The Police World Tour - my personal wishlist

-- originally published at Epinions.com --

The Police World Tour is one of the hottest concert tickets this year, if not in several years. This is a tour that a lot of people have been waiting to see happen for a very long time, myself included. I've been a rabid fan of the band, as well as Sting's solo career since I first heard them on the radio in 1979. And on June 26, 2007, I finally get to check "Attend a Concert by The Police" from my list of things to do before I die…

But what kind of concert will I see and hear? What will The Police decide to play?

The band only released five albums, a surprise to some when you consider just how huge the band's influence was, how popular their hits – especially those in the early eighties – became. Many people will want to hear a hit parade in this concert, and I'm sure that the band will oblige, but it's my hope that the band will want to play at least some of the more obscure music that us hardcore Police fans have come to love over the years.

It would not surprise me to see the band do a few medleys that at least touch on more obscure songs while moving between the more obvious hits. The band was known for some extended noodling on certain songs, giving Sting a chance to engage the crowd in singing "ee-oh-ee-oh-oh-oh" or other nonsense syllable phrases, and it would not surprise me to see him do it again.
Assuming the band will give a two and a half hour concert with a twenty minute break in the middle, my guess is that they could plan on playing anywhere from twenty five to thirty songs, some in their entirety, some quoted quickly in passing.

And so, I would like to offer two lists to the band for their consideration:

The Obvious and The Obscure

It's my hope that the band will perform a blend of music from both these lists, utilizing most, if not all of them, even if not a complete version of the song:

The Obvious
Here are fourteen hits and a couple other songs, in ascending album order, that I think stand a very good chance of being played at a Police concert near you…

Outlandos d'Amor

• Can't Stand Losing You
• Roxanne

Regatta de Blanc

• Message in a Bottle
• Walking on the Moon
• Regatta de Blanc*

Zenyatta Mondatta

• Don't Stand So Close to Me (NOT the '86 version)
• When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
• Bombs Away**

Ghost in the Machine

• Spirits in the Material World
• Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
• Invisible Sun

Synchronicity

• Synchroncity I
• Synchronicity II
• Every Breath You Take
• King of Pain
• Wrapped Around Your Finger

* Regatta de Blanc was an often used instrumental at Police concerts – excellent for crowd singalongs. ** Bombs Away may not be AS obvious a hit as the others, but given the current involvement of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is VERY topical right now.

The Obscure
Here are thirteen other songs that I would like to hear played by The Police in concert, again in ascending album order…

ODA – Truth Hits Everybody
ODA – Next to You
RDB – Bring on the Night
RDB – Does Everyone Stare
ZM – Driven to Tears
ZM – Shadows in the Rain
GITM – One World (Not Three)
GITM – Rehumanize Yourself
GITM – Too Much Information
GITM – Secret Journey
SYNC – Murder by Numbers
SYNC – O My God
Bonus Track from Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack – I Burn For You

So those are the songs. And guess what? I've even got suggestions regarding song order for this concert.

Yep. Because I am just that obsessed over this band and this show.

I know. I am a sad, sad man.

The Tomato's Police Concert Playlist
I'll be sure to keep score at the actual show, and then we can come back and compare notes to see how I did. Please note that I am publishing this list before The Police have played any shows at all, so this one is all me.

1. Synchronicity I
2. Next to You / Truth Hits Everybody
3. The Bed's Too Big Without You / Can't Stand Losing You / Shadows in the Rain / Regatta de Blanc
4. One World (Not Three) / When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around / Bring on the Night
5. Too Much Information / Rehumanize Yourself
6. Driven to Tears / Bombs Away / Murder by Numbers
7. Invisible Sun / Walking on the Moon
8. Does Everyone Stare / O My God / Secret Journey
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger / King of Pain

Intermission

1. Synchronicity II
2. Spirits in the Material World / Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Encores

1. Don't Stand So Close to Me / Every Breath You Take
2. I Burn for You
3. Roxanne (acoustic) / Message in a Bottle (acoustic) / Roxanne (rock reprise)

There they are, my predictions and predilections for the show I've waited for all these years. Don't need to hear any of Sting's solo work, I've seen seven of his concert tours, and don't need to hear those songs again for a while yet (though it would not surprise me if Sting quotes Fragile during an encore, especially near the end with Message in a Bottle – a very popular encore during his solo tours)

Got any thoughts on the list? the order? medleys you'd like to suggest? I'd love to read your comments, and here's hoping that you have the chance to catch The Police on tour somewhere near you quite soon!

Songs from the Labyrinth

Pros: Music made simply for the love of it succeeds in becoming music to be loved
Cons: None from me. Some will be turned off by it simply because it's "classical"
The Bottom Line: A loud and enthusiastic ovation for Sting - for working so hard to present us with music he cares deeply about, and for presenting it so authentically. A masterwork, indeed...

Sting has faced this perception before – some might view his latest album, Songs From The Labyrinth as nothing more than a conceit. In 1985, his move into the world of jazz was widely commented upon, even derided and dismissed as a misguided attempt to prove his jazz roots and his own genius – dismissed, that is, until the world heard his debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Sting captured audiences old and new alike with his unique jazz, pop and rock fusion, and in the process, re-energized his own love of making music. Now, more than twenty years later, an older, wiser, definitely less brash Sting has reached into new territory again, this time fully immersing himself in the songs of John Dowland, a widely traveled and popular minstrel of the Elizabethan Renaissance who never found favor with his queen...

Read the complete review at Epinions.com

Sting's Greatest Work to Date

Nothing Like The Sun
Released October 1987 by A&M Records



Sting's first solo album, The Dream Of The Blue Turtles, was deliberately crafted to showcase Sting as a solo artist, to break him free of the mold of The Police - the highly successful band that he had fronted for several years. Sting's first solo recording drew heavily on jazz influences, and accomplished the clean break from The Police that he desired. With his second solo album Nothing Like The Sun, released in 1987, Sting began the process of creating a signature style. Sting has always maintained his that he is a “pop” music artist, while consistently producing music that defies pop convention, transcending most other artists who are considered “pop”. Nothing Like The Sun was made up of songs that took a familiar form in pop music, such as a dance single, rock anthem, or ballad, and fashioned them into something more elegant, powerful, and poignant. With Nothing Like the Sun, Sting made music that mattered...


Read the full review at Epinions.com

Sting Takes Flight in a Dream...

The Dream of the Blue Turtles
Released June 1985 by A&M Records


...To many, this first glimpse of Sting as a solo artist did not match his Police profile - I was familiar with an arrogant prince, not a thoughtful and beguiling troubador fronting a band of accomplished musicians who, more often than not, seemed to be creating the music around Sting. Janice Pendarvis and Dolette McDonald were the first voices heard on the album: "Free, Free...set them free", Branford Marsalis graced each phrase with a fluid saxophone, Omar Hakim provided rhythmic flourishes that still touched on Stewart Copeland's skills with the hi-hat and toms yet suggested that something new was happening, Kenny Kirkland infused jazz and gospel into the sounds with his amazing command of the keyboards, and Daryl Jones aptly handled the bass, given rein over Sting's own instrument. Here was something new, something different, and after first hearing, something exciting. From the very start, The Dream of The Blue Turtles lifted above The Police, above the murky English new wave favored by the Breakfast Club wannabes walking in my footsteps after my graduation from high school. And, it lifted me into a new appreciation for Sting as a lyricist and composer...

Read the full review at Epinions.com