Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings
Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings | ||||
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Box set by The Police | ||||
Released | 28 September 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1977–1986 | |||
Genre | New wave | |||
Length | 285:32 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer | The Police, Nigel Gray, Hugh Padgham | |||
The Police chronology | ||||
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Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings is a four-CD box set by the Police, containing all five of their studio albums in chronological order, as well as non-album singles, non-album B-sides, and tracks from various compilation albums and the Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack (1982). The box set also comes with a 68-page booklet.
Contents
While the box set does contain every original song released by the band, these are not the complete recordings up to 1986, contrary to the box set's title. The following recordings are not included in the box set:
- "Truth Hits Everybody '83" appeared on a limited edition gatefold single of "Every Breath You Take".
- Two versions of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" were released in 1980 as a double A-side 7", one with Sting singing Japanese lyrics, the other with Spanish lyrics (AM-25000). A third version of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" was also re-recorded in 1986, entitled "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86". This version of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is not present on the box set, but is available on the DTS-CD and SACD releases of Every Breath You Take: The Classics (1995).
- Other official releases were a 12" single for "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86", which featured both an additional remix and live version of the song, and a 1995 single containing extended versions of "Voices Inside My Head" by Ashley Beedle and DJ Harvey.
- Live recordings of "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" had also been released but not included.
- Another rarity missing from the box set is the extended video mix of "Invisible Sun", which featured an additional verse not present on the LP version.
- The cassette version of "Message In A Bottle" (longer and with an extended guitar solo from Andy Summers) from Reggatta De Blanc is not here.
Disc one includes live renditions of "Landlord" and "Next to You", which were recorded at the Bottom Line, New York on 4 April 1979 and originally broadcast on WNEW-FM, New York.
Disc three has a live version of "Driven to Tears" which was recorded live at Les Arenes, Frejus, France, 28 August 1980 and is featured on the Urgh! A Music War soundtrack album (1982).
"Shambelle", an instrumental written by Andy Summers, that is a B-side both of the singles "Invisible Sun" (UK) and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (US), was presented incorrectly, missing the hi-hat introduction played by Stewart Copeland. This error has never been corrected, and the original 45's is the only place to get the full-length versions.[1] It should also be noted that the versions of "Shambelle" on the "Invisible Sun" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" singles have different track times, clocking 5:42 on the former and 5:10 on the latter. The version on this box set clocks in just about five minutes.
The U.S. version of the box set also features the version of "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86" that was originally released on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles (1986). This version is shorter than the extended dance mix of "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" included on some international versions of the box set and includes a different guitar solo from Andy Summers. There is no edition of the box set that includes both versions of the song.
There has also been speculation by a number of music fans that "Can't Stand Losing You" was remastered from a needle drop of the original vinyl and that "Roxanne" had pitch issues due to tape drag and possible damage to the master tape used.[1]
Reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Rolling Stone |
Allmusic gave resounding approval to the set, going so far as to claim that all 78 songs are "timeless classics," making it the ideal purchase for the casual listener. They also praised the booklet included, especially the Police biography, and asserted that the digital remastering is so superior to the sound quality of the original releases that they would recommend the purchase even to those who already have all the recordings on the box set.[2]
Track listing
Disc one | ||||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
1. | "Fall Out" | Stewart Copeland | Non-album single, 1977 | 2:04 |
2. | "Nothing Achieving" | Copeland | B-side of "Fall Out", 1977 | 1:56 |
3. | "Dead End Job" | Sting, Copeland, Andy Summers | B-side of "Can't Stand Losing You" (UK) & "Roxanne" (US), 1978 | 3:35 |
4. | "Next to You" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour, 1978 | 2:50 |
5. | "So Lonely" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 4:49 |
6. | "Roxanne" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 3:12 |
7. | "Hole in My Life" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 4:52 |
8. | "Peanuts" | Copeland, Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 3:58 |
9. | "Can't Stand Losing You" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 2:58 |
10. | "Truth Hits Everybody" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 2:53 |
11. | "Born in the 50's" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 3:40 |
12. | "Be My Girl – Sally" | Sting, Summers | Outlandos d'Amour | 3:22 |
13. | "Masoko Tanga" | Sting | Outlandos d'Amour | 5:40 |
14. | "Landlord" (live) | Sting, Copeland | Propaganda – No Wave II, 1979 | 2:36 |
15. | "Next to You" (live) | Sting | Propaganda – No Wave II | 3:11 |
16. | "Landlord" | Sting, Copeland | B-side of "Message in a Bottle", 1979 | 3:09 |
17. | "Message in a Bottle" | Sting | Reggatta de Blanc, 1979 | 4:51 |
18. | "Reggatta de Blanc" | Copeland, Sting, Summers | Reggatta de Blanc | 3:06 |
19. | "It's Alright for You" | Copeland, Sting | Reggatta de Blanc | 3:13 |
20. | "Bring On the Night" | Sting | Reggatta de Blanc | 4:16 |
21. | "Deathwish" | Copeland, Sting, Summers | Reggatta de Blanc | 4:13 |
Disc two | ||||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
1. | "Walking on the Moon" | Sting | Reggatta de Blanc | 5:02 |
2. | "On Any Other Day" | Copeland | Reggatta de Blanc | 2:57 |
3. | "The Bed's Too Big Without You" | Sting | Reggatta de Blanc | 4:26 |
4. | "Contact" | Copeland | Reggatta de Blanc | 2:38 |
5. | "Does Everyone Stare" | Copeland | Reggatta de Blanc | 3:52 |
6. | "No Time This Time" | Sting | Reggatta de Blanc | 3:17 |
7. | "Visions of the Night" | Sting | B-side of "Walking on the Moon" (UK) & "Bring On the Night" (US), 1979 | 3:05 |
8. | "The Bed's Too Big Without You" (mono) | Sting | Six Pack, 1980 | 3:29 |
9. | "Truth Hits Everybody" (live) | Sting | Six Pack | 2:26 |
10. | "Friends" | Summers | B-side of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (UK) & "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (US), 1980 | 3:36 |
11. | "Don't Stand So Close to Me" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta, 1980 | 4:04 |
12. | "Driven to Tears" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta | 3:20 |
13. | "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta | 3:38 |
14. | "Canary in a Coalmine" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta | 2:26 |
15. | "Voices Inside My Head" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta | 3:53 |
16. | "Bombs Away" | Copeland | Zenyatta Mondatta | 3:09 |
17. | "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta | 4:09 |
18. | "Behind My Camel" | Summers | Zenyatta Mondatta | 2:54 |
19. | "Man in a Suitcase" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta | 2:19 |
20. | "Shadows in the Rain" | Sting | Zenyatta Mondatta | 5:02 |
21. | "The Other Way of Stopping" | Copeland | Zenyatta Mondatta | 3:22 |
Disc three | ||||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
1. | "A Sermon" | Copeland | B-side of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (UK) & "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (US), 1980 | 2:33 |
2. | "Driven to Tears" (live) | Sting | Urgh! A Music War soundtrack, 1981 | 3:29 |
3. | "Shambelle" | Summers | B-side of "Invisible Sun" (UK) and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (US), 1981 | 5:00 |
4. | "Spirits in the Material World" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine, 1981 | 2:59 |
5. | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 4:22 |
6. | "Invisible Sun" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 3:44 |
7. | "Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 2:53 |
8. | "Demolition Man" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 5:57 |
9. | "Too Much Information" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 3:43 |
10. | "Rehumanize Yourself" | Copeland, Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 3:10 |
11. | "One World (Not Three)" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 4:47 |
12. | "Omegaman" | Summers | Ghost in the Machine | 2:48 |
13. | "Secret Journey" | Sting | Ghost in the Machine | 3:34 |
14. | "Darkness" | Copeland | Ghost in the Machine | 3:14 |
15. | "Flexible Strategies" | Sting, Summers, Copeland | B-side of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (UK) and "Spirits in the Material World" (US), 1981 | 3:43 |
16. | "Low Life" | Sting | B-side of "Spirits in the Material World", 1982 | 3:45 |
17. | "How Stupid Mr. Bates" | Sting, Summers, Copeland | Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack, 1982 | 2:41 |
18. | "A Kind of Loving" | Sting, Summers, Copeland | Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack | 2:03 |
Disc four | ||||
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No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
1. | "Synchronicity I" | Sting | Synchronicity, 1983 | 3:23 |
2. | "Walking in Your Footsteps" | Sting | Synchronicity | 3:36 |
3. | "O My God" | Sting | Synchronicity | 4:02 |
4. | "Mother" | Summers | Synchronicity | 3:05 |
5. | "Miss Gradenko" | Copeland | Synchronicity | 1:59 |
6. | "Synchronicity II" | Sting | Synchronicity | 5:02 |
7. | "Every Breath You Take" | Sting | Synchronicity | 4:13 |
8. | "King of Pain" | Sting | Synchronicity | 4:59 |
9. | "Wrapped Around Your Finger" | Sting | Synchronicity | 5:13 |
10. | "Tea in the Sahara" | Sting | Synchronicity | 4:19 |
11. | "Murder by Numbers" | Sting, Summers | B-side of "Every Breath You Take", 1983; also included in cassette and CD versions of Synchronicity | 4:36 |
12. | "Man in a Suitcase" (live) | Sting | maxi-single of "Every Breath You Take" (UK), 1983 | 2:17 |
13. | "Someone to Talk To" | Summers | B-side of "Wrapped Around Your Finger", 1983 | 3:08 |
14. | "Message in a Bottle" (live) | Sting | maxi-single of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK), 1983 | 4:51 |
15. | "I Burn for You" | Sting | Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack; also included in maxi-single of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK) | 4:49 |
16. | "Once Upon a Daydream" | Sting, Summers | B-side of "Synchronicity II", 1983 | 3:31 |
17. | "Tea in the Sahara" (live) | Sting | B-side of "King of Pain", 1984 | 5:06 |
18. | "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" | Sting | Every Breath You Take: The Singles, 1986 | 4:51 |
Personnel
- The Police
- Stewart Copeland – drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar on "Fall Out", "Nothing Achieving", "It's Alright for You" and "A Sermon", lead vocal on "On Any Other Day", spoken word on "Does Everyone Stare"
- Sting – bass guitar, keyboards, saxophone, oboe, lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "So Lonely", drum machine on "Synchronicity I"
- Andy Summers – guitar, keyboards, bass guitar on "Behind My Camel", backing vocals, piano on "Does Everyone Stare" and "Be My Girl – Sally", spoken word on "Friends", "Dead End Job" and "Be My Girl – Sally", lead vocals on "Mother" and "Someone to Talk To"
- Additional
- Henri Padovani – guitar on "Fall Out" and "Nothing Achieving"
- John Sinclair – piano on "Hole in My Life" and "Masoko Tanga"
- Jean Russell – piano on "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
- Olaf Kübler – saxophone on "Low Life"
- Suzanna Hamilton – screaming on "A Kind of Loving"
References
- 1 2 "The Police on CD". Steve Hoffman Music Forums.
- 1 2 Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings at AllMusic
- ↑ "The Police: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-05-28.