It can be easy to forget that The Police’s incredible run, culminating in pop superstardom, lasted essentially just seven years. From the time they formed in 1977 until the conclusion of their Synchronicity tour in 1984, the trio churned out five albums, all of which went Platinum.
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In the first half of the ‘80s, The Police were all over radio playlists, and their final album, Synchronicity, yielded four Top 40 singles. None was bigger than “Every Breath You Take,” which was The Police’s only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the No. 1 single for the entirety of 1983.
As popular as “Every Breath You Take” still is, it doesn’t rank as one of The Police’s five best songs—and not just because we may still be a little fatigued from overplay. It’s just that all five of their albums are loaded with great songs. That’s what you get when you put three top-shelf musicians together, and one of them is a generational songwriting talent. This is not to slight drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers, who also wrote and co-wrote some great songs. But among his bandmates and pretty much everybody else, Sting is in a category by himself.
Because the band has a wealth of superbly crafted songs, there are too many of them that could be considered “snubs” for a Top 5 list to mention. The focus here, however, is on the five songs that manage to stand out in a catalog that seems endlessly deep with quality offerings.
5. “Can’t Stand Losing You”
This is about as un-busy as The Police got on their earlier albums, but the relative quiet just highlights the brilliance of Sting’s vocal and bass melodies and Copeland’s drumming. While The Police were thought of as just another New Wave band at this early stage of their career, “Can’t Stand Losing You” provides an early glimpse into Sting’s songwriting prowess and the group’s undeniable instrumental chemistry. It’s such a banger that it’s easy to overlook the grim lyrical content.
4. “Driven to Tears”
Just listening to an isolated track of Copeland’s playing on this tune would be a treat. He creates the song’s energy right from the opening flams and keeps it going with his trademark hi-hat and ride cymbal rhythms. “Driven to Tears” also features some of Sting’s best lyrics and vocal deliveries, including these lines from the second verse.
Seems that when some innocents die
All we can offer them is a page in some magazine
Too many cameras and not enough food
This is what we’ve seen
For his part, Summers provides one of his best solos, providing the perfect segue from the bridge into the song’s final verse.
3. “Bring on the Night”
This is yet another example of how The Police used space to create a distinctive vibe. Sting’s lines in the verses have plenty of separation, allowing Summers’ gentle guitar part and Copeland’s hi-hat patter enough room to create a mesmerizing effect. That mood is accentuated in the leadup to Summers’ solo, with Copeland’s bass drum kicks reverberating across the mostly quiet sonic landscape. The song’s groove is so engaging that it inspired two much bigger hits: Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” and, in turn, Destiny Child’s “Bootylicious.”
[RELATED: The REAL Story Behind the Song: The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” by Sting]
2. “Spirits in the Material World”
One of the greatest things about this great song, the keyboards, is something nearly unheard of in a Police song prior to their Ghost in the Machine album. The keyboard stabs coming on each upbeat, with Sting’s bass and Copeland’s hi-hit dancing around them, gives the song an off-balance feel in the verses, only to get turned around to a more straightforward rhythm in the choruses. Then Sting takes the keyboard work to another level in the third verse, playing a catchy countermelody against both his own vocals and bass line. Amazingly, Sting wrote that part during his first time ever playing a synthesizer.
1. “Message in a Bottle”
Summers’ classic riff alone makes this a stellar song, but the entire band is at the top of their game here. Sting’s lyrics paint a picture of loneliness anyone can relate to. His message is ultimately a hopeful one, when in the final verse, he sings of his protagonist seeing a “hundred-billion bottles washed up on the shore.” The song’s poignancy is highlighted by its outro, which builds to an even higher level of energy, yet still has a touch of melancholy due to Summers’ sorrowful guitar melodies.
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