Synchronicity

by The Police

Overview

An elegant and mature work that also turned out to be the group's last recording, Synchronicity is the Police's finest moment. Ambitious and sophisticated, the album blended unusual ingredients for an arena rock band: odd time signatures, spare arrangements, reggae grooves, and strange vocal inflections by lead singer Sting. The subtlety and passion of his performance on "Every Breath You Take" remains unforgettable, while "Tea in the Sahara" is equally haunting and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" and "King of Pain" carried the venerable theme of tortured romance to further heights on the airwaves. The trio, which had been as powerful live as in the studio, never made another album together, but Synchronicity was a brilliant closing statement. It also helped launch Sting as a successful solo artist whose best work -- heard in such songs as "Fields of Gold" -- reflects the sleek, simple approach of this album.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/21/2007
Label:	Universal Uk
UPC:	0606949365622
catalogNumber:	493656
Rank:	4908

Tracks

1. Synchronicity I
2. Walking in Your Footsteps
3. O My God
4. Mother
5. Miss Gradenko
6. Synchronicity II
7. Every Breath You Take
8. King of Pain
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Tea in the Sahara
11. Murder by Numbers

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Police   Primary Artist,Noise
Stewart Copeland   Drums,Vocals
Sting   Bass,Vocals
Andy Summers   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Police   Producer
Sting   Composer
David Foster   Tape Research
Margaret Goldfarb   Reissue Production Coordination
Hugh Padgham   Producer,Engineer
Vartan   Art Direction
Norman Moore   Art Direction
Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff   Art Direction
Meire Murakami   Reissue Design
Jane Hitchin   Tape Research
David Lascelles   Tape Research
Zoe Roberts   Tape Research
Brendan Morris   Tape Research
Randy Aronson   Tape Research

Editorial Reviews

Simultaneously more pop-oriented and experimental than either Ghost in the Machine or Zenyatta Mondatta, Synchronicity made the Police superstars, generating no less than five hit singles. With the exception of "Synchronicity II," which sounds disarmingly like a crappy Billy Idol song, every one of those singles is a classic. "Every Breath You Take" has a seductive, rolling beat masking its maliciousness, "King of Pain" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" are devilishly infectious new wave singles, and "Tea in the Sahara" is hypnotic in its measured, melancholy choruses. But, like so many other Police albums, these songs are surrounded by utterly inconsequential filler. This time, the group relies heavily on jazzy textures for Sting's songs, which only work on the jumping, marimba-driven "Synchronicity I." Then, as if to prove that the Police were still a band, there's one song apiece from Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, both of which are awful, as if they're trying to sabotage the album. Since they arrive on the first side, which is devoid of singles, they do, making the album sound like two EPs: one filled with first-rate pop, and one an exercise in self-indulgence. While the hits are among Sting's best, they also illustrate that he was ready to leave the Police behind for a solo career, which is exactly what he did.

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine