What Makes This Song Great? "Walking on the Moon" The Police
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- In this episode I break down The Police's timeless hit song "Walking on the Moon" from the 1979 album 'Reggatta De Blanc'.
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He finally brought back the series with one of the best bands ever
Respect 🙏🙏
...keep it up...
Reggie jazola
Amen!
@@robertmasteller6509 eeyo yo yo yo yoooo…
@@justinsayin3979heck yea I would love to see that
Modern songwriters could learn a lot by just studying what ISN'T in this track. The use of space is so refreshing in contrast to today's mixes.
Spot on, as a band, they had an uncanny knack for making the spaces between notes sound great too.
@@melrupinski88 Yes! Thats exactly what i was thinking recently. What’s really great about the new wave sound, is the space that exists in between the notes. Makes it feel dark, deep and blue-ish. Wonderful
Yeah!
Space is so important in pop, and underutilized. Like the second of silence in "Good Vibrations", before the final chorus.
Whole sections where all you really hear are the hats? Never happen today.
High school marching band trip through Italy in 1986, listened to this song maybe 100,000 times, on a yellow “Sports” Walkman. Good times.
Still have my Sports Walkman, i was cool when i got it for Christmas.
Was it the one they advertised to hang from the shower head? 😆
I had the same Sports Walkman back in Argentina in the same year! really good times!
Great time to be alive. Remember what it was like to go to a record store when a new album from a fav band came out? Pure joy!
Core memory
Please keep bringing this series back! I miss it so much!
This is the song that got me 'into' The Police. I remember hearing it on the radio one night in 1979 and thinking, "Man, that's great!". Since then, The Police have been one of my favourite bands. Brilliant.
This song represents a very, very special moment in contemporary music. Nothing quite like it before, or since.....
I was 12 and it was the first 45 rpm I have ever bought. Since then, I have never stopped listening to these great musicians
It's my favorite POLICE song! And I'm so glad that you highlighted it! It's perfect absolutely freaking perfect. And nobody writes songs like this anymore which is a sad sad sad but you know when the police hit the stage I saw them at the tower theater. I've never seen anything like that in my life. They were a bright flame and that burns fast. I mean the Taurus pedals the echo all that stuff man it was bananas. And I was listening to return to forever and weather report and Billy Cobham and Stanley Clarke and all that stuff prior to the police hitting the stage. In high school we played Spain by Chick Corea so it took a lot to really shake me up. But that was the song for me. Thank you so much Rick Beato
The brilliance of leaving space in the recording and drumming for a song called "Walking on the Moon" is so perfect 😀
I am in New York right now, 3 streets from Manny's and listening in awe how all the gadgets made this music come to life. 😍
Somewhere in the mid 1990’s I went on a trip with my then girlfriend to Ouchita state park in Arkansas. One night we were camping on the top of a mountain. It was late and we were relaxing around our campfire. There was a thunderstorm kind of circling the mountain with a great lightning and thunder show in the distance, a cool breeze but not raining. This song came on at the perfect moment during all that and it was one of the most magical moments I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s a great great song. Miss you J.D.
This song always sounds incredible. I’ve heard it hundreds of times and it still amazes me. Only the Police could pull this creative experiment off so brilliantly.
I still remember the first time I heard this song just when it was released ... I was in a shopping centre and it came on the sound system, that guitar chord!!!! I stood stock still and just listened... overwhelmed - It sounded amazing,... otherworldly - I knew it was the Police, of course by the sound. I still love this track to this day. So glad you did a 'What makes this song Great' for Walking on the Moon! Excellent!.
I have always loved the Police (music band) it was 1981 Otter Lake campground in the Poconos.... and haven't stopped listening since.....
One regent, never seeing them live.
I've always loved this song and Rick has shown me how sophisticated it is. the bit with Stewart talking about using echo was amazing.
Thank you, Rick. Thank you, Stingo, Andy, and Stewart, for allowing Rick to use your music, show it off, and elaborate. There is so much in there to unravel and reveal. Amazing talented individuals (musicians, engeneers) coming together to create some of the greateat music ever recorded. God bless you all.
All of those fantastic syncopations created by the drum echoes makes the song keep driving forward even when the bass is just playing long sustained notes. What a joy to hear all of the space in this song but yet it's so busy!
Wow, Rick this is what I think is your best, what makes this song great, you made me hear elements of this song I never knew existed.
I have an even greater appreciation of it than I ever did.
That synth making the bubbly sounds is the Roland GR-500 Guitar Synthesizer. Andy had recently purchased it and was fooling around with it. It's a behemoth but it really added a spacey effect that combined with all the echoes and chorus to make an otherworldly experience. I never get tired of this production.
Love this ! Regatta de Blanc was one of my favorite albums in my teens. Great you have interviewed all the band members. Keep it up !
Glad you brought back this series! Its the reason why I originally subscribed. Not that you don't have a lot of other great content, but this is my favorite!
I love the Police.. freakin great band from beginning to end. I love this song. The high hat work. No one was doing that yet.
I’m an old Police fan, but my first thought was, “Isn’t that first chord in “Hard Day’s Night?”
My boy-friend got me front row tix in 1980, when it was still possible just by camping out, and I still remember what I wore and catching Andy’s eye!🥰 No other concert ever compared!
As a long time bassist, to this day, I really think this one of the greatest bass riffs ever. I still play this 45 years later...yeah, it's simple, but sometimes simple is incredibley effective. Stewart and Andy, of course, lend their genius as well.
I love these. This has always been one of my favorite Police songs. Great breakdown Rick!
I'm glad that you have started WMTSG again! It's great to hear behind the mix. Thank you, Rick
I'm not sure how I feel about you deconstructing one of the songs that kept my sanity through the 80s and 90s, and I mean that. But I'm glad that you recognize it as one of the truly quintessential songs of all time. It is indeed, a classic.
Amazing vocals and no auto-tune...
first album I ever had, still love it.
I love that What Makes This Song Great is back
When you hit that opening chord, what popped into my mind was the Beatles Hard Days Night
Rick!! Awesome. It is the perfect song! Keep them coming my friend. 19:40
In highschool, I once used this song bass riff to ask my then girlfriend to go to homecoming with me, the song was stuck in my head for weeks that’s why I chose it.
She said yes btw.
More “What Makes This Song Great” please Rick.
Jesus! They were Soooo good!
It’s been a hard days night! That first chord sounds just like the one played by the Beatles.
Loved the analysis. Another band that doesn't get the call out it should is Supertramp. More full body arrangements but the more I review the Crime of the Century album I can't help but hear the same amazing qualities. Hide in your Shell has captured me for some reason lately. Would love to hear your take Rick.
Pretty much everything about it, but I particularly love the drumming.
Thank you, Rick!!
Hah funny that you went over this song my band and I just played this live!
Hey Rick! I was wondering if you ever have listened to Fleetwood Mac’s live album The Dance from 1997. I am a big fan of their studio work but something about their live performance is special. In particular Lindsey Buckingham’s guitar work on songs like “I’m so Afraid” is spectacular. Was curious if you ever thought of doing a breakdown of their live music.
Cheers!
ok this was worth it, forensic illumination
Can you take a look at Mandolin Rain Bruce Hornsby? I want to hear your thoughts about the piano being the source of the "groove" in that song.
An "arresting" performance!
🤣😆...😯...⚡🤯⚡
🎹🎹🎸🎹🎹
Did any other Brits get Bananarama 'Venus' pop into their head when Rick played that chord?? 😂
Rick you need to feature a scorpions song in this series!
That chord also sounds like” hard days night”
I'm a guitar player, but when I listen to these guys I can't keep my ears off the drums.
The drumming is mesmerising.
Stewart is amazing
Agreed and same - guitar player myself but the drums (and bass for that matter) grab me with the Police. I guess the only other similar band like that would be Rush, also a three-piece :)
Copeland's drums define the Police's primary sound, followed closely by Sting's bass. Summers guitar rounds it out, but it's nowhere near as important to capturing the Police sound as he would like you to think.
He's like a gracefully drunk gymnast/ballet dancer on meth. All over the place but he never falls over and somehow it all hangs together beautifully. Completely bamboozles my brain listening to it.
Dude...same...amazing drumming
A good example of what Rick has always reminded viewers: "Before there were pro tools, there were pros." The Police were pros.
I hadn't heard this before. I love it. I'm gonna use this.
And before there was autotune, there were people IN tune..just sayin'..
Best quote ever
Pro Tools makes amateurs think they're pros, and think their bedroom is Abbey Road. Some great artists can't produce to save their lives, but their results are actually released.
As an amateur, I can tell, that it’s hard work, to get my ideas into something like a song or track. Struggling with my lack of ability to master my instruments, and to master the software. But it’s fun anyway.
Rick, The Police are the biggest music influence of my life. I decided to become a musician at 16 because of them and the Beatles. Twenty years on, I pay my morgage and my bills by singing opera, far away from home, where I started in my bedroom, listening to The Police and dreaming someday of jumping on the stage with my bass. God bless them, they motivated me all the way through my ups and downs. When I was listening to their music I could feel the energy of a rock band choesion, of art through adversity, of an immortal force that will live on, to quote Andy Summers, "long after the three Police members are all long gone". Sting came to one of my performances last year at the Salzburg Festival where I was singing right in front of him ... and Stewart liked and said "bravo" to my Acustic rendition of Walking on the Moon on Instagram. Not bad, for me, the little Italian who couldn't hold a note for dear life. Life is great, and music lasts a lifetime. Ciao from Austria!
Sting and the police are the reason I learned how to play bass guitar. Huge influence on me growing up. Amazing music.
Nice circle of life, ha❤
A lovely story
How can I become a pro opera singer
@@rachelar hard work, hard work... and some more hard work
It's great that Rick has interviewed all the Police, and not the other way around. 🤣
😂
Bravo 😂
The police would completely beato rick
Ba dum tss
@@Musicarbshey, that’s my story😂😂😂. Rick can’t have it. 😇
Yeah, we need this series to never end.
Rick is a great interviewer... but I like the song is great series the best.
One a week please!!
@@flinx649 I like how he incorporated his interviews into the mix of this, made it even that much better!
Rick teaches me how to listen to songs I’ve heard hundreds of times before.
Agreed. I've been playing music for nearly 40 years. I started off by playing covers that I had to learn from cassette tapes. That meant a lot of focusing on parts, play, rewind, play, and repeat. And because of that I've developed my ear to pick up a lot of things most listeners don't hear. It's actually a very different way to listen to music and often makes it difficult to listen to songs as a whole. That said, with this series that Rick does, I notice how much I still miss.
The stark difference between "listening" and "hearing"
Rick teaches me that he and his fans idolize crap pop 'music' just like Orwell predicted would happen. Tavistock is real.
@@pharmerdavid1432 weird take but ok.
What makes this "what makes this song great" video even greater than others, is the fact that Rick has interviewed the three members of the band and has exclusive insights into the creation, recording and production. No one else can do this!
My thoughts exactly.
I can't believe "what makes this song great" is back! So awesome! Rick has an awesome ear, and he gives you the confidence to attempt to emulate him. Wow that Guitar tone!
Glad to hear 'What makes this song great' is making a return :)
That whole record is pure gold.
Actually it was Vinyl… 🥴
Yea honestly it blew me away in a way which not many albums do
Every song they made is pure gold.
Fixed it for you
Heck yea one of favorites to this day
maybe not “On any other day” lol but the other songs are amazing
In 1978/79 we saw the Police live at Bruce Stadium in Canberra. It was a warm spring evening, we were 'enhanced' and had superb sight and sound. Easilly 10,000+ in audience. They kicked off with Walking On The Moon. The whole place went deadset frikkin nuts. Two hours of bliss. One of the most joyous concerts I ever attended.
Rick Beato belongs in the hall of Fame
No
He's in the Rochester Music Hall of Fame just got Inducted This Year
@@purplebondsaiyan2987 Ra-Cha-Cha
Hall of Fame is No longer worthy of the Best. Was-but not anymore
There should be a Beato Award.
Living in rural Denmark without music stores in the nearest village and Danish State Radio as the only source (on rare occasions) to listen to new music, at 14 years of age I spent some of the first money I earned working at a local car repair shop to buy a transistor radio. And when everyone else on the farm was sleeping, I'd lie i bed, tuning in to Radio Luxembourg. "Walking on the Moon" was one of the first things I heard. It was a revelation. Never heard anything like it. This wasn't your typical 3 or 4-chord pop or rock song. This was... Sophisticated!... Mysterious!... Same for Randy Crawford and the Crusaders playing "Street Life". All these new sounds I had never imagined. "Don't stop til you get enough" by Michael Jackson, "Cars" by Gary Numan, "Is she really going out with him?" by Joe Jackson and the for RL somewhat prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" by Buggles. All within the first few weeks of owning that Blaupunkt transistor radio. I've never smoked anything stronger than tobacco. But those few weeks to months, I was high as a kite!
Damn DUDE; I teared-up reading that! I was a snot-nosed latchkey kid in London at the time. Gary Newman and The Police changed my life, yeah and I LOVE Randy Crawford.
Radio Luxembourg brought forward entire generations of alternative and rock subcultures in former Yugoslavia in the time when western music couldn't be found on the radio or in record stores. Even though those generations were denied many of the freedoms we now take for granted, somehow they still had that joy of discovering music and connecting through music, which, for the most part today, is lost. Except for this channel, and this man right here, Rick.❤
Ohhh what GREAT memories! Randy Crawford is totally mag!
Meeee tooo!
*_Thank you so much_* for sharing that powerful experience of discovery and awe.
@@dancarter482
Ah... memories of RTL. "Sends magic through the air!"
The atmosphere in this song is still unmatched.
Yes! I feel the same way about “Tea In The Sahara”.
Atmosphere?
I thought the song was called walking on the moon.
That guitar riff at the start is like a Time Machine. Straight back.
And when I think about all the hot trash making it in the radio today.....smdh.
The closest I could think of was ‘Dream Weaver’ (Gary Wright)
The speed at which I clicked on the notification….!
My all time fave Police song!!
Same here, I clicked on it and the video had zero comments, then tons of them within seconds!
Same here.
Same!
Agree, one of my absolute favorites if not THE favorite track. There's just something about it! 🎸😎
Mine too! It's so chill and has a little bit of a nostalgic feel to it
Stewart Copeland's minimalist and highly, highly variable drumming is a masterclass on how to say more with less.
Less is definitely relative when you’re Talking about him cuz he was very busy in certain aspects
Uh what? Just the fact the man has a gong says Stuart is NOT a minimalist…..you’re thinking Ringo.
If you watch his Rick Beato interview, he had no idea what Sting and Andy were doing half the time, so he mostly did his own thing and they tended to like it.
i think him and jeff porcaro are the rawest drummers in the business
@@sundaynightdrunk /\ Facts! But seriously, Copeland, in terms of style, is really up there, with Bonham, The Professor, Neale Peart, Jeff Porcaro and Bernard Purdy. At least, in my lifetime, those are the top rated that come to me as really standing out.
Still fresh, 45 years down the road. Amazing.
That's the genius of Sting. His production doesn't age.
I remember Sting one saying "it's not just about the notes you play, but the gaps in between". Perfectly demonstrated here. Wonderful band.
perfectly demonstrated on track bed's too big without you, I mean the gap left by the bass there is one whole measure!
Sting could have been made aware or heard someone like Vladimir Horovitz who was a Master in music being made by the space in-between the notes and can be perfectly seen in black and white by the compositions of Frederick Chopin who's compositions only come to life if space is made between the notes. Glenn Gould ( Bach Goldberg Variations).. Nigel Kennedy ( Vivaldi Seasons) these broke the mould.
Moving to bass in my current group after over 30 years playing guitar has taught me a lot about the value of space, especially in the low end. Nothing muddies up a song like the bass player carrying on like a coked-up Jaco Pastorius.
That 1st chord Andy Summer plays is very similar to the opening chord for Hard Days Night
Was just thinking exact same thing
That hit me as well
Got on here to say the same
Singing: Giant steps are what you take and I've been working like a dog.
@@mikenicholson7465 bwahaha. That interview got me digging thru my old vinyl. Required a trip to the basement to retrieve this one
I have said for 40 years that the drumming in this song is as good as it gets. But I never knew WHY it was so good, or HOW they did it … until today. Thank you Rick for educating me, and a bigger thank you to Stewart Copeland for creating such magic.
I'm 75 years old and it's one of my favourite songs. Have all police CDs.
I had all of their LPS back in the day.
I'm obsessed with the Police and never noticed the synthesiser or piano before. Thank you for enlightening me Mr. beato.
My thought too! I've been listening to this song for 45 years, learned how to play it for a band I was in, and never noticed the synth!
I noticed the pad but never thought much of it, never noticed those sci fi noises before.
18:15 how could we have never noticed that warble! Incredible
Same here never knew
So glad to see this series back! Hearing Stewart Copeland isolated makes my entire week. 🥁
Love how every instrument has their own space, nobody is interfering with anyone else!
That's a good point, especially on such a sparse, uncluttered piece of music.
This song is all about space…
@@andercoyote4170😂
@@andercoyote4170 😏
Exactly.. That's the genius and discipline of musicians who put the arrangement and the song first, the musicians themselves are humble enough to see themselves as mere conduits to the song, as 'enablers' and 'facilitators' to the song, without ego getting in the way.
When I first heard this song I was 22 yrs. old. Of course I was at a party in 79, I looked around the group of people I was with and nobody reacted to this great song! I told myself I have to find some new friends. Thank You.
good call.
The drums on this song are so cool.
0:17 . . . “ITS BEEN A HARD DAY’S NIGHT!”
The bass on Walking on the Moon is just sublime, the drumming as well. Incredibly composed to say the least.
It was the second song I learned on bass and it's one of my favorites.
And the great Sting with his great and unique voice
@@demian900 of course! 😉🙌🏼
I had to figure out the baseline too… on the piano
Sting has said he was drunk in a hotel room when the riff came into his head. He started singing 'Walking round the room, ya, ya, walking round the room" - had to share, once you hear that - you never forget it.
Walking round, walking round the rooom
In Munich, apparently 😊
It’s an odd song. Unique to my ears.
I've been drunk lots of times and never devised anything this brilliant!
The ‘Walking back from your house’ lyric was in reference to a thought about Stings previous girlfriend in Newcastle. He said in 2003 Deborah Anderson was my first real girlfriend...walking back from Deborah's house in those early days would eventually become a song, for being in love is to be relieved of gravity.
Regatta de blanc is a masterpiece. Every song.
Exactly.
After all of these years, the music of the police still sound like magic
Abbbbsolutely ❤❤❤❤
What makes Rick great is his ability to discuss music in an interesting way
For me, it's the best drumming of Stewart's career. He does so much with so little.
so little? - he's playing 32nds.....(well the echo makes it sound like that...)
I would bicycle through the tunnel of the Rijsmuseum in Amsterdam yelling out Police chants "E-Oh E-Oh Yo Yo" in 1980. Great reverb tunnel.
E-Oh E-Oh E-Yo-Yo……. 😊
Yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo YEAAAAAAAH 🎉🎉🎉
Steinberger stick bass ?
RIIIGHT!!!!😂😂❤❤❤
One of my favorite Police songs of all time.
45 years after Regatta came out -- it's still absolutely perfect. Everything about it. Stuart's drumming on Walking On The Moon -- Foundational, generational......I run out of adjectives. My 16 year old self remains speechless and grateful beyond words. Thank you, Mr. Beato, for interviewing all three.
Wow, all these years hearing this song and never noticed that synth. Beato, you are the best.
“What’s amazing is that there is so much space in the arrangement.” Yes. I’m so glad to see this series come back, and this is a great song to kick-start it with. Thanks, Rick.
It sounds as fresh, and as original, as it did in 1979, with each band member making his own distinctive contribution. Although relatively simple in its arrangement and production, it could only The Police. Rick's interviews were fascinating, often hilarious and very revealing of how on band struggled to contain so much talent.
Thank the maker you have brought this series back, my god the internet has been a wasteland without this series.
This is some of the best quality content online.
Please more of this, Rick.
I don’t believe in perfection, but the Police’s music is perfect.
My friend , I agree completely with you. Perfect music = police.
One of my fav’ jam tunes by The Police: “Voices Inside My Head.”
Soloing over it is fun, practicing sneaking in modalities.
But I’ll even dance to it, over-and-over.
I’ll even pass cars on the highway to it.
It’s infectious!
Same with "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around", right after it. Zenyatta Mondatta is a great jamming album and "Voices..." is for sure one of the best tracks on it!
Tschak……
I dreamed of videos like this when I was a 15 year old listening to this on headphones, trying to figure out what The Police were doing to create this magic. Thank you, Rick!
Really great hearing the multi-tracks to this iconic song. Love The Police!
I like it when he says " did you hear that?" , then he singles out the track and I say " now I do" . then that part stands out more than anything else
The Police were ahead of their time. So grateful each member sat with Rick Beato to talk music and song writing. Other bands would be wise to follow The Police, again.
Rick is like his own industry. As you say, every band that wants to remain relevant should contact Rick.
The Eagles have not entered the chat.
That album is a masterpiece, and that song elevates simplicity to an artform.
as a 2011, 13 year old, this music is a lot better than whatever pop music is being produced right now.
The most reggae song they did was "The Bed's Too Big Without You" from the same album.
I'll never forget the first time I heard "Walking". I had convinced my mom to give me some money to buy Regatta de Blanc, and I was excitedly listening to it on the turntable. Before the first measure of Walking even finished, I was transfixed. It's so deeply mysterious, melodic, and rhythmic, I was just instantly hooked.
White reggae at its best
@@jimmoore8951you ain’t lied
"When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" from Zenyatta Mondatta has brilliant production too.
_CHOON!_ For my money that was their last great LP. All went a bit sideways after that.
I like Ghosts in the Machine but not Synchronicity
One of the best lines from an 80's song "walking home from your house....walking on the moon" I see him coming back from her house and you really like her and she really likes you and it's so early in your relationship...there is so much hesitation in the song that creates that sustained tension...he met Trudy walking down the street...and lived literally right next to her in 77...
probably my favorite lyric ever. It brings me back to my youth every time, captures that moment of young love like no other lyric
I remember standing in front of a stereo at Sears as an eight year old in 1979 listening to this for the first time and being totally confused and mesmerized.
Man, that song is one of my favorite jams. Once I was riding in my car blasting "Walking On The Moon", and after it ended my little cousin, who is seven, said "I like that song."