Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For a band that were at the height of their fame, It seemed a shock to hear that 'The Police' were to disband. (Due to tensions between 'Sting', and the rest of the band, "Andy Summers (Guitar)" & "Stewart Copeland (Drums)". But what they did leave behind, was a collection of incredibly well-crafted, slick, literate & lively songs that touched upon Jazz (a particular favourite of Sting's, and one he would explore on his solo albums), Album rock, Pop/Rock ("Message in a Bottle", was the perfect encapsulation of intelligent Pop music, for a more discerning listener). New Wave (The spookily infectious anthem, "Don't Stand so Close to me" was one of the most successful new Wave-oriented tracks to climb the singles chart). Alternative Pop (The angst-ridden swagger of "Roxanne", was as reflectively beautiful enough for it to become one of their most requested/Covered songs, of their career). Songs with a slight reggae-ting to them ("Cant stand Losing you", toyed with elements of reggae instrumentation to marvellous effect). Alternative Rock/Post-Punk (The spaced out freeform guitar on "Walking on the Moon", perfectly summoned weird images of life on another planet), Cerebral Pop (The unforgettable catchiness of the mildly melancholic "Message in Bottle" will arguably remain one of their best known songs). Singer/Songwriter tracks (the Haunting "Every Breath you Take", is all the more disturbing, when you realise the song is about a 'Stalker' watching his victim, read the lyrics for the song again, and it'll start to make sense).

And, so it's fairly safe to say that the most popular /classic tracks are included in this comprehensive complition of the work of The Police. And although there are likely to be several personal favourites that didn't make the tracklisting on this compilation, this compilation still truly shines and is undoubtedly more than worthy of 5 stars. There may be those to bemoan the lack of a couple of inclusions, but then, that's always to be expected, when you have a band, that was as big as 'The Police', and whom made so many worthwhile singles, it would be virtually impossible to completely please everyone. And even though my personal favourite...the Exotic/World music influenced "Masoko Tango", is absent. It would be pointless to bemoan the fact, especially and the compilers have tried to offer as broad (and appealling) overview of the bands work, as is possible.

Of all the police compilations available...(and there are a few), this is easily the best of them. It might not be the cheapest, but it not only offers the most tracks (16 tracks, as opposed to the next best compilation offering only 14 tracks). And unlike some of the other compilations, it doesn't try and pad out the compilation with various 'Remixes' of songs, instead preffering to place emphasis on the original tracks. To be honest no compilation of 'The Police's' work is completely without merit, but if you (the buyer) want the absolute best summary of their work, (along with the most songs included), this is by far the best of all the compilations currently available.

There have been three collections of the "best" of The Police. The first, EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE: THE SINGLES, was released in 1986. More recently, we were given the U.S. release EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE: THE CLASSICS, which contains the biggest Police titles as well as "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" and a remixed version of "Message in a Bottle". What most people don't know about is this lovely little set, titled simply GREATEST HITS.

It contains all your basic Police tracks - "Roxanne", "Message in a Bottle", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", "Every Breath You Take", etc. But it also adds some - the essential "So Lonely" from OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR, "The Bed's Too Big Without You" from REGGATTA DE BLANC, and "Synchronicity II" and the essential "Tea in the Sahara" from SYNCHRONICITY. Though The Police only released five albums (not including 1995's LIVE!), they were such a magnificent band that they had many outstanding songs - so many that it would be impossible to collect them all on a single-disc set. If you could, however, make a set of The Police's greatest songs with only a disc to spare, GREATEST HITS does it. Every song here is brilliant, even if the set doesn't contain every great song The Police ever recorded.

When compared to the other two compilations - THE SINGLES and THE CLASSICS - GREATEST HITS is far superior. If you're looking for a good introduction to The Police or to get a taste of what their music was like, I would highly recommend GREATEST HITS.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS: "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You", "So Lonely", "Message in a Bottle", "Walking on the Moon", "The Bed's Too Big Without You", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", "Invisible Sun", "Spirits in the Material World", "Synchronicity II", "Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain", "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "Tea in the Sahara"

I could never really get my self into any of the Police's albums. They were the kind of album you'd borrow off someone else, and tape the few good tracks. Through their career, the police released about four variations of best ofs and greatest hits. They did release a greatest hits in 1986 that featured a remix of "don't stand so close", but missed out on many of the popular hits. Out of all their material they have produced, this compilation is IT!

This one has all their hits from their reggae roots in the mid seventies through to their new romantic sound in the mid eighties. All my favourites are on here including "every little thing she does is magic", "Roxanne", "Can't stand loosing you", "message in a bottle" and and and at long last, the original version of "don't stand so close". I hated that remix that was done in the late eighties. Other hits on this set include "every breath you take", "spirits in the material world", "wrapped around your finger", "de do do do, de da da da" and "synchronicity". This CD covers all their great hits with 16 selections. If you like the police in any way, you can't go wrong with this disc.

Truth be known, if I was buying a "Police" collection for the first time, I'd easily drop a few more bucks to get this one. It includes everything "The Classics" does, 4 excellent tracks it doesn't, and it drops the repeated songs. It's nearly perfect. All the obvious songs are here, but it also has "So Lonely", "Synchronicity II", and "Tea In The Sahara". Those 3 are a huge plus. Otherwise you know the story, they were the biggest band in the world, before they passed the torch to "U2", and split up.

For many artists, it seems, the US always gets the short end of the stick (literally) when it comes to greatest hits cd's. On this cd, you get all the same songs that are on "Every Breath You Take - The Classics", minus the song "classic rock" remix of "Message in a Bottle" and the 1986 version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me", which is not an improvement on the original. Instead, you get "So Lonely", "The Bed's Too Big Without You", "Tea in the Sahara", and my personal favorite "Synchronicity II". Now if it just had "Driven to Tears", it would be perfect!

This is a superb collection of Police singles, from the early days of Roxanne and Can't Stand Losing You - both of which were considered controversial songs because of their subject matter. The Police very successfully integrated reggae rhythms into their sound, as demonstrated by the aforementioned and by later smashes like Message In A Bottle and Don't Stand So Close To Me. My other favourites include Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Spirits In The Material World and Every Breath You Take. Not everything here has stood the test of time well - De Do Do Do is one those irritating novelty numbers that I skip when listening to this album. These songs, although mostly simple and catchy, are a cut above simple pop because of their clever lyrics that often contain a twist or two, innovative rhythmic patterns and the band's professionalism. This greatest hits album is perfect for the casual listener although hardcore fans might want to get all the band's output on CD. There is also the 1997 collection The Best Of Sting And The Police with a slightly different track listing, containing more of Sting's ballads.

This is my favorite Police compliation. The other one is "Every Breath You Take: The Classics". Yes, I have both. Anyway, this has some of their best hits, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in The Police. Check it out.

A very good collection for the casual fan, "Greatest Hits" gathers the Police's most succesful singles, and since they were mostly a singles band, that's pretty much everything most people will need.

All their most accessible songs are here; "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Don't Stand So Close To Me", Can't Stand Losing You", the larynx-shredding "Roxanne", and of course Sting's and Andy Summers' subtle reworking of "Stand By Me" - the classic "Every Breath You Take".
(What? You don't believe that song is based on "Stand By Me"?
Listen to the chord changes. Or ask Keith Richards, because I hadn't noticed it either until I read an interview with him where he mentions the Police and those two songs.)

Anyway, unless you're a hardcore Police fan (in which case you probably have all of their albums anyway), this is pretty much all you'll ever need.
A fine, throrough compilation.

If you are looking for a way to get all the hits from The Police and nothing more, this is by far your best option. "The Classics" misses some songs and remakes others. This collection has the hits in their original untainted forms. That means the original "Roxanne", "Every Breath You Take", "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "King of Pain", and many more. This is your best bet to hear The Police when they were on top of the world.

This is one of the greatest "Greatest hits" compilations that I own in any music category. However, in this genre I must admit they don't come like this anymore. I seldomly listen to this genre of music (unless it's on the radio) but when I do you bet the police is one of cds in the cd changer. This group has earned their infamous reputation and this compilation is just a summary of their excellence. All their top hits are included most likely based on popularity. I like all but one. So if you are considering buying just one Police album for your collection this one would be ideal. It also brings back great memories of great era in music.