The Police: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best
Stewart Copeland, Sting, and Andy Summers were all veteran musicians when they formed The Police in London in 1977. Copeland had drummed for progressive rock band Curved Air, Sting had played in the jazz fusion band Last Exit, while Summers’ career as a guitarist dated back to the 1960s when he played with The Animals and Soft Machine. They released their debut in 1978, and by the time of their final album, 1983’s Synchronicity, they were arguably the world’s most popular band.
My enjoyment of The Police’s albums was spoiled by starting with their 1992 Greatest Hits compilation. The compilation of singles almost unerringly puts their sixteen best songs in one place, and makes their studio albums look patchy in comparison. The Police were a great singles band, but merely a good album band. All of their albums are worthwhile but none is a stone-cold classic, meaning there’s not a lot of consensus about what their best album is.
Time pressure was one factor for their lack of great albums; 1980’s Zenyatta Mondatta was completed at 4 am of the morning that the group embarked on a world tour. Sting’s best work as an album artist came in his early solo career when he could release albums at a more relaxed pace. The Police’s run of singles is unimpeachable, but it’s worth digging into their albums for overlooked songs like ‘It’s Alright For You’ and ‘Omegaman’.
The Police Albums: Ranked From Worst to Best
#5 – Outlandos D’Amour
1978
Despite their bleached blonde hair and energetic songs, The Police weren’t legitimately punk. The angst and energy of songs like ‘Next To You’ and ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’ is enjoyable, Outlandos D’Amour sounds best when the trio use their chops to explore different genres. ‘So Lonely’ is an accomplished hybrid of rock and reggae, while ‘Roxanne’ uses a tango beat.
#4 – Ghost in the Machine
1981
The Police were expanding beyond the confines of a three piece band on their fourth record, adding keyboards and horns. It’s dated less gracefully than their other records, but their attempts to expand their sound are often fascinating. Summers’ creative riff writing on ‘Omegaman’ was scheduled as the first single before Sting objected, and it’s one of the band’s best deep cuts. As always in The Police, Sting’s reliable for some great singles; the political ‘Invisible Sun’ and the piano-driven ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’.
#3 – Zenyatta Mondatta
1980
Zenyatta Mondatta is the quintessential Police album – they’re no longer white punks playing reggae, but have their own unique, synergistic sound. The trio have complained about how it was rushed, and re-recorded two of the songs in 1986. Sting hated Summers’ instrumental ‘Behind My Camel’, refusing to play bass on it and burying the tapes in the yard, but it won a Grammy for best instrumental. The hit singles though, were Sting’s ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ and ‘De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da’.
#2 – Synchronicity
1983
The final Police album shows Sting moving toward a solo career as he dominates the excellent second side. There’s little punk or reggae, and The Police are playing radio-friendly pop/rock on tracks like the mega-hit ‘Every Breath You Take’ and ‘King of Pain’. The first side is uneven – Summers’ histrionic ‘Mother’ is a career low point and Sting’s ‘Walking In Your Footsteps’ is little more than atmosphere, although Copeland’s ‘Miss Gradenko’ is quirky fun.
#1 – Regatta de Blanc
1979
The Police didn’t have much material when they recorded their second album in producer Nigel Gray’s converted dairy depot. Copeland’s ‘Does Everyone Stare?’ was recycled from a piano piece he wrote in college, while Sting brought in ideas from Last Exit to create ‘The Bed’s Too Big Without You’ and ‘Bring on the Night’. Given the initial dearth of material, Regatta de Blanc is surprisingly satisfying. Sting’s ‘Message in the Bottle’ is the band’s crowning achievement, a view shared by Andy Summers, who wrote in his book One Train Later that “it’s still the best song Sting ever came up with and the best Police track.”
Do you have a favourite Police album? Or song?
Read More
- The Police album reviews
- Worst to Best lists
Aphoristical
Graham Fyfe is fascinated by pop music, and he may be the only blogger in the world to cover Neil Diamond and Ariana Grande.
Good post, every Police album had at least one song I really liked. My favourite songs in no particular order are “Message in a Bottle,” “Can’t Stand Losing,” Synchronicity II” and “Don’t Stand too Close to Me.”
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I think they were the best singles band of the era – Synchronicity II is a great one.
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Nice list. My favorite Police album is…all of them. Each record has its own unique charms & distinct sound. I got into them after Regatta De Blanc when I was 13 so I got to enjoy the next three albums as they were released. I played them to death, none more than Synchronicity, which I probably listened to every day throughout the summer of ’83. Saw them on the Ghost In The Machine and Synchronicity tours. The former was amazing. The latter, at Shea Stadium, didn’t have the same impact.
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Did you see the reunion tour? Do you like ‘Mother’?
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I didn’t see the reunion tour since I had already seen them in their prime. I do have the special cd/dvd set from that tour and I love it.
Yep, I like “Mother” and consider it integral to the overall album. I wouldn’t play it separately or put it on a Police compilation, though. I love all of Copeland’s contributions. Are you familiar with his Klark Kent material? It’s fantastic.
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Great list.
I’ve been slowly picking away at picking up The Police stuff on vinyl when I come across it at a decent price used.
The only I need to get is your number 5 pick.
Since I have been digging into these albums I find that they some stellar stuff on there albums and some so-so stuff.
I had no idea Sting buried the tapes in the yard. lol. Man I wonder what Summers said to Sting when he got the Grammy. haha.
If I was to do a Top 5 Police list the only change I would make is flipping your Number 1 to 3 and 3 to 1.
For some reason Zenyatta is my fav. Must be something to do that buried track. lol
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Zenyatta is the most Police-like album IMO, so it makes sense that it’s a favourite. Some good album tracks on it. Most of the stories seems like they’re about Sting being a dork to Summers (Summers didn’t get a writing credit for his Every Breath You Take riff), but it was Sting and Copeland who fought a lot.
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Great group! And maybe with the best drummer from his generation. Many, many excellent and cool songs. Personal favorites: Bring on the night, Message in a bottle, Every little thing she does in magic.
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Copeland is amazing – he’s up there with Jaki Liebezeit as my favourite drummer.
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Overall, I dig The Police and was happy to catch them on their reunion tour. I feel the fact that some songs are stronger than others on any given album is true for most artists.
“Message in a Bottle” is a great tune. While I still like it, I feel it’s been very overexposed. One of my favorites is “Spirits in the Material World”. I just love Sting’s bassline on that one!
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I do think Sting’s better at albums and worse at singles – ‘Fortress Around Your Heart’ is like his only solo hit that sounds like it could have joined the run of great Police hits.
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That’s an interesting observation. I guess one could also mention “If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free)” in this context.
That being said, I pretty much dig every tune on “Ten Summoner’s Tales.” But except perhaps for “Fields of Gold,” I guess none of the songs really sound like true radio hits. There’re better!😀
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Ten Summoners Tales is pretty radio-friendly IMO – just not in a Police way. I do think some of his solo singles sound forced – ‘We’ll Be Together’ in particular.
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I don’t think I have a favorite Police album because their good songs are spread out all over the place on different albums like you said. I could pick favorite songs though.
When the World is Running Down
Walking On The Moon
Demolition Man
Voices Inside My Head
Synchronicity ll
Spirits in the Material World
Driven to Tears
Message in a Bottle
Canary in a Coal Mine
King of Pain
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You got a decent whack of album tracks in there – mine would be more singles oriented. You have quite a bit of Zenyatta on there, and no Outlandos.
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My order of preference …
5. Outlandos
4. Regatta
3. Zenyatta
2. Ghost
1. Synchronicity
But the last 3 can change depending on the one I’m listening to.
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That’s basically reverse chronological, right? They did get more and more expansive.
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You are right…they are more of a singles band… Zenyatta Mondatta is my favorite.
Synchronicity I heard way too much.
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Lots of people have been choosing Zenyatta. It’s their most Police-like album.
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It was a very good album. I was happy you didn’t have Synchronicity at the top. Another song… When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around I like also…and heard quite a bit. I forgot about it until you posted this.
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There were only two singles – means there are some good Sting songs in the deep cuts.
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Great list. This is one I have been contemplating doing a ranking on. I will wait a little while now, but will use this as inspiration. If I picked right this second, I love Synchronicity as it had so many great songs (Synchronicity II my fav). Keep ’em coming!
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Synchronicity II is a good one – sounds like they’re squarely aiming for the Billboard Modern Rock tracks chart, but Summers’ creative guitar keeps it moving along.
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There is a darkness to that song that attracts me.
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Nice one, and I totally concur with you on the ranking.
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Cool! There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of consensus. I do think Regatta has the best non-Sting tracks – Copeland’s stuff is pretty good here.
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Defo agree. Stew’s material sometimes gets a bad rap, sometimes with good reason, but his stuff on Regatta is really good.
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Ghost In The Machine is my favorite Police album. Spirits In The Material World and Wrapped Around Your Finger are my favorite songs. Great post!
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Agree that they are more a singles band. I remember the high school parties everyone singing along to Roxanne. My favorites are Message in a bottle and Synchronicity II – I love the lyrics – “We have to shout above the din of our rice krispies” “Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes” the stress of everyday life in an industrial city and the forboding images in the chorus
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Those are two of their most rock-oriented hits, right? It’s a shame they didn’t stick around for a few more.
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I’d argue my enjoyment of their albums makes a parabola opening up. So for me, it sags in the middle of the career and the bookends are the best!
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There are people out there who think that Sting turned lame after the second Police album.
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I would not be one of those people!
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My cut off point is Brand New Day. I liked the title track, but there was enough bad stuff to make me not want to hear any Sting after that.
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