Tag: The Police

You Picked It! – The Police – ‘Synchronicity’ (1983) – Album Review

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Alright…You Picked It! And here it is. The one you picked was The Police – ‘Synchronicity’.  The votes were as follows:

  1. The Police – ‘Synchronicity’ – 11 votes
  2. Patti Smith – ‘Horses’ – 7 votes
  3. The Struts – ‘Strange Days’ – 3 votes
  4. Lauryn Hill – ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ – 1 vote
  5. Prince – ‘Purple Rain’ – 0 votes (this surprised me)

And thanks to being on The LeBrain Train live stream a couple weeks back, we had 2 write-in votes for Tommy Lee’s ‘Andro’ based on my absolute disdain for this new album. The write-in votes are a first for this series and if there was enough votes, it technically could’ve won!!

Thanks to all for participating.  The November choices will be up on Saturday!

THE POLICE – ‘SYNCHRONICITY’:

It turns out, I wrote about this album some 3-4 years ago. I think I need to keep better notes. But, you guys voted for it anyway and therefore I will update my review where my thoughts might have changed or where I have better information.

My first album for The Police was ironically their last.  MTV had played their previous songs quite often and I loved “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” and “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”, but it wasn’t until “Synchronicity II” that I finally decided to actually buy one of their records.

I picked up the cassette for ‘Synchronicity’ back in 1983 and later I did pick up their entire collection on CD by buying their box set which had all their albums.  I have since sold all the previous copies and when I was out vinyl shopping several years back, I found ‘Synchronicity’ and snatched it up.  It cost $8 which was about the same price I probably paid for the cassette back in the ’80’s.

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You Pick It! – Which Album to Review in November?

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You, my reader, are going to pick an album for me to review each month.  It is really simple…first, I will give you 5 albums to choose from and second, you will tell me which one of those you would like to see reviewed on the site.  See…simple!

There are a few simple rules I have put in to place in my selections.  They are…

  • One has to be a new release (within the last month)
  • One has to be one I have never heard before (new releases don’t count for this one)
  • One has to be from a genre I don’t normally listen to at all or very often
  • And the last two are choices from my collection that I haven’t reviewed before

What are the 5 albums you ask?  Funny you should ask because I have those right here…

  New Release – The Struts – ‘Strange Days’

  Never Heard Before – Patti Smith – ‘Horses”

Not My Normal Genre – Lauryn Hill – ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’

  From My Collection – Prince & the Revolution – ‘Purple Rain’

  From My Collection – The Police ‘Synchronicity’

Let me know which one you would like to see and sometime in November, I will post a review of the album that gets the most votes. You have one week to decide and from there I will start listening to the album and do a review.

Thanks for participating!!

My Sunday Song – “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks

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For My Sunday Song #105, I am bringing to you “Edge of Seventeen” by the wonderful and talented Stevie Nicks.  The song was released as a single in 1982 and appeared on her 1981 album ‘Bella Donna’.  The song reached all the way to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 just missing going Top Ten.

This is one of my favorite songs by Stevie and it is from a time where she could do no wrong whether it was her solo work or her work with Fleetwood Mac.  She was everywhere.  She didn’t have this beautiful, angelic vocals of the pop stars of that era. She was graced with a little gritty voice that is even better and is pure rock & roll.  And if I had to pick my favorite female vocalists, she would be at or near the top.

The song is about death.  It was written due to the death of two individuals.  First one was John Lennon (heard in the lyric…”With their words of a poet / And a voice from a choir”) and the other death was her uncle.  Her uncle was diagnosed with cancer and within weeks died and all those emotions she was feeling came out in the song.

What I also love about the song is the line “Just like the white winged dove” and then the chorus of “Whoo, Whoo, Whoo” which sounds like the bird is singing.  The dove is symbolic of the spirit leaving the body and she flies away she sings.  It is really a beautiful visual.

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The Police – “Roxanne” – The 45 Single (1978)

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In the continuing sage of the vinyl filled box I found another 45 single and this one was by The Police.  It was for the song “Roxanne” which is one of their signature songs.  Sadly, I don’t have a cover jacket for it.  The sleeve it was in was for Columbia Records; however, the single was released by A&M so I know it is not the right sleeve.  No matter, the single still plays regardless.  Below are the Original UK cover (left) and the alternate cover in the UK (right – is Stewart picking his nose???).

And here is mine…

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“My First Time” with The Police’s ‘Synchronicity’

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My First Time is about the ‘first’ album I received or bought for a band and sadly, my first album for The Police was ironically their last.  MTV had played their previous songs quite often and I loved “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” and “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”, but it wasn’t until “Synchronicity II” that I finally decided to actually buy one of their records.

I picked up the cassette for ‘Synchronicity’ back in 1983 and later I did pick up their entire collection on CD by buying their box set which had all their albums.  I have since sold all the previous copies and when I was out vinyl shopping last year, I found ‘Synchronicity’ and snatched it up.  It cost $8 which was about the same price I paid for the cassette back in the ’80’s.

The Police were not an ordinary pop rock band.  For me, their lyrics were intelligent and not the bubble gum crap that was on the radio.  The songs made you think and look deeper into what they were saying.  At least they did for me.  It was the first time I felt music could be smart.

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1983 – The Greatest Year in Music?

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Last year, I explored the year 1987 as the greatest year in music.  It was a great year and had some huge top selling albums.  Now , I am going to argue for 1983 as the greatest year in music.  The greatest year in music is very subjective and each person will have a different year.  Probably your high school years and/or the year you really started digging music.  1983 was the year that I started becoming massively obsessed with music.

The year had some of the biggest selling albums and a ton of music that influenced me, but what makes the year even better were the debut albums that came out in 1983. Some of the biggest names in music.  Here are the albums and/or events that make 1983 the greatest year in music:

Michael Jackson:

michael_jackson_-_thrillerWe will start off with one of the biggest reasons 1983 might be the greatest year in music.  That reason is Michael Jackson.  His album, ‘Thriller’, actually came out on November 30, 1982.  However, the impact of that album was truly felt in 1983.  Believe it or not, ‘Thriller’, did not reach #1 until almost 3 months after its release.  On February, 26, 1983, ‘Thriller’ was the #1 album in the country.  It was the first of 37 weeks at #1.  The album is the top selling album of all time at over 65 million copies.  A number that is unheard of and might never be topped.

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Turntables & Vinyl #4 – The 80’s Are Back!

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I have been going to records stores way too often as I continue my obsession on buying vinyl.  On the flip side of that, I also don’t feel like I have gone enough.  Confusing I know. I actually enjoy just browsing through the store and seeing what is there.  It is rare I go into the store and I don’t buy anything, but lately I am picking up 5 or 6 at a time and I am loving it.

Most everything I am picking up is of course from the 70’s or 80’s since vinyl died out in the 90’s.  The new releases that are out now are too expensive to make it a habit so I focus on the used record.  There are no shortages of those, but what I want is seldom available on my visits.  It is hit or miss.

Lately, it has been more hit than miss.  And it has mostly been 80’s records so I guess the 80’s are back.  Yes, I am buying records for albums I had already purchased back in the 80’s whether on cassette or CD, but I don’t have any of those anymore so I actually only have the one physical copy of the album.  The other copy is now digital and you can’t really hold that in your hand.

So, what I have been picking up on my adventures you might ask that is from the 80’s?  Well, you probably aren’t asking but I am going to tell you anyway.

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#TBT – The Coolest Songs of the 80’s – Playlist

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The 80’s was a great time in music for me. It was the time I started really getting obsessed about with it.  There were so many great songs, thanks to the dawn of MTV, during this time. They exposed us to so many more bands that our radio stations were not playing.

There are good songs, great songs, rock songs, dance songs, pop songs and some songs that are just too damn cool.  This list is what I felt were the really cool songs of the decade.  Cool could be the subject matter or the overall sound of the song and of course it is very subjective.  I wasn’t very cool back in the day so my definition of cool might not equal yours.  Come to think of it…I am not cool now.  Oh well, I hope you enjoy the playlist.

Red Rider – “Lunatic Fringe”

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Music is Magic – Playlist

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If you don’t believe magic is real, you haven’t really listened to music.  Music can instantly change your mood.  It can even let you travel through time by taking you back to a special memory.  Music can make you laugh, make you cry and make you feel so many different things.  It can make you dance and soothe your soul.

If that is not magical, then I don’t know what is.  In honor of all that, here are my favorite “magical” songs.  Sadly, there are so many songs to choose from, I ended up with a list that only covered the ’60’s – ’80’s.  I have to do another list for the ’90’s-’10’s.

“Do You Believe In Magic” – The Lovin’ Spoonful

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