synchronicity

The Police went out on top when they poured their personal pain into this concept album about mystical coincidence and the collective unconscious to create their sinister and sensual swansong.  After the tour for 'Ghost in the Machine' the trio went their separate ways:  Sting starred in the film 'Brimstone & Treacle',  Andy Summer recorded his first album with Robert Fripp entitled 'I Advance Masked',  and Stewart Copeland composed the score for the film 'Rumble Fish'.   Sting had also separated from his wife Frances Tomelty and gone to Jamaica, where he wrote many of the songs while staying at the former home of novelist Ian Fleming.  In December of 1982, the band reconvened at at AIR Studios in Montserrat to begin work on 'Synchronicity' with producer Hugh Padgham who had worked with them on 'Ghost in the Machine'.  Padgham remembers the tense atmosphere within the band:    “It was difficult for me to do anything about the fighting, because when I would try to say something like, ‘Come on guys, do you have to kick the shit out of each other?’ they would say, ‘You don't know anything about us.’ Relative to their being a band, I knew them for a very short space of time, and their attitude was, ‘You can't tell us what to do. Stay out of it.’...That album was perhaps one meeting away from not happening.  I remember right before that, ringing up my manager and saying, ‘I hate this,’ because sometimes the tension in the room was so horrible. But in many ways, that tension is what ended up making such a good album.”

Copeland says Sting was very controlling with his songs:   "We could see the way the trend was going, and we knew the next album would be harder than the previous album.  It was, ‘Shall we try this idea?’ ‘No, we won't. We'll try this idea, and there will not be deviation from this idea.’ That was the origin of the argument, which turned into an atmosphere of anger and confrontation. I don't hold anybody to blame for that point of view. That is a natural personality trait: To be self-contained and to have a full vision, artistically, of what you want to do. Mozart didn't collaborate. There are many musicians who have a clear picture of what they want to say, particularly if they wrote the song and lyric. So, even though I had these big battles with Sting, I don't hold them against him...what [Hugh] was good at was he knew where to put the microphone. He got a big sound. He got the ambient recording of the drums, but this is a perfect example of where putting the microphone in the right place clashed with making the band dynamic work: The big studio that George Martin built [AIR Montserrat, in the Caribbean] was at one end of the building, and I was upstairs in the old house in the dining room, all by myself with a television monitor connecting me to the studio downstairs across the way.  The first thing you have to do when you record music is lay down a drum track, but we were making it up as we went along, and I wasn't in the room with them. So, instead of finishing playing and going, ‘Hey, that was good there, and that went there,’ there is silence. I can't hear what one of them is saying unless one of them presses the talk-back button. They aren't pressing the talk-back button, but I can see that they are talking and I assume it's bad. The drums sounded incredible because that was definitely the place to get the best sound out of the drums. Inarguably, the drums sounded brilliant in that room."

Summers considers:   "It was pretty tough making that album. Once we got back on the road it's different. You tend to loosen up. It's basically a sort of ongoing party. The studio is a more isolating experience where basically it's just the three of you around and whatever people you need technically. You're really faced with each other in a much more naked way.  There's so much at stake and at that point of course we were also vying for front space, arguing over whose tune would be recorded. We were in an extremely pressured situation. So much was expected of us. So many people, futures, jobs were so relying on the three of us ... It’s a great question for a band, because all bands go through this stuff. It’s very difficult. There are only so many power plays, rivalries...I have affection for all of that. There were a lot of nice feelings. People like to always think about The Police like we were three guys who wanted to kill each other. It’s not really true. It was like three brothers, we were so bonded. We’re never going to get away from that, ultimately. You enter an incredible life experience together. You go through things like we went through as a band, and people started to split apart, become more like oil and water. But early on, you see the sweetness that was there. It was the three of us against the world, trying to establish ourselves, and that’s the experiment of a band...My answer’s always that all of the best rock bands, or probably all bands, go through a certain amount of conflict. All bands. That’s the spark. You reach these tight places of compromise that ignite to the public. If you’re watching mellow guys on the stage, it doesn’t get anybody excited. If you’ve got three live wires fighting for that space, it gets across to the audience."

Sting muses:     "I'll argue till the cows come home about something I believe in, and so will Andy and Stewart.  'Synchronicity' went through all kinds of horrendous cogs and gears to come out, emotionally and technically, the way it did...The title of the album refers to coincidence and things being connected without there being a logical link.  I do my best work when I'm in pain and turmoil ... A lot of people go through that phase of thinking they have to be in some sort of crisis to write. But we did have a lot of tension between us, which helped in a way... To make a lifetime's career out of that tension wasn't possible. We all had to back away from it." 

'Synchronicity' connected with fans around the world, racing to number eleven in Austria; six in France; four in Germany and Sweden; two in the Netherlands; and number one in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.  In the UK, it made its debut at number one.  In the US, it was one of five albums to break the hold that Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' had on the number one spot for most of 1983, taking the number one spot for six weeks from late July to early September and again from mid-September to late November for a total of eleven weeks at number one.  'Synchronicity' garnished five Grammy nominations, including one for Album of the Year.  








http://www.thepolice.com/








"Every Breath You Take" became one of the biggest hits of all time, going to number eight in Austria, Belgium, and Germany; six in New Zealand and Switzerland; three in Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain; two in Norway and Sweden; and number one in Canada, Ireland, South Africa, the UK, and the US.  It the US, it spent eight weeks at number one, making it the biggest hit ever for a trio.  "Every Breath You Take" won Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  It was also nominated for Record of the Year.  

Copeland remembers:  “The demo was Sting singing over a Hammond organ, which was rare at that time, because by then, we all had home studios, so we'd show up with these fully mastered demos. In the case of ‘Every Breath,’ what he brought to the band was much more simple, so we did a lot to it, as we did in the early days. We threw out the Hammond Organ part completely, since we don't have an organist in the group, but we do have a great guitarist who would be underutilized in such an important song. Andy went away and worked out that guitar part, and suddenly it all made sense. We knew it was a big song, but it sounded too pedestrian, in spite of the great lyric, and it wasn't until Andy came up with the guitar part that it clicked in.  When Andy came up with that guitar part, I felt personally that I didn't have to come up with one of those interesting rhythm turn-arounds, like in ‘Can't Stand Losing You’ or ‘Roxanne,’ because it seemed like the guitar part was the trick. So we had the song and we had the trick, and all we had to do was make your foot tap to it...The drum part was completely assembled with overdubs."
Summers considers it "a seminal moment. That's the one that got us there in the end. I was probably very involved in the whole studio process. The entanglement of our three psyches would have been more the real atmosphere. I certainly wasn't thinking of it as this great historical moment and I'm make this guitar lick now that Puff Daddy's gonna use 11 years from now. I was probably more concerned with the immediate environment ... When we recorded it in Montserrat, the guitar sounded fantastic. We went to Canada to mix it, and the engineer took that big fat guitar riff and mixed it way down till it sounded terrible - really thin, with too much echo. I said we had to go back to the demo, and sure enough we remixed it and got it right. The rest is history."   
Sting says:   "On one level it's a sinister song, on the other hand it's quite seductive." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs


Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you
Oh can't you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you
Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace
I dream at night, I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep calling baby, baby please...
Oh can't you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you
Every move you make
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
I'll be watching you
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take (I'll be watching you)
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay (I'll be watching you)
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake (I'll be watching you)
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay (I'll be watching you)
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take (I'll be watching you)
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay (I'll be watching you)
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake (I'll be watching you)
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay (I'll be watching you)







"King of Pain" reigned at number fifty-seven in Germany, seventeen in the UK, ten in France, seven in Ireland, three in the US, and number one in Canada.  

There's a little black spot on the Sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
There's a little black spot on the Sun today 
(that's my soul up there)
It's the same old thing as yesterday 
(that's my soul up there)
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top 
(that's my soul up there)
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop 
(that's my soul up there)
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
There's a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall 
(that's my soul up there)
There's a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall 
(that's my soul up there)
There's a blue whale beached by a springtide's ebb 
(that's my soul up there)
There's a butterfly trapped in a spider's web 
(that's my soul up there)
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
There's a king on a throne with his eyes torn out
There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt
There's a rich man sleeping on a golden bed
There's a skeleton choking on a crust of bread
King of pain
There's a red fox torn by a huntsman's pack 
(that's my soul up there)
There's a black winged gull with a broken back 
(that's my soul up there)
There's a little black spot on the Sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
King of pain
King of pain
King of pain
I'll always be king of pain
I'll always be king of pain
I'll always be king of pain
I'll always be king of pain
I'll always be king of pain

I'll always be king of pain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mgSCKXSp9M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP8374qSmew






"Synchronicity II" crawled from the slime at the bottom of a dark Scottish lake to hit number twenty-one in Canada, seventeen in the UK, sixteen in the US, and twelve in Ireland.

Another suburban family morning
Grandmother screaming at the wall
We have to shout above the din of our Rice Crispies
We can't hear anything at all
Mother chants her litany of boredom and frustration
But we know all her suicides are fake
Daddy only stares into the distance
There's only so.much heartache he can take
Many miles away
Something crawls from the slime
At the bottom of a dark Scottish lake
Another industrial ugly morning
The factory belches filth into the sky
He walks unhindered through the picket lines today
He doesn't think to wonder why
The secretaries pout and preen like
cheap tarts in a red light street
But all he ever thinks to do is watch
And every single meeting with his so-called superior
Is a humiliating kick in the crotch
Many miles away
Something crawls to the surface
Of a dark Scottish loch
Another working day has ended
Only the rush hour hell to face
Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes
Contestants in a suicidal race
Daddy grips the wheel and stares alone into the distance
He knows that something somewhere has to break
He sees the family home now looming in his headlights
The pain upstairs that makes his eyeballs ache
Many miles away
There's a shadow on the door
Of a cottage on the shore
Of a dark Scottish lake

Many miles away, many miles away


THE POLICE - SYNCHRONICITY II by FRKS





"Wrapped Around Your Finger" came to its fruition at number thirty-two in Germany, twenty-five in Italy, twenty-two in New Zealand, seventeen in the Netherlands, ten in Canada, eight in the US, seven in the UK, six in France, two in Spain, and number one in Ireland.  

You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger
I have only come here seeking knowledge
Things they would not teach me of in college
I can see that destiny you sold
Turned into a shining band of gold
I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger
Mephistopheles is not your name
I know what you're up to just the same
I will listen hard to your tuition
You will see it come to it's fruition
I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger
Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
Vanish in the air you'll never find me
I will turn your flesh to alabaster
Then you'll find your servant is your master
You'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger

You'll be wrapped around my finger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svWINSRhQU0










'Synchronicity' 
full album:

All songs written by Sting, except where noted.


"Synchronicity I" - 3:23
"Walking in Your Footsteps" - 3:36
"O My God" - 4:02
"Mother" (Andy Summers) - 3:05
"Miss Gradenko" (Stewart Copeland) - 2:00
"Synchronicity II" - 5:02
"Every Breath You Take" - 4:13
"King of Pain" - 4:59
"Wrapped Around Your Finger" - 5:13
"Tea in the Sahara" - 4:19
"Murder by Numbers" (Words: Sting, Music: Summers) - 4:36