No. 455: Synchronicity

Band: The Police
Album: Synchronicity
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: The Police's best-selling album is similarly the band's best-known. It has a few hits and is emblematic of the band's end.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: Like all things during this time period, there are too many synths on the record.
Best song: "Wrapped Around Your Finger" is great.
Worst song: "Synchronicity I" and "Synchronicity II" are both stinky.
Is it awesome?: Bah.

So... This album contains this song:



That video is kind of ridiculous and it kind of typifies the early 1980s. The zeitgeist appears to have been "Why wouldn't we have the guys in ridiculous costume?" I like that.

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"Synchronicity" is the Police's best-known album and, of course, is the band's final album. It's a little self-indulgent -- hence the Jungian theme of the two (!) title tracks -- but it also has the band's most creepy and famous track.

The travesty of "Every Breath You Take" is that it's been sampled by Puffy and misinterpreted by many, many people. It's a creepy, creepy song, one based on Sting's divorce that other songs take lyrics from ("King of Pain" is the other big one).

The arrangements are the problem with these songs. The large majority of the songs have synthesizers on them. Despite being well-written songs -- "Wrapped Around Your Finger" being the operative one. The song is a wonderfully written love(ish) song covered by many, sans synthesizers. It's awesome, but the Police version is much worse.

That's the final album's problems. Sting decided he was more than a singer. He got so self-indulgent. That's a problem.