This song evokes an immediate indelible memory... I was on my honeymoon in Honolulu in March of '83 and woke up in the hotel room with this song on the little clock radio. Immediately knew it was one of the best songs I've heard from The Police. Now, every time I hear this song , it immediately takes me back there...
So much to say… - “Sting and Stewart counterbalancing each other”. Yes! Their style as a rhythm section is very unique and is one of the appeals of The Police to me as a listener. - Alanis Morisette, the track “You Ought to Know” with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass. The bass playing on that piece is GUARANTEED to put a smile on your face. It’s a great tune, too! - I like Sting’s songwriting, bass playing, musicianship, and singing… I LOVE his lyrics. He took that craft to a new level when he went solo. He also improved his singing technique, too. He must have studied both after he left The Police. - “Wrapped Around Your Finger” is the next track. It’s in my Mount Rushmore of Police tracks along with Synchronicity 2
That drum part, snare comes in on the "&" of the 2nd note (in 8ths). It only hits there for the intro of each verse, then on the 2 and 4 of the remaining measures. And, the bass drum, during that verse, hits on the &s of each note; the upbeat. Then shifts to a downbeat for the chorus, then dropping the bass drum for the 2nd part of the bridge. Some incredibly great and subtle changes.
@@manualboyca A great tension/resolution with the bass drum going from the up to down beat as well. Plus, Stewart Copeland can play a simple beat and make it really come to life. One of the best in the game.
Has always been my favourite Police song. I always thought he was singing as if he was that one supernatural force that is responsible for suffering on earth. Things that just happen... sheer bad luck... such is life... or is it? What if some force is responsible for it? It's him, it's his soul up there doing all this... one way to look at it.
I never saw it that way, as him being/feeling responsible for earthly misery! I always interpreted it as him describing what it's like to be so incredibly sensitive to all the suffering and big & little tragedies that surround us every day! BUT - your interpretation is pretty interesting, as well. Just think about Sting's words in their incredible song "Driven To Tears"!
Love seeing your reaction to first time listens to classic songs from our childhood. Songs we have taken for granted all these years. Through you we rediscover how great these songs are. Who says 80's music sucks btw?
You really are the best at this of all the channels out there putting out content like this because you have a great intellectual musical appreciation the others just don’t have…keep up the great content my man !
Without question, one of my very favorite tracks by The Police. Synchronicity is a perfect, CLASSIC album. It ruled 1983 and 1984, and its legacy still continues. Good analysis. Thank you, Sir.
A go to police track for me, when you're done with this album is go earlier and I cannot recommend the album Regatta de Blanc highly enough, as a Copeland demonstration of his amazing drumming it's amazing.
Its so great to see you listening to some of my biggest influences as a teen that shaped me as a musician. From Prefab Sprout to the Police & Sting who are why I became a musician. I knew nothing of them besides Roxanne when at 16 I was dragged by friends to see them on their Ghost & The Machine tour & truly had an epiphany. They were amazing live, just a spiritual moment. I saw then over a dozen time, saw Sting solo numerous times & slept out on the St in NYC to be the the 1st person to get tickets to his first solo show at the Ritz There's so much to say about this Production & you picking up on the polyrhythm's they did as Copeland was borrowing from world music but they also did a lot of editing of KOP to get it to sound this way, stripping things off to get the sparse feel. I love Synchronicity but it also reminds me of the end, they were sucked into the mainstream, the Shea Stadium concert was a side-show & now Every Breath You Take is used for a commercial but I have years of love for the band down to every EQ Hugh Padgham turned on that SSL
It's interesting that you thought this one would be darker compared to the "soft" Every Breath You Take. While this one certainly is on the dark side, Every Breath is darker in my mind when you realize what he is actually singing about.
@@glenndespres5317 - Yes, it's ultimately a stalker song! But hey, _my_ choice of The Strokes' 'Is This It?' probably wasn't the cleverest either, after my now ex-wife had asked me to choose our Wedding Dance music! 😄
It _should_ have 'Tea In The Sahara' on it! 'Murder By Numbers' is actually the song that hadn't been on my LP from '83 but was on the CD I later bought in the 90's 🙂
In this life, if we choose to remain. The "Song Remains the Same", if you want to wear these earthly chains. Get comfortable with growing old and becoming a "King of Pain". Not a huge Police fan but this song is just too good! Peace & Health.
@@jamespaivapaiva4460 😎 I swear I love the humor and personality and love shown by people on this channel, just as much as I love Justin and watching his enthusiastic reactions! If I can't be camping, then I'm happy to spend time here! Oh, and I never was welcome with "the cool kids" in school! Looks to me like we "freaks and geeks" ended up being the REAL cool people!🤓😎😇
Aaah, this song is pure bliss for me. I remember the first time I heard it, my reaction was just like yours J.P, when is Copeland coming in on the offbeat on the snare. A small detail that becomes absolutely brilliant in its context. There is still a lot of good new music being written today (despite what all the bitter gray old men my age say :). BUT......there will never be another The Police. They had a completely unique sound and expression, both individually and together as a band. And then Sting's brilliant songwriting on top of that. The last two records, Ghost In the Machine and Synchronicity are pure class. They were probably the biggest rock band in the world when they broke up in 1983. I didn't realize then how much I would miss new music by The Police
After the song finished I was about to type "wow, this is such a perfect song" and then you basically said that lol. I've loved this song for most of my life but still find new aspects to love and appreciate about it. So glad I got to see it live.
May I suggest an incredibly catchy underrated Police track : Murder by Numbers - very jazzy , think you'll love it Back in the day I think you had to get the cassette in order to hear it - it didn't make the album They were basically fiddling around in the studio and this bit of music magic occurred .
Yes, it's supposedly a first take. It's the last song on later releases of 'Synchronicity' (Hadn't been on my LP from '83) so he may well get to it eventually! 🙂
@@glenndespres5317 - Yes! I remember actually getting a bit of a fright during the first listen of the CD when the Music _hadn't_ finished yet after 'Tea In The Sahara'! 😄
A good song, actually sounds better than I remembered it to be. When I bought the album, which must have been around the time it came out, I thought that some of Sting's lyrics were a bit pretentious, this song included, but it doesn't strike me that way now.
Great reaction/ review ! I love the whole album, but I would have to say that this is my favourite track. I love the chord sequence and the fretless bass sound, and, as you mentioned, the way Stewart comes in on the snare. I would recommend ( if you haven't already watched it ) Sting's recent interview with Rick Beato.
So, my son (now 40), has always called this the nonny car song. I played this album constantly when he was a toddler and nonny car was what he called police car sirens 🚨 🥰🤣
Yes, they kind of reinvented the rock trio, each of them finding new and inventive ways to fill the space between them with sounds and rhythms. And the sometime unexpected spaces they leave create the vibe as much as the notes they play. This was their last and most mature album. Murder By Numbers is similarly tricksy but groovy, cheerfully dark and darkly danceable.
You can chart really an amazing amount of growth in Sting as an artist between the album before this through to Dream of the Blue Turtles. I'm sure Hugh Padgham had a huge impact, but these last two Police albums had such a variety of sound compared with the first three. I feel like Ghost in the Machine straddles the early Police sound with an infusion of the synths, piano, horns, etc., and so I like that album a bit better than this one. Can't really blame Sting for moving on after this one, personal band member issues aside though. This felt like the top of the mountain. Then his next crop of songs hits so differently. Glad I had albums like these in those coming-of-age years. Anyway, I think I heard this song so much then I just kind of take it for granted. To sit back and listen to it intently after a number of years really takes me back.
when he's singing there's a black spot on the sun today, it doesn't mean he's staring at the sun lol. its just to signify that he's feeling bad even though its a sunny day
He means sunspots, which sometimes appear on the sun, and can be interpreted as bad things coming our way, by superstitious people. This is also my favourite Police Song. The song acts like a counterpoint to the hymn “All things bright and beautiful “. God also caused the butterfly to be trapped in a spiders web.
Hi JP. Dave from Across The Ocean. Love this song - and you're right, it's Stewart's drum and percussion style that defines the sound. It's the singles I know best and this was their last before they split. On another channel, each day in July, we are doing our countdown of favourite power trios. It's number 3 today and my choice is... The Police.
I think the little black spot on the sun is a metaphor. The sun reprsents eitger his soul or his energy. With so much sorrow around you how can your soul shine its brightest.
This is the other song off the album that was played. to. death. I haven't heard it in a while, so I don't mind it so much now, but back in the day I would race to switch to a different radio station. It was that over-played. Of course, it's actually a solid tune, with Sting's usual solid lyrics, all wrapped in a tasty 80s sophisti-pop wrapper.
This was another smash number one hit single alongside every breath you take. It’s a testament to the fact that people do occasionally have good taste.
One of my favourite Police tracks. I love the way it starts mellow, then punches in after the first verse. That offset entry reminds me of the Genesis track, Keep It Dark. If you decide to delve into Alanis Morissette's work, DON'T start with Ironic. I'd suggest You Oughta Know ('F' bomb warning), Hands Clean or 21 Things I Want In A Lover.
That track was more rock that I seem to remember - I guess I've always regarded the b-side of "Synchroincity" as very mellow and melancholic overall, like much of Sting's solo career
It's a strange phenomenon, but this song always escapes my radar for quite long periods, but when it suddenly reappears (like it did today through this video), I always react with an excited "Yay!" 😄
This was great! Especially how you interpreted the lyrics! Which admittedly I'd never _really_ paid that much attention to, despite having known this song since the album's release! 😬😄 I remember also wondering back then, as my 13-year-old self, "What the heck does 'Synchronicity' even mean??" (and there was no Google to look it up on either! 😄) - while _nowadays_ I experience it on a daily basis and know too well! 😆 And I'd once tried to cover 'King Of Pain' with my very first band, in the late 80's, and it sounded terrible! 😂 That snare hit comes in on the '4 and' beat, by the way; Copeland loves to confuse us and does a similar thing with the intro fill on 'Spirits In The Material World' (on 'Ghost In The Machine') which starts on the '3' beat 😄 Thank you Justin! 😀🙏
You’re right on the money here about when Sting & Copeland come in. I’ve heard this song a zillion times in the 40 years since it’s release & I can not anticipate where he strikes that drum. It’s like between the words There’s and a. The second time it’s very slightly after Sting’s first word .. not between two words but a hair after he starts to say the word. I don’t know music theory as I should but I’ve been singing & dancing (sometimes teaching dance) since I was 4, so I have a good sense of music (musicality) & this feels complex. I think it’s deliberate - the slightly off striking of that drum.. but coming into that verse, as a singer, it’s tough. I’d have to listen to myself internally and ignore that strike because I think it’s meant to startle the listener - but it’s definitely odd.
Ok, I get why that drum I was just talking about throws me. This is interesting. When a singer comes in from an intro, and especially when there’s a pause or a rest like that, there’s a musical cue to listener and singer that says “here’s where the voice comes in.” These cues can be subtle or ridiculously obvious (the latter is usually to help a bad singer like when an actor is fed a line from off stage.). This is just a very standard way songs are set up and unconsciously we expect this- what they’re doing there subverts that expectation deliberately. It’s cool if you can pull it off.. which they can.
Synchronicity II, King Of Pain, and Invisible Sun are the very best tracks by The Police, but there are a dozen more that rank just underneath. You should TRULY check out Weird Al Yankovic's parody King Of Suede.
Stewie brings the thrak. I thought you might be disappointed at how this began rather sedated. I’m glad it ramped up to full fledged painful tones. I loved this song much more when it emerged but lost it’s luster when overplayed. Thank you for bumping it slightly back towards the shiny. Be weller. Maybe jam… might help.
@David Olivares - I'm sorry to hear this great song got overplayed for you! To _me_ it's always been one of those Police songs that pop up once in a Blue Moon and after having been completely off my radar meanwhile 😀
Great review Justin! The Police have a lot of depth. Just great music, thus, why they are on your channel. Your music reviews have no match IMHO. I mean, who would play "Romantic Warrior" from RTF. Uhhhh, you did!
Confession. I'm not a big fan of the Police. They've got some really good songs, but overall, not a huge fan. But this is my favorite song of theirs. Very powerful. And yes, definitely check out Alanis. Her song Thank U is another amazingly, powerful track.
Alanis Morrisette: You must do an album runthrough of Jagged Little Pill. At least start with the opening track, All I Really Want, and decide from there if you wish to continue.
Like virtually the entire album, it's a fairly common song from that era, which without The Police (with their distinctive sound and playing as well as Sting's unique timbre) would have fallen into oblivion. Ok, the playing, the interpretation and the arrangements are unparalleled but still I find that all of this is quite conventional and anyway, we are far from the ardor and carelessness of the first albums. Even Ghost in the Machine, which was beginning to be dominated by Sting and felt less like a group work, was more interesting and less predictable.
@@jimhardiman3836 I agree. Ghost in the Machine is a good compromise between the freshness of the first three albums and the more adult and watered down side of Synchronicity.
This song is really good - it makes me thing about what Genesis was recording at the time - it could have influenced their future work. If you put "King of Pain" next to the song "Invisible Touch", there are similar musical lines between the two.
I've had a long enough break from it to enjoy it again (to hear it properly instead of just "hearing a summary" that falls off into some kind of background). It helped that it's in a reaction of yours. Related to the spam of the other day, if you get in the mood for something with elements of a long-lost time, when the music most people heard had some piano in it (and if you're lucky, some violin, too), try this version of *Before the Helmets - by Major Parkinson* ruclips.net/video/bNjCuPgXmmw/видео.html (It's what Liszt would've sounded like if he had a rock band, and they went unplugged for a show. Very dynamic. Very moving. And also very literate.)
There's a Rush song that you should react to that has kind of a similar sounding part like the chorus of this song(guitar wise), called "Middletown Dreams", and it came out roughly around the same time as this. It's the second part of the second verse, after the chorus. Every time I hear this song I think of it. Great song. ruclips.net/video/VCDn9sORSA0/видео.html
It's ok. A pleasant enough tune, a little dour, and far from their most rambunctious single, but alright. And though never a fave of mine, I think it did well chart-wise. Ok bordering on meh...
@@Katehowe3010 Yeah, tune-wise deffo a little staid, I much prefer their uptempo numbers. I think this was lauded more cos of the lyrics, which I hardly pay attention to anyway 😱. To me jjust another song about some celebs/muso's failed relationship... As if there aren't enough of those already, ha.
"A skeleton choking on a crust of bread" never loses its impact on me.
My favorite song ever
Copeland always brings something different as the song unfolds. He's probably my favorite drummer of the 80's
I loved his Rhythmatist (a soundtrack for a documentary apparently).
I put Copeland in his own category.
@@Grizazzle Every little thing he does is magic.
Best of all time in my opinion.
This song evokes an immediate indelible memory...
I was on my honeymoon in Honolulu in March of '83 and woke up in the hotel room with this song on the little clock radio.
Immediately knew it was one of the best songs I've heard from The Police.
Now, every time I hear this song , it immediately takes me back there...
The magic of Music! 😊
I did t realize how good the song was till I grew up.
Great guitar work in the chorus by Andy Summers. I think he is still very underrated.
So much to say…
- “Sting and Stewart counterbalancing each other”. Yes! Their style as a rhythm section is very unique and is one of the appeals of The Police to me as a listener.
- Alanis Morisette, the track “You Ought to Know” with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass. The bass playing on that piece is GUARANTEED to put a smile on your face. It’s a great tune, too!
- I like Sting’s songwriting, bass playing, musicianship, and singing… I LOVE his lyrics. He took that craft to a new level when he went solo. He also improved his singing technique, too. He must have studied both after he left The Police.
- “Wrapped Around Your Finger” is the next track. It’s in my Mount Rushmore of Police tracks along with Synchronicity 2
Co-signed! I also really love Sting’s “Fortress Around Your Heart”
@@sarahzentexas - Sting's very first solo album still is my favourite of his, and I absolutely love that song, too! 😊
Haven't heard this song in years. It is amazing. A masterpiece.
That drum part, snare comes in on the "&" of the 2nd note (in 8ths). It only hits there for the intro of each verse, then on the 2 and 4 of the remaining measures.
And, the bass drum, during that verse, hits on the &s of each note; the upbeat. Then shifts to a downbeat for the chorus, then dropping the bass drum for the 2nd part of the bridge. Some incredibly great and subtle changes.
exactly - we expect the snare to be on the first word of the verse (There's), but it's on the second word (a) (the upbeat of 4). Brilliant!
@@manualboyca A great tension/resolution with the bass drum going from the up to down beat as well. Plus, Stewart Copeland can play a simple beat and make it really come to life. One of the best in the game.
@@manualboyca - Yes, it's the '4 and' beat, not '2 and' 😊
Has always been my favourite Police song.
I always thought he was singing as if he was that one supernatural force that is responsible for suffering on earth. Things that just happen... sheer bad luck... such is life... or is it? What if some force is responsible for it? It's him, it's his soul up there doing all this... one way to look at it.
I never saw it that way, as him being/feeling responsible for earthly misery! I always interpreted it as him describing what it's like to be so incredibly sensitive to all the suffering and big & little tragedies that surround us every day!
BUT - your interpretation is pretty interesting, as well. Just think about Sting's words in their incredible song "Driven To Tears"!
Love seeing your reaction to first time listens to classic songs from our childhood. Songs we have taken for granted all these years. Through you we rediscover how great these songs are. Who says 80's music sucks btw?
You really are the best at this of all the channels out there putting out content like this because you have a great intellectual musical appreciation the others just don’t have…keep up the great content my man !
The 'The Charismatic Voice' channel is also very good! Her and Justin are the two who actually go more into the details! 😀👍
Great reaction. I've always felt this song was about a person suffering from extreme empathy.
Alanis Morrisette does a really good cover of this brilliant song
Without question, one of my very favorite tracks by The Police. Synchronicity is a perfect, CLASSIC album. It ruled 1983 and 1984, and its legacy still continues. Good analysis. Thank you, Sir.
A go to police track for me, when you're done with this album is go earlier and I cannot recommend the album Regatta de Blanc highly enough, as a Copeland demonstration of his amazing drumming it's amazing.
JP started RDB but stopped after It’s Alright With You. Four of the next five tracks on the album, IMO, are great!
it`s their best, imo
@@hosehead58 - I agree! And my veeery close #2 is 'Zenyatta Mondatta' 🙂
These are three massively talented musicians! Great song 👍🏻👍🏻
My theme song for 1983! 😄
Its so great to see you listening to some of my biggest influences as a teen that shaped me as a musician. From Prefab Sprout to the Police & Sting who are why I became a musician. I knew nothing of them besides Roxanne when at 16 I was dragged by friends to see them on their Ghost & The Machine tour & truly had an epiphany. They were amazing live, just a spiritual moment. I saw then over a dozen time, saw Sting solo numerous times & slept out on the St in NYC to be the the 1st person to get tickets to his first solo show at the Ritz
There's so much to say about this Production & you picking up on the polyrhythm's they did as Copeland was borrowing from world music but they also did a lot of editing of KOP to get it to sound this way, stripping things off to get the sparse feel.
I love Synchronicity but it also reminds me of the end, they were sucked into the mainstream, the Shea Stadium concert was a side-show & now Every Breath You Take is used for a commercial but I have years of love for the band down to every EQ Hugh Padgham turned on that SSL
It's interesting that you thought this one would be darker compared to the "soft" Every Breath You Take. While this one certainly is on the dark side, Every Breath is darker in my mind when you realize what he is actually singing about.
Hah! True! 😀
Sting said that himself. Found it odd that people played it at weddings.
@@glenndespres5317 - Yes, it's ultimately a stalker song! But hey, _my_ choice of The Strokes' 'Is This It?' probably wasn't the cleverest either, after my now ex-wife had asked me to choose our Wedding Dance music! 😄
Oh yes the memories come flooding back... Really appreciate you. Thanks for sharing.
Justin - is "Tea in the Sahara" on this album - some versions have it as the final track and some don't. Either way....it's a must-hear!
It _should_ have 'Tea In The Sahara' on it! 'Murder By Numbers' is actually the song that hadn't been on my LP from '83 but was on the CD I later bought in the 90's 🙂
@@mightyV444 oh yeah -- you're right! It's been so long, I forgot about Murder by Numbers. Cheers!
@@manualboyca - You're welcome! 😊 Not a bad song either, but to _me_ it always sounds like a bit of a 'misfit', in context with the rest of the album.
@@mightyV444 Yeah it was a bonus track, not ever really in the true running order as intended.
@@eboethrasher - Yes, a bonus track is exactly what that song feels like to me, too! 🙂
In this life, if we choose to remain. The "Song Remains the Same", if you want to wear these earthly chains. Get comfortable with growing old and becoming a "King of Pain". Not a huge Police fan but this song is just too good! Peace & Health.
Nicely done! I always count on you to have cool comments! You, and a couple or 3 other JustJP fans!
@@MissAstorDancer It's where all the 'cool' kids hang, thank you Miss A.
@@jamespaivapaiva4460 😎
I swear I love the humor and personality and love shown by people on this channel, just as much as I love Justin and watching his enthusiastic reactions! If I can't be camping, then I'm happy to spend time here!
Oh, and I never was welcome with "the cool kids" in school! Looks to me like we "freaks and geeks" ended up being the REAL cool people!🤓😎😇
@@MissAstorDancer All our life, we attend the real school. And you are head of the class, a real cool, jewel. Peace.
@@jamespaivapaiva4460 😊😘
Aaah, this song is pure bliss for me. I remember the first time I heard it, my reaction was just like yours J.P, when is Copeland coming in on the offbeat on the snare. A small detail that becomes absolutely brilliant in its context. There is still a lot of good new music being written today (despite what all the bitter gray old men my age say :). BUT......there will never be another The Police. They had a completely unique sound and expression, both individually and together as a band. And then Sting's brilliant songwriting on top of that. The last two records, Ghost In the Machine and Synchronicity are pure class. They were probably the biggest rock band in the world when they broke up in 1983. I didn't realize then how much I would miss new music by The Police
I’ve been waiting for you to do this song and you’ve finally did it.
Nice insight on how he sees the little black spot on the giant ball of light, it demonstrates his perspective and focus.
Surprised he didn’t mention Jupiter’s spot but that’s just me.
After the song finished I was about to type "wow, this is such a perfect song" and then you basically said that lol. I've loved this song for most of my life but still find new aspects to love and appreciate about it. So glad I got to see it live.
May I suggest an incredibly catchy underrated Police track : Murder by Numbers - very jazzy , think you'll love it
Back in the day I think you had to get the cassette in order to hear it - it didn't make the album
They were basically fiddling around in the studio and this bit of music magic occurred .
Yes, it's supposedly a first take. It's the last song on later releases of 'Synchronicity' (Hadn't been on my LP from '83) so he may well get to it eventually! 🙂
Really. So glad is was the cassette I bought when it came out! Love that song.
@@glenndespres5317 - Yes! I remember actually getting a bit of a fright during the first listen of the CD when the Music _hadn't_ finished yet after 'Tea In The Sahara'! 😄
The bridge in King of Pain is one of the greatest bridges EVER. Pure magic!
A good song, actually sounds better than I remembered it to be. When I bought the album, which must have been around the time it came out, I thought that some of Sting's lyrics were a bit pretentious, this song included, but it doesn't strike me that way now.
“That’s my soul up there”….what a line.
Lyrically, musically, you name it, this really is one of the stand-out songs by this group.
Reggie White #92 King of Pain. Back in day heard dj dedicate this song to him. 1983
Great review. I didn't realize about the shift in the drumming. I'm learning things.
Probably one of the best songs ever - it has an amazing beat and love the lyrics.
Great reaction/ review ! I love the whole album, but I would have to say that this is my favourite track. I love the chord sequence and the fretless bass sound, and, as you mentioned, the way Stewart comes in on the snare. I would recommend ( if you haven't already watched it ) Sting's recent interview with Rick Beato.
So, my son (now 40), has always called this the nonny car song. I played this album constantly when he was a toddler and nonny car was what he called police car sirens 🚨 🥰🤣
Just a stunning album chock full of stunning songs... Keep on Rocking.
One of my favorite songs in this album.
Yes, they kind of reinvented the rock trio, each of them finding new and inventive ways to fill the space between them with sounds and rhythms. And the sometime unexpected spaces they leave create the vibe as much as the notes they play. This was their last and most mature album. Murder By Numbers is similarly tricksy but groovy, cheerfully dark and darkly danceable.
Favorite song off this album. Great reaction.
One of their very best tune!
You can chart really an amazing amount of growth in Sting as an artist between the album before this through to Dream of the Blue Turtles. I'm sure Hugh Padgham had a huge impact, but these last two Police albums had such a variety of sound compared with the first three. I feel like Ghost in the Machine straddles the early Police sound with an infusion of the synths, piano, horns, etc., and so I like that album a bit better than this one. Can't really blame Sting for moving on after this one, personal band member issues aside though. This felt like the top of the mountain. Then his next crop of songs hits so differently. Glad I had albums like these in those coming-of-age years. Anyway, I think I heard this song so much then I just kind of take it for granted. To sit back and listen to it intently after a number of years really takes me back.
when he's singing there's a black spot on the sun today, it doesn't mean he's staring at the sun lol. its just to signify that he's feeling bad even though its a sunny day
A little black spot on his retina today… same as yesterday.
He means sunspots, which sometimes appear on the sun, and can be interpreted as bad things coming our way, by superstitious people.
This is also my favourite Police Song. The song acts like a counterpoint to the hymn “All things bright and beautiful “. God also caused the butterfly to be trapped in a spiders web.
I always enjoyed Sting and the Police. I actually saw them at MSG in New York in 2007 then I saw Genesis same year.
Hi JP. Dave from Across The Ocean. Love this song - and you're right, it's Stewart's drum and percussion style that defines the sound. It's the singles I know best and this was their last before they split. On another channel, each day in July, we are doing our countdown of favourite power trios. It's number 3 today and my choice is... The Police.
I think the little black spot on the sun is a metaphor. The sun reprsents eitger his soul or his energy. With so much sorrow around you how can your soul shine its brightest.
Another reason why The Police are in the greatest ever category.
Cool tune! Not sure if it's been mentioned before but Andy Summers has collaborated with Robert Fripp. The album I Advanced Mask.
This song has been imprinted on my brain since I first heard it when I was 9.
This is the other song off the album that was played. to. death. I haven't heard it in a while, so I don't mind it so much now, but back in the day I would race to switch to a different radio station. It was that over-played. Of course, it's actually a solid tune, with Sting's usual solid lyrics, all wrapped in a tasty 80s sophisti-pop wrapper.
I saw Sting play this last month in Vegas. Superb show! Go if you can.
This was another smash number one hit single alongside every breath you take. It’s a testament to the fact that people do occasionally have good taste.
Best song from Police 😊
One of my favourite Police tracks. I love the way it starts mellow, then punches in after the first verse. That offset entry reminds me of the Genesis track, Keep It Dark.
If you decide to delve into Alanis Morissette's work, DON'T start with Ironic. I'd suggest You Oughta Know ('F' bomb warning), Hands Clean or 21 Things I Want In A Lover.
From a time when it was absolutely okay for songs to have such long intros! OMD's 'Maid Of Orleans' comes to my mind in that respect, too 😊
Never enjoy the song as much as I am right now thank you love you
That track was more rock that I seem to remember - I guess I've always regarded the b-side of "Synchroincity" as very mellow and melancholic overall, like much of Sting's solo career
It's a strange phenomenon, but this song always escapes my radar for quite long periods, but when it suddenly reappears (like it did today through this video), I always react with an excited "Yay!" 😄
Might be my favorite Police song.
This is my favorite song on Synchronicity.
This was great! Especially how you interpreted the lyrics! Which admittedly I'd never _really_ paid that much attention to, despite having known this song since the album's release! 😬😄 I remember also wondering back then, as my 13-year-old self, "What the heck does 'Synchronicity' even mean??" (and there was no Google to look it up on either! 😄) - while _nowadays_ I experience it on a daily basis and know too well! 😆 And I'd once tried to cover 'King Of Pain' with my very first band, in the late 80's, and it sounded terrible! 😂 That snare hit comes in on the '4 and' beat, by the way; Copeland loves to confuse us and does a similar thing with the intro fill on 'Spirits In The Material World' (on 'Ghost In The Machine') which starts on the '3' beat 😄 Thank you Justin! 😀🙏
I mean, not for nothing, but we had dictionaries lol. And libraries!
@@eboethrasher - Good point! I guess even my school (in Germany) would've had an English Dictionary somewhere! 😄
You’re right on the money here about when Sting & Copeland come in. I’ve heard this song a zillion times in the 40 years since it’s release & I can not anticipate where he strikes that drum. It’s like between the words There’s and a. The second time it’s very slightly after Sting’s first word .. not between two words but a hair after he starts to say the word. I don’t know music theory as I should but I’ve been singing & dancing (sometimes teaching dance) since I was 4, so I have a good sense of music (musicality) & this feels complex. I think it’s deliberate - the slightly off striking of that drum.. but coming into that verse, as a singer, it’s tough. I’d have to listen to myself internally and ignore that strike because I think it’s meant to startle the listener - but it’s definitely odd.
Ok, I get why that drum I was just talking about throws me. This is interesting. When a singer comes in from an intro, and especially when there’s a pause or a rest like that, there’s a musical cue to listener and singer that says “here’s where the voice comes in.” These cues can be subtle or ridiculously obvious (the latter is usually to help a bad singer like when an actor is fed a line from off stage.). This is just a very standard way songs are set up and unconsciously we expect this- what they’re doing there subverts that expectation deliberately. It’s cool if you can pull it off.. which they can.
Synchronicity II, King Of Pain, and Invisible Sun are the very best tracks by The Police, but there are a dozen more that rank just underneath. You should TRULY check out Weird Al Yankovic's parody King Of Suede.
Stewie brings the thrak.
I thought you might be disappointed at how this began rather sedated. I’m glad it ramped up to full fledged painful tones.
I loved this song much more when it emerged but lost it’s luster when overplayed. Thank you for bumping it slightly back towards the shiny.
Be weller. Maybe jam… might help.
Tend to go for marmalade myself.
@David Olivares - I'm sorry to hear this great song got overplayed for you! To _me_ it's always been one of those Police songs that pop up once in a Blue Moon and after having been completely off my radar meanwhile 😀
@@mightyV444
Part of it was my own fault.
@@maruad7577
Reflections of my morning cuppa.
Great review Justin! The Police have a lot of depth. Just great music, thus, why they are on your channel. Your music reviews have no match IMHO. I mean, who would play "Romantic Warrior" from RTF. Uhhhh, you did!
I knew this song but not the name. Definitely a good one for me.
Not the biggest Lady Gaga Fan but you have to check out her singing King of pain with sting live it's just brilliant..
Side 1 of this album is flawless. Just listen to all side 1 🔥
Confession. I'm not a big fan of the Police. They've got some really good songs, but overall, not a huge fan. But this is my favorite song of theirs. Very powerful. And yes, definitely check out Alanis. Her song Thank U is another amazingly, powerful track.
Really great song. Thankfully, The Police went out with a bang. On the final two tracks you almost find yourself on a Sting solo-album already.
Sting did very well as a solo artist.
great song
Alanis Morrisette: You must do an album runthrough of Jagged Little Pill. At least start with the opening track, All I Really Want, and decide from there if you wish to continue.
It is a fairly iconic album even if she doesn't understand the meaning of irony.
They built their style on reggae, which is off the normal beat.
This was a hit single in the U.K. Yet The Police managed to smuggle in prog touches in a pop song.
Can't go wrong with The Police!
You should absolutely check out Alannis Morrissette. Many many really good songs i think you would enjoy.
Like virtually the entire album, it's a fairly common song from that era, which without The Police (with their distinctive sound and playing as well as Sting's unique timbre) would have fallen into oblivion. Ok, the playing, the interpretation and the arrangements are unparalleled but still I find that all of this is quite conventional and anyway, we are far from the ardor and carelessness of the first albums. Even Ghost in the Machine, which was beginning to be dominated by Sting and felt less like a group work, was more interesting and less predictable.
Ghost In The Machine really nicely bridges their earlier styles with a more commercial leaning.
@@jimhardiman3836 I agree. Ghost in the Machine is a good compromise between the freshness of the first three albums and the more adult and watered down side of Synchronicity.
Nice T-shirt !
I haven’t seen your name here in a while. How have you been?
@@jaybird4093 Fine ! I hope it's the same for you.
❤ ❤ ❤
I noticed the shirt! are you colombian?
When are you going to react to some post 1985 Rush? Tons of awesome stuff from the second half of their catalog:)
Definitely got at least one nod to Greek mythology in there.
This song is really good - it makes me thing about what Genesis was recording at the time - it could have influenced their future work. If you put "King of Pain" next to the song "Invisible Touch", there are similar musical lines between the two.
Haven’t thought of that. Hmmmm.
And you DO need to hit some Alanis Morrisette. I prefer "Thank U" but she has a lot of great tunes.
good one.
A decent song but I prefer their first three or four albums. Love you
I've had a long enough break from it to enjoy it again (to hear it properly instead of just "hearing a summary" that falls off into some kind of background). It helped that it's in a reaction of yours.
Related to the spam of the other day, if you get in the mood for something with elements of a long-lost time, when the music most people heard had some piano in it (and if you're lucky, some violin, too), try this version of *Before the Helmets - by Major Parkinson* ruclips.net/video/bNjCuPgXmmw/видео.html (It's what Liszt would've sounded like if he had a rock band, and they went unplugged for a show. Very dynamic. Very moving. And also very literate.)
There's a Rush song that you should react to that has kind of a similar sounding part like the chorus of this song(guitar wise), called "Middletown Dreams", and it came out roughly around the same time as this. It's the second part of the second verse, after the chorus. Every time I hear this song I think of it. Great song.
ruclips.net/video/VCDn9sORSA0/видео.html
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 ...
I love this band. Always hated that they named the band "The Police." They are better than that.
Copeland is the king of syncopation or playing on the offbeat....
barb trumans own eyes
bradleys skinned knees stops and cries
scott richardson lies
But why would a skeleton be eating bread in the first place?
No, you don't need to react to Alanis.😄
Alanis would be a jagged pill to take.
@@bobholtzmann...isn't that ironic? No, no it isn't ironic st all.😉
Live version is much better
Stewart Copeland is the GOAT of drummers.
Kind of song that ruined the 80s.
It's ok. A pleasant enough tune, a little dour, and far from their most rambunctious single, but alright. And though never a fave of mine, I think it did well chart-wise. Ok bordering on meh...
@@Katehowe3010 Yeah, tune-wise deffo a little staid, I much prefer their uptempo numbers. I think this was lauded more cos of the lyrics, which I hardly pay attention to anyway 😱. To me jjust another song about some celebs/muso's failed relationship... As if there aren't enough of those already, ha.
The singer Sting's wife left him before this song. He decided to to join the band and this song came out.
wait... what.... you never listened to Alanis? Oh boy, are you in for a treat when you listen to her album: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagged_Little_Pill