The Police, "Synchronicity"

Ken is released on his own recognizance

, and

Jun 22, 2022

Ken’s Pitch:

Here in Massachusetts, we officially celebrated Juneteenth for the first time this week. Our kids had the day off school and all government agencies were given a one-day reprieve as well. It’s an important holiday that should be held in the same regard as July 4th, yet only 18 of our 50 states chose to observe it. We’re a great country that has deep scars from past (and some current) atrocities, but what makes us great is that we (most of us, anyway) are always trying to become better and more inclusive. Juneteenth is a reminder of a dark chapter in American history and should serve as a wake-up call that even in 2022, we need to understand that all people are created equal, no matter the color of their skin, who they worship or don’t worship, or who they love.

The summer of 2020 brought protests to many parts of this country; stores and buildings were destroyed, people were killed, and hundreds were arrested. On January 6, 2021 a coup was attempted at the US Capitol where parts of buildings were destroyed, people were killed and hundreds were arrested. Some people would have you think that these events were the same; they were not. There was a sense of synchronicity though, that was quite apparent.

Carl Jung coined that term in the 1920s to describe events or circumstances that had meaningful connections yet lacked any causal connection. On one hand, both events turned violent; on the other hand, the BLM protests were (mostly) black folks begging and screaming not to be murdered by agents of their own government. They came about solely because of centuries of marginalization, brutality and dehumanization, that so many of us refuse to acknowledge. On the other hand, the Jan 6 rioters were uninformed, mostly privileged white people trying to violently overthrow the United States government simply because they didn’t like the outcome of a legitimate election. They simply had no causal connection and were not the same in the least bit.

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In 1982, things were very much the same as in 1981 in the musical world (at least until Thriller was released in November of 1982). The rock world was leftovers from the ‘70s, with Springsteen delivering a solid effort-even if wasn’t stellar-with Nebraska and Van Halen giving us Diver Down, an album that seemed better at the time than it is now. There was the introduction of a lot of electronic drumming and there were synthesizers galore, including some standout albums by Duran Duran and John Cougar (not yet Mellancamp) and so many others, but I would classify it all as “more of the same”.

But by the summer of 1983, we had been introduced to a young woman from Michigan that simply went by Madonna who turned the pop world upside down, and reintroduced to a well-known trio out of England called The Police, who changed their sound to make their best, and final album, Synchronicity.

While The Police were famous for fusing new wave, rock, punk, and reggae, Synchronicity took it to a new level by adding an intellectual level to both the lyrics and the sound. Their white reggae sound from Outlandos d’Amour and Regatta de Blanc gave way to a more avant-garde sound based on jazz progressions and world-music rhythms. Each of the tracks stands alone as a singular story, and while the storylines differ, from exploring the origins of the word on the album cover in “Synchronicity I” and “Synchronicity II” to some of the more questionable things we do or think after we are jilted in relationships in “Every Breath You Take”, they remain totally connected around the unique sonic experience of the instrumentation and production. Tales of Africa from “Tea in The Sahara” feel right at home next to an homage to the long-lost dinosaurs in “Walking In Your Footsteps”.

In addition to the varying themes of the songs, main songwriter Sting drops in lyrics referencing everything from Jung himself to William Butler Yeats. Homer’s Odyssey makes an appearance in the lovely “Wrapped Around Your Finger” with a reference to Scylla and Charybdis. It’s fun, and if you’re a reader that enjoys that kind of thing, it’s a nod to your vast wealth of literary knowledge. I guess the popularity of “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” in 1980, with its close reference and plot to Nabokov’s “Lolita” got Sting thinking more of the same might not be so bad.

So let’s make room on the Newbury St. shelves for Synchronicity. Sting may be the King of Pain, but all Police aren’t so bad.

CJ’s Response:

“I read books, too. I just don’t brag about it like Sting.”

–Bruce Dickinson, Lead Singer, Iron Maiden

Sure, it’s a cheap shot. But it’s also a clever and accurate dig at a man (and a band) that sometimes take themselves waaaay too seriously. Exhibit A is one of the best-known songs on Synchronicity, the hit single “Wrapped Around Your Finger”. Sting can’t even get through the first two lines of the song without mentioning Scylla and Charybdis, the mythical “rock and a hard place” from Homer’s The Odyssey. He goes on to reference Mephistopheles, another literary name for Satan, as well as “the devil and the deep blue sea”, which is a different kind of Scylla and Charybdis. Of course, the idea of the devil and the deep blue sea comes from a Cab Calloway song and Sting is nothing if not a student of jazz.

Sometimes The Police can’t wait to show you how smart they are and their “are you not impressed?” tone gets in the way of an otherwise excellent song. Luckily, self-satisfaction is the exception rather than the rule on Synchronicity.

The back half of this album is extraordinary. Starting with “Synchronicity II” and proceeding right through the last notes of “Murder by Numbers” (which accurately describes my Calculus II experience in college), the listener is treated to a run of songs that serve as a fitting coda to The Police’s distinguished career as a band. You get a little bit of everything—pop, rock, jazz, reggae—that put them at the forefront of the New Wave era.

I’ve always enjoyed “King of Pain”, “Every Breath You Take” and, even though I made fun of it earlier, “Wrapped Around Your Finger”. It’s got a Mrs. Robinson (the character in The Graduate, not the Simon and Garfunkel song) vibe to it that is inherently sexy.

I’m less enamored of the first half of the album. “Synchronicity I” is far inferior to its sequel. “Walking In Your Footsteps” feels like it should’ve been the soundtrack to a PBS kids show about dinosaurs. And “Mother” is perhaps the worst song we’ve ever covered in our 80+ weeks at EONS.

(What happened on “Mother”? Did Andy Summers bribe a disgruntled studio executive into greenlighting this song? Did Stewart Copeland make a deal with Mephistopheles to get “Miss Grandenko” on the album and this was the payback? Was Sting stuck in a marathon tantric sex session while the rest of the band laid down the tracks? There’s gotta be a Behind the Music episode about this somewhere.)

Despite their pomposity, I’ve always liked The Police. And while Synchronicity may not be my favorite album from the London lads, it’s plenty good enough to grace the halls of Newbury St.

By the way, one of Iron’s Maiden’s most famous songs was inspired by a Tennyson poem about the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. So, I think we’ve got a case of pot and kettle here, Bruce.

Pitch Successful (“Every Breath You Take”: Romantic love song or creepy stalker anthem? Discuss.)

Mitch’s Response:

I was always ambivalent about The Police. I liked their singles well enough, but never considered myself a fan. I owned Ghost in the Machine on vinyl, but lost track of it over the years. I never made any effort to get into The Police, but I never hated them, either. Pure ambivalence.

I was always ambivalent about Sting, too. I thought his first two (jazzy) solo albums were great, and the next three or so were decent. I found his whole tantra schtick to be quite amusing, and I still enjoy seeing the "Sting and Trudie doing yoga with a lute” meme. Like I said, pure ambivalence.

With such little emotional investment in The Police, their breakup didn’t mean much to me. I always assumed that Sting caught a bad case of Lead Singer Disease, Stewart Copeland went all angry American on him, and Old Man Summers was off watching Betamax tapes of Tommy Cooper while steeping a cuppa of PG Tips.

After immersing myself in Synchronicity, I’m completely on Team Sting.

Imagine you’re Sting. You’re bursting with incredible songs. You’re about to make a flawless album. You just killed a giant worm in the desert. And now you have to have a debate with Andy & Stewart about including the songs “Mother” (horrific) and “Miss Gradenko” (not that bad, truthfully) on Synchronicity.

Game, set, match, Sting.

Pitch Successful (not that I actually care if The Police get in)

Ken’s pitch was successful and The Police’s Synchronicity has been added to the Newbury St. Collection!

Please de-do-do-do send a message in a bottle to the comments section about de-da-da-da Police and let us know if Synchronicity sends you walking on the moon or just drives you to tears.

Exile on Newbury St.

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