Time") but after that they were gone into the realm of Sting-ness.
 
 "Somebody should clip Sting around the head and tell him to stop using that ridiculous Jamaican accent." -Elvis Costello
 
 Brian

[xneverwherex]

Originally posted by vansmack:
   

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
  smackie - did you see sting when he was touring for ten summoner's tale?? he was doing police covers then and i have a feeling they sounded closer to the police music, than their so-called reunion tour. at least i remember them sounding nearly as great as i remember hearing them growing up        
 
 i saw him in irving meadows (is that what it was called?) in case you were at the same show      

It's Irvine Meadows (great outdoor venue by the way), I've seen a lot of very memorable shows there.
 
 But no.  I've never seen Sting live.  I don't even own a Sting solo album (although Smackette might). [/b]

doh! i so meant to write irvine. must have been thinking irving plaza somewhere. only saw sting solo once - the day itself was miserable - had just broken up with bf, and neither of us would give on the tix so we went together. but sting was surprisingly good. and his police stuff was even better - not jazzed up - thank god!  

[vansmack]

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
  the day itself was miserable - had just broken up with bf, and neither of us would give on the tix so we went together.

That's awesome.  I had a similar situation once for Natalie Merchant at the Greek Theater, but we had four tickets.  So she took two and I took two.  She brought her best friend.  I brought my ex-girlfriend, the one before her.  They left about half way through - we stayed for the whole show.

[Brian_Wallace]

Originally posted by vansmack:
   

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
  the day itself was miserable - had just broken up with bf, and neither of us would give on the tix so we went together.

That's awesome.  I had a similar situation once for Natalie Merchant at the Greek Theater, but we had four tickets.  So she took two and I took two.  She brought her best friend.  I brought my ex-girlfriend, the one before her.  They left about half way through - we stayed for the whole show. [/b]

That's weird because the only time I've seen Sting solo was in Camden and the opener was...Natalie Merchant.  However, we spent the ENTIRE between set time wating in line for refreshments.  We even missed part of Sting's first song and never got anything to eat or drink.  I've hated the Tweeter center and everyone associated with it ever since.
 
 Anyhow, I think the REAL reason the Police broke up was because if they stayed together any longer they would have been recording their next album up there own asses.  Look at how SERIOUS they are in this, their final video before the break-up:
 
  Synchronicity II
 
 Look at how SERIOUS Sting is during the final verse(at about 3:22)!  He really means it!  He doesn't think the whole thing looks silly at ALL! If he could do that without smirking, even a LITTLE, then they HAD to break up.
 
 Contrast this with Nirvana's FIRST video.  During IT'S final verse Cobain can't keep a straight face (around 3:44).
 
  Smells Like Teen Spirit
 
 Brian

[vansmack]

At this point, I find there's no sense in continuing the debate...I've just agreed to disagee with both of you.  But I really do mean it when I say I'm glad you guys enjoyed the show and got what you wanted out of it.
 
 At some point TheDirector and I will get drunk, drop a $20 in the jukebox and wax philosophical on the Police until the rest fo the patrons politely ask us to leave because they're sick of hearing us or the Police - whichever comes first.
 
 I'd have a drink with you but I think you, me and alcohol may produce unintended results.
 
 But I will predict that this tour ends with the following headline:
 
 THE POLICE BREAK UP.  AGAIN.
 AP
 
 Stewart Copeland reports on his web site that....
     
 There will be no album, no follow up tour, and we may never see them all on the same stage again.  And it's for the best in my eyes.