Message in a Box [Box set]

The Police | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1993)
• Original Release Date: September 28, 1993
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000002G23
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,836 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"This is it: Everything the Police released," boasts the notes in the 66-page booklet included with this box set. Obsessive fans have already written to rock magazines indignantly pointing out the omission of this or that obscurity. But everyone else will find that these four discs include all the Police they'd ever want to own. The first two discs include all of Outlandos d'Amour, Reggatta de Blanc, and Zenyatta Mondatta in their original order, interspersed with live rarities and singles B-sides. Discs 3 and 4 are more satisfying, including the band's well-crafted studio high points, Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity, plus more outtakes and live tunes. The set ends with "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86," a dismal remake of the early favorite. By this point, the musician's egos were running rampant and they were barely speaking. If anyone wonders why the group called it quits so abruptly, this tune makes it clear that the split was smart and timely. --Jim DeRogatis

Product Description

THE POLICE Message In A Box (1993 UK 78-track limited edition 4-CD album box set featuring the complete works with live and revised tracks & an integral 64-page booklet including rare photographs & extensive liner notes in 6" x 10" individually numbered hardback book style pack!)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every little thing they did was magic, November 17, 1999

By 

tcbnyc "tcbnyc" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Message in a Box (Audio CD)

The Police were the closest thing the late 70s/early 80s had to the Beatles: smart songs with pop hooks and commercial appeal and plenty of juicy licks by great instrumentalists. And they were photogenic. A little something for everyone. And by and large, all of their music is worth hearing. Unlike Led Zeppelin, whose great box set is a little all over the place, the Police were smart enough to keep it more or less in chronological order. It works especially well for them since their albums have distinct feels to them. And there are a bunch of tasty treats to boot, such as the spooky "I Burn for You." People who think of Sting as a pompous blowhard should listen to tracks like "Demolition Man" or "Canary in a Coalmine" and realize that there was a time when his priority was rocking out, not yoga or 7/8 time signatures. At the same time, the band had an extraordinary sense of space and never felt the need to fill every possible bar with their prodigious instrumental abilities. See "Walking on the Moon" or "Voices inside my Head" for examples. And Stewart Copeland is one of rock's all-time premier drummers. His crisp, fluent attack brings the music to an exaltant level, a level which is rarely reached in Sting's often pretentiously self-aware solo work.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MESSAGE worth hearing, May 18, 2006

By 

Tom Benton (North Springfield, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Message in a Box (Audio CD)

The Police, founded in 1977 by drummer Stewart Copeland, was a rock band like no other. Though much of their early work is clearly punk rock-inspired, the band is most popular due to a style of music which they invented: reggae rock. From the release of their first single in 1977 to their official disbandment in 1986, The Police garnered legions of fans, thanks to their creativity and unique style and sound. Sting led the band with his prominent bass lines, vocals which fluctuated from furious to calm and dreamy, and intelligent lyrics. Andy Summers' atmospheric guitar work was always flawless; as was Stewart Copeland's fast, inventive and often unpredictable drumming. To me, one of the greatest parts of the band is that each member seemed equal. Though Sting is obviously the most famous of the bunch, he seems equal with the other members of the band when you listen to their music. All in all, The Police were most definitely a force to be reckoned with.

MESSAGE IN A BOX: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS collects every studio recording The Police ever made, as well as some live recordings. It consists of 78 tracks spread over four discs. Along with the songs found on the band's albums, MESSAGE IN A BOX also contains rare B-sides as well as compositions from the BRIMSTONE & TREACLE soundtrack. To top it all off, there's a huge booklet filled with all sorts of juicy info about the band, including interviews and a Police timeline. Also, every song in the set has been digitally remastered. It's an offer no Police fan can refuse.

Disc one opens with three songs previously unavailable on CD. Two of these, "Fall Out" and "Nothing Achieving", are from the band's first single; the third is "Dead End Job". These are very different from the group's later work, as they're all punk rock bits, made blatantly clear by Henri Padovani's loud guitar (Padovani played the guitar part for the band's first two songs), Sting's fast singing, and Stewart Copeland's high-speed drumming. Though I enjoy "Nothing Achieving" - primarily for Pavodani's guitar work - I am especially fond of "Fall Out". The tune is catchy, and each of the band members is doing great. I'd go so far as to rank this among the band's best recordings.

From there, we move on to the songs from OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR, the first album of The Police. The quality of the songs is good, but they sound a little tinny, possibly due to the low-quality of the recording tools available to the band at the time. OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR stands apart from the later Police recordings. Half of the album is the sort of reggae-rock which the band would later produce; the other half is made up of punk rock songs. It's an underrated album, in my opinion. Though it's famous for featuring such greats as "So Lonely", "Roxanne", and "Can't Stand Losing You", the album has other impressive songs as well: "Next to You", the opening piece; "Hole in My Life"; and "Truth Hits Everybody". OUTLANDOS D'AMOUR didn't do so well upon its release, due in part to a bad rap from the BBC and a few critics. However, when "Roxanne" was re-released as a single in 1979, the album became a hit.

After the OUTLANDOS songs, we're treated to two less-than-spectacular live recordings of "Landlord" and "Next to You". I've never been very impressed by the live work of The Police. The songs sound too raw and fast-paced to me. After these we get another rarity, "Landlord", which is notable for the awesome guitar part beginning at 0:05 and ending at 0:14. Then we get the first half of REGGATTA DE BLANC.

REGGATTA DE BLANC, the second album of The Police, was the first indication of what the group was really capable of. It's an excellent album which is far better than their debut. It includes some of the band's finest work, such as "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon", as well as some lesser-known songs like "Bring on the Night", "The Bed's Too Big Without You" and "No Time This Time". There's also Stewart Copeland's quirky composition "On Any Other Day". Here we have the one flaw of MESSAGE IN A BOX. Due to the limit in running time for each CD, REGGATTA DE BLANC is split in half. The first half, which begins with "Message in a Bottle" and ends with "Deathwish", closes off the first disc; the second half, beginning with "Walking on the Moon" and ending with "No Time This Time", opens the second disc.

Disc two is possibly the best disc of the set. As soon as REGGATTA DE BLANC ends, we get "Visions of the Night", a B-side with abnormally furious vocals by Sting. This is succeeded by an interesting mono version of "The Bed's Too Big Without You", which may even be superior to the album version. Next is a live recording of "Truth Hits Everybody". Then we have "Friends", another rare song and a particularly bizarre one. It's about a cannibal, eerily voiced by Andy Summers. One you've endured that song, ZENYATTA MONDATTA begins.

ZENYATTA MONDATTA is possibly the group's greatest album. It's definitely their most balanced. It opens with the classic "Don't Stand So Close to Me", an outstanding song with outstanding lyrics by Sting; it's possibly the band's best song. "Driven to Tears", another excellent song, follows. There's hardly a moments pause between that song and the great "When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Around". "Canary in a Coalmine" is as close to a traditional reggae song as the band ever recorded. The next two songs, the repetitive "Voices in My Head" and "Bombs Away", are not amongst the band's finest work; "De Do Do Do, De Da Da", however, is. Andy Summers' guitar sounds especially beautiful in that song, while it sounds harsh and dry in the indstrumental "Behind My Camel". "Man in a Suitcase" is a short, fun song of which I'm rather fond, partially because of Sting's tongue-in-cheek lyrics. "Shadows in the Rain" is inferior to the re-recording which appeared on Sting's debut solo album. ZENYATTA MONDATTA, and the second disc, end with "The Other Way of Stopping".

Disc three opens with the rare "A Sermon", a nice little song followed by a high-voltage live version of "Driven to Tears". This is followed by the rare "Shambelle", which is my personal favorite of the band's instrumental pieces. Sting's bass meshes especially well with Andy Summers' guitar in that song. After that, GHOST IN THE MACHINE begins. It was here that the band really perfected their reggae rock; it's also the group's political album. Most of the songs here seem rather dark and grim to me, but they're also quite good. Especially notable on this album is the frequent use of saxophones, which really enhances the songs. The great opener "Spirits in the Material World" is followed by one of The Police's all-time greats and classics, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", a sweet little romantic song that just sounds beautiful. This is in sharp contrast to "Invisible Sun", which sounds cold and industrial, but which also ranks among the group's best songs. "Hungry For You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)" is sung almost entirely in French, and it's a great song. "Demolition Man" was later remade by Sting and used in the Sylvester Stallone film of the same title. The saxophones are especially prominent on "Too Much Information", which is followed by the catchy "Rehumanize Yourself" and the sax-heavy "One World (Not Three)". "Omegaman", written by Andy Summers, is an excellent song which I consider to be one of the group's best. "Secret Journey" is a cool and mysterious song. The last song of the album, "Darkness", has a nice piano part and has an oddly claustrophobic feel to it.

The four rarities which follow are interesting, but only one is really good. The first is the dull instrumental "Flexible Strategies", made up for by "Low Life". Then we've two songs from the BRIMSTONE & TREACLE soundtrack: "How Stupid Mr. Bates" and the rather disturbing "A Kind of Loving". On that rather poor note, we close the third disc.

The fourth disc is excellent, and possibly the best of the bunch. It contains SYNCHRONICITY, the final album of The Police. It was a major hit upon its release and is widely regarded as a classic. Not without reason - most of the songs are flawless, and Sting's lyrics have never been better or more visually-stimulative. The album opens with the memorable keyboard opening on "Synchronicity I". "Walking in Your Footsteps" is a departure from the usual style of The Police, but "O My God" is classic Police. It's hard to endure Andy Summers' shouting in "Mother", but the lyrics make it worth a try. Stewart Copeland wrote the nice, calm "Miss Gradenko". Everything which follows that is pure gold. "Synchronicity II" is one of the band's best songs, an energetic piece entirely different from "Synchronicity I". This is followed by the band's all-time biggest hit, the almost-legendary "Every Breath You Take". Needless to say, this is one of the group's best. "King of Pain" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" are both among the band's very greatest songs, featuring outstanding lyrics by Sting, particularly on the latter. "Tea in the Sahara", is a beautiful, dreamy song with a perfect vocal by Sting and some of Sting's finest lyrics ever; undoubtedly, this is one of the band's best. SYNCHRONICITY closes with "Murder by Numbers", another tongue-in-cheek composition which stirred up some controversy when it was released. And there ended the final album of The Police. MESSAGE IN A BOX, however, has more to offer.

There's a nice live recording of "Man in a Suitcase". Andy Summers gets the lead vocal part on the mega-rare "Someone to Talk To", which is definitely one of my favorite Police songs and very likely one of the group's best songs. The live recording of "Message in a Bottle" which follows is good, but... Read more ›

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All of the Police studio disks, plus bonus outtakes/live, January 6, 2003

By 

Jack Fitzgerald "JFD" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Message in a Box (Audio CD)

The Police Box Set is one of the few definitive collections that includes nearly everything put out by a recording artist. The listener gets to enjoy the transition from would-be punks evolving to seminal New Wave bleached blonds, and then to arena rockers. I still enjoy their distinctive "white reggae" sound as well as fine instrumental performance.

The disks include Outlandos d'Amour, with great cuts "Roxanne," "Can't Stand Losing You," "So Lonely" and other early nuggets. Regatta de Blance includes "Message in a Bottle," "Walking on the Moon," and sleeper gems such as "Bring on the Night," "The Bed's too Big Without You," and "Does Everyone Stare." These three guys could really rock. Stewart Copeland is one of the finest drummers of his generation. Andy Summers has always been an underrated guitarist. Before going adult contemporary, Sting could really churn some grooves on the bass.

Halfway through disk 2 we get Zenyatta Mondatta, with "Don't Stand So Close to Me," "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," "Driven to Tears," and some great instrumental jams.

Disk 3 features the excellent Spirits in the Material World, with the title song, "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," "Demolition Man," and a personal favorite by Stewart Copeland called "Darkness."

Disk 4 covers the Synchronity period, with their biggest hits and the swansong of this great band. It was sad to see the ego battles dissolve the group, but at least these guys went out on top. Well, not counting "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86."

Interspersed are some live cuts and b-side studio outtakes.

My only regret is that the disks do not preserve the original song sequences of the individually released disks, but I can understand from an economic point of view. Still, this is a great set.