Customer Reviews
Brilliance 
2008-09-08
Dark, painful, angry music here. And lyrics that match the mood, attached to the most brilliant melodies Sting ever strung together on one LP.
Their previous albums only set the table for Synchronicity. Sting, stung with king-sized pain from marital woes, calls on every creative fiber beneath his frown. The result: the Police were never better, cresting their talents in a musical finale that made me grateful, in a way, that they split afterward. I doubt they could have improved on this.
Howay the Lad 
2008-04-05
In the late 70's, early 80's, there was this monstrous black hole, completely devoid of talent, from which, every two years or so, 3 hit singles and a No1 album would be spewed unapologetically out.
The Police, (splendidly ironic name, given the crimes they regularly got away with) are guilty as charged, and their last somnambulistic studio album, all gaseous protest, and Caribbean sun-tanned `caring' = an absolute drag.
To be fair(!) there's actually a couple of good songs on `Synchronicity'. `Every Breath Tou Take' is fairly strong and `Synchronicity II' is a revelation. Where Gordon dug this up is a mystery, steaming rock guitar riffing and passionate vocals? Steady on there boys. The irony can't have been lost on him though, the powerful left-wing lyrics must've seemed particularly appropriate as he sat in the recording studio in the Bahamas or wherever.(This at a time when all these so-called darling groups went to Montserrat or the Riviera to record albums. Why is beyond me, each and every one came back a disaster. Check out the Durannies, or even the Happy Mondays for irrefutable proof.)
It has an exiting prog-style `II' in the title, perhaps that's where Gordon's loyalties really lie; Cocktail Prog(!) and sticks out like a sore thumb from the calculated, moribund rest of `Synchronicity'
After the exertions of `II', it's pretty obvious Gordon and the rest of the band, (Andy Summers; been going longer than Pink Floyd and The Who PUT TOGETHER, and Stewart Copeland; a lanky twit drummer, with a style borrowed from that one off the Muppets.) were worn out, so they put down a pile of filler and headed off to the beach for a lie down.
Summers (and the first time any-one wrote about him, they were using 12-point copperplate and quills!) is particularly dull. Get up, play some feeble guitar, lie on the beach, have a little drink and a snooze. Collect cash. Nice work if you can get it. Being dreary isn't a crime in rock, otherwise we'd have anarchy, so he can't shoulder much of the blame for `Synchronicity'. The finger of accusation must point at Gordon, who is determined to stamp his creative authority on proceedings and not give a hoot his `creativity' isn't worth a jot.
He waffles on about mothers and murderers in abject isolation, thinking he's being really insightful and interesting, but in reality, he's boring every-one rigid. There's two words I always try to use in my reviews. One is 'looney', which doesn't really apply here, and the other is 'worthy', a horrid, nasty word implying the worst nadir of any art-form and one that could've been specially coined for Gordon. The 80's was full of `worthies`. Lacklustre half-talents,(and if for some reason you want to check `em out, have a butchers at the `Do They Know it's Christmas' video. Most of them are on there.) any surprise or originality long since ebbed away, but still wanting to be seen to be DOING THEIR BIT. Gordon was king in this company. `Hey, I'm a working class millionaire, but never mind me, look at this rain forest guy with a plate in his lip, that I've dragged halfway across the world and put on TV, in a dire and misguided attempt to show how caring I really am in my millions. (And I've got a solo album out that nobody's buying!)'. The worst kind of pop star, one who's filament wasn't blinding to begin with, but ending up being as weak and uncomfortable as that poor rain forest guy, thousands of miles from home, plonked like a freak-show in completely alien surroundings, but still having a nobility and charisma Gordon can only drool after. I hear all this desperation and thinly disguised self-aggrandizement running like veins through all of Gordon's `work' and here it's at an annoyingly high level.
To say `Synchronicity' is limp is like saying Hitler was a slightly misled person. Gordon may think he's walking on rock's wild side, but he's not really fooling any-one. We can all see whatever limited talent he had in the first place, has now run completely dry, and all the faux roots, jazzy licks and lounge crooning in the world won't change that.
I don't normally feel sympathy for people like Gordon. Working class people who've made many millions from other working class people who will `like' a certain music because it's drummed into them, but allow me a twinge. `Synchronicity' may be insipid and lukewarm, but it's `Astral Weeks' compared to his solo work.
It should've been called `Sycophantically'. Geddit?
A Milestone Of The 1980's 2008-03-06
This album is not only an important artistic step ahead for The Police but also for the time period in general.In the early 80's many pop stars of the time such as Peter Gabrial were beginning to experiment with adding elements of world music,such as African and latin styles into their own sound.The Police had begun doing the same thing with reggae but here Sting,who wrote or co-wrote ten out of the eleven songs presented here,has begun to reach for new artistic heights.The title track is presented in two seperate parts comes of well as very stratospheric rock and showcases another important element of this recording;'Syncronicity' is The Police's most polished,glossy and slick album,a sound they began moving towards as far back as Zenyatta Mondatta [Digipak].In "Walking In Your Footsteps" a strong,stripped down afro-raggae influnece makes it's presence known,especially fitting with Sting's deeply poetic lyric about the evolution of life itself. For their biggest hit recording it's ironic that the first songs presented here are generally their more artsy and ambitious,especially showcasing what an incredible drummer Stewart Copeland is. "Oh God" and "Miss Gradenko" (a song co-written with Copeland) showcase very catchy pop melodies with funky grooves,something The Police did so well and the reason why there's such a thing as album tracks!The oddest song on this album has to be Andy Summers "Mother",a deeply avante garde rocker with Andy ranting in psychopath style about a very twisted Fruedian "mother" fetish involving his lady love.It is generally people's least favorite song on the album but in the context it's in it makes sense in a bizzare way. The Police in very untraditional style chose to link the albums three huge hits "Every Breath You Take" (that such a creepy stalker song got to be a hit is a testement to the bands clout at the time),"King Of Pain" and "Wrapped Around You Finger" one after the other;these are songs fans,80's and pop music lovers in general all know almost by heart. Sting returns to the almost ambient,poetic style of earlier in the album on the haunting "Tea In The Sahara". The final track (added to the CD edition only) is the most pointed;the bluesy "Murder By Numbers" points very strongly to the jazz based sound Sting would showcase to a fuller extent on his solo debut The Dream of the Blue Turtles,an album I highly recommend either right after or...just pick it up along with this;you'll find they play GREAT back to back!. Sadly this album was the swansong for The Police (in my opinion they should've continued throughout the 80s) but Sting's strong musical ego had begun to grow beyond the group at this point and the resulting in fighting resulted in the bands breakup shortly after 'Syncronicity' came out. But outside of Peter Gabrial this is perhaps one of the best examples of advanced,superbly polished 80's pop-rock one could find and I highly recommend this to.....anyone who really enjoys great music!
WOW.. 2008-02-25
..(Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings)..(F haters..)tHis album's worth studyiNg..African sounding stuff (Sang "King of Pain" to My lawyers..)in "Walking In Your FootSteps"..Yo..I Mature leaps and bounds..
The Police - Put Out Their Best Album And Then Call It Quits 2008-01-08
To my ears this is the pinnacle of The Police's recorded output. I really think every song here is great and the title track "Synchronicity II" remains my all time favorite Police composition, and some of the best lyrics Sting has ever written. Everything comes together on this disc as The Police don't stick to a formula but continue to evolve their sound into what would unfortunately become their final album. More huge, huge hits came from this one including one of their biggest "Every Breath You Take", a song that many people took for a love song, but really contains a much darker sinister plot. The Police had become a football stadium band by the time this album came out and could literally play any size venue that they wanted. They truly went out at the top of their game with their best album and most successful tour. It is good to have them back on the road again in 2007.
The Police's last and best album 
2007-11-29
Synchronicity is the last full-length studio recording from the Police, the final evolution of their sound, and the album that yielded their greatest success. It is a brilliant pop record, but it's something more, as well. The singles, particularly "Every Breath You Take," "King of Pain," and "Wrapped Around Your Finger," while pure gems by themselves, are an integral part of the album's musical and lyrical texture. As the title indicates, the album's intellectual content is inspired by C.G. Jung's psychosocial connecting principle and it manifests lyrically in some of the most evocative imagery Sting has ever created. Musically, the band defines a sonic space with arrangements that are often spare to the point of transparency. The songs are constructed from delicate arpeggios and eerie washes of guitar, sinuous keyboard lines, solid, repetitive bass figures, and the signature Stewart Copeland drum sound, all topped by Sting's voice moving through a wide range of pitch and sentiment.
Synchronicity is a collection that creates and sustains a mood in the sensitive listener, a feeling that remains after the last note has died away. A benchmark album from a tremendously influential band, it will stand the test of time as a genuine classic.
--Al Massa
Great ..... but not a Police album 2007-08-29
If you listen for a while to The Police, there is no question this is a very important band in the evolution of rock. The Police married punk, reggae, and new wave and turned into something unique and never duplicated.
Still, the influence of the band lives on for many reasons. One is the incredible musicianship of the band. Each band member was a great musician, and there is something to be learned about songcraft in listening to The Police. Drummers, guitarists, bassists, vocalists -- all have plenty of lessons to learn listening to The Police.
Anyway, that is why is hard to call this record a Police album. More than any other record, this album sounds like Sting dictating the content, with the other band members doing his bidding. In the case of Andy Summers, there are long stretches where he simply disappears altogether from the sound.
One can only imagine there was a battle going on. At the same time Eddie Van Halen was fighting David Lee Roth's rejection of Eddie's growing keyboard fetish, Sting was trying to render Summers contribution irrelevant by taking over harmonic duties previously provided brilliantly by Summers' guitar with Sting's new keyboard toys.
Now, listening back, one could see this coming slowly. Hits like "Everything She Does Is Magic" and "Don't Stand So Close To Me" are pretty heavy on the keyboard. Not to mention the incredible overmix of the bass that also suggests Sting's ego outgrowing the band.
I believe this is a Sting album in Police clothing. If so, it is certainly Sting's greatest album by a long shot. But, with due respect to what The Police are about, I do not believe this is a true Police album.
Still a fantastic album that should be owned certainly by any serious songwriter who is interested in what moves the pop masses.
One final note -- Sting is often mentioned as a great vocalist. I believe this is true, but I do not believe he is a great lyricist like, say, some his countrymen like John Lennon or Roger Waters. Sting's brilliance as a vocalist comes in the phrasing and melody, not in the word choice. Sometimes, the words are a bit silly but the phrasing is incredible. At this best, Sting's lyrics are good, but seem like a sort of strained literary style -- like someone desperate to prove that he reads books.
Regardless, Sting certainly shows incredible polish and discipline in his songwriting in Synchronicity -- which is a high point in Sting's career but sadly not for The Police as a whole.
Everybody Loves A Happy Ending! 2007-08-29
The Police emerged from the punk wave, but they were never really a punk band but initially their sound was rougher and more direct, but they would shortly prove that they were more skilled musicians then any Punk band and also last longer. Their debut album Outlandos d'Amour [Digipak] featured both hard rockers and reggae inspired rock that later became their trademark sound and even titled their sophmore album Reggatta de Blanc [Digipak] (i.e White Reggae). On their third album Zenyatta Mondatta [Digipak] they polished their sound to perfection and it's generally known as their best album. Sting also got into politics and several of the songs on Zenyatta Mondatta had a political meaning, but most importantly they fulfilled their promise and became superstars. One year later in 1981, they released their forth album in 4 years titled Ghost In The Machine [Digipak]. Apart from working constantly in the studio they also had several big tours and the band were exhausted. It was a diffrent album with less of the trademark sound and more jazzy horns and synthesizer beats, the context was deep with some political songs included again. But the album wasn't bad in any way and hits like "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "Spirits In The Material World" talk for themselves.
Police took 1982 off, Sting persued a career in acting and Sumners released a solo album. But the following year they were back again, but "Synchronicity" would be their last album. Quite inevitable when you have three strong personalities in a band where all of them would like to have an impact on the sound and recording and Sting was mostly in charge of the material and was the the leadsinger and best songwriter aswell. However, The title is once again inspired by a theory, this time something that Psychologist Carl Jung wrote. The album itself is nothing short of exellent, but the Reggae sound has almost vannished and been replaced by a more polished Rock sound more typical for it's time with more synthesizers and heavy production. First song, "Synchronicity Part 1" is typical for their new heavy produced sound and is a standout. Synchronicity means: "The experience of having two (or more) things happen coincidentally in a manner that is meaningful to the person or persons experiencing them". Second song "Walking in Your Footsteps" is a tale about a Dinousaur that was extincted and the fear of a nuclear war destroying human kind aswell. It's not too interesting to be honest. "O My God" is about Stings questions his faith in god, he was raised as a Roman Catholic but here he asks why god won't notice his calls and why he can't help the starving poor. Sumners sing the infomous song "Mother" and it's the worst song ever recorded by Police. I guess it's either part of the synchonicity concept or Sumners who was recording the song by himself just wanted to annoy Sting by recording something unbearable. Copeland wrote "Miss Gradenko" but Sting sings the vocals this time. This is obviously another cold war song and pretty good.
"Synchronicity Part 2" another standout with lethal guitar riffs and great hook. It's about a family father's boredom and frustration of modern life and follows the theory from Jung where he and the Lochness Monster are in the same boat...insanity. He's in synchronicity with the monster. "Every Breath You Take" the most famous Police song together with "Roxanne" is an classic that defines a whole generation. The guitar riffs are unforgettable and proves once again how good Sumners was. The song itself is almost an offcial stalking anthem were Sting sings about how's he looking at this ex-girl wherever she is. Not too surprisingly the song reached the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic in 1983. "King Of Pain" was another big hit, but it's actually a song about being depressed and how hard it is to get out of it. Considering how many people that are depressed these days, they should listen to this song and find out that even superstars like Sting had this problem. A very slow, beautiful song with haunting sound called "Wrapped Around Your Finger", the lyrics got alot of metaphors but I think the title more or less means to be attached to someone and to do anything for her. "Tea in the Sahara" sounds more like Stings latter, slower more jazzy numbers. Closer "Murders By Numbers" is about a murderers but it's also metaphors involved. It's slow with a jazzy feeling. I think it would have been better if it was faster with some more trendy arrangements.
Overall, the fifth and the last Police album is great and it feels like a good way of ending an era, it's not only one of their best albums but also they quit on their peak, being the most popular Rock band in the world. The band had accomplished their masterwork and it was time to move on. They started a farewell tour the year after and when it was done they disbanded and all of the members started solo careers. Sting would obviously be the most successful and his debut album The Dream of the Blue Turtles is worth a look if You're further interested in him. In 2007, over 20 years after they disbanded and 24 years since "Synchronicity" was released, the Police announced their reunion. It's uncertain wether there will be new material but a world tour is going on right now. Tonight me and my bestfriend will be attending their concert for their first time!. Hence, the reason why I decided to review all of their 5 albums. There is no better way for me then to just applause them for 5 splendid albums and enjoy the reunion concert.
great album with new great sound. 2007-08-16
Maybe the great album from this band, the sound in this format it's amazing, there is "space" for all instruments and voice. A step ahead in sound development.
Synchro-cooooool 2007-08-04
Just back from the concert reunion in Chicago and had to re-new my love for this band by running out and getting some DVDs. Synchronicity is simply put, awwwwwsome! I agree with some of the other posts, why have the back-up singers featured so much? I saw the Police in the 80s in Chicago with a bunch of High School friends, not sure if they were there to pick up chicks and get hammered or watch the show? Never-the-less if your a fan, put this in your DVD collection. I also picked several other Police DVDs and can't wait to play the air drums when the wife and kids are out at Chucky Cheeses! LOL
![Music: Synchronicity [Digipak]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XhIp-RhhL.jpg)
