Customer Reviews

Message in a Box

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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.

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 unremarkable. "I Burn for You", originally featured on the BRIMSTONE & TREACLE soundtrack, is a beautiful, atmospheric song which also deserves a spot with the group's best work. "Once Upon a Daydream" is an interesting, eerie, and quite good rarity, succeeded by a nice live recording of "Tea in the Sahara". Finally, the career of The Police - and the last disc of MESSAGE IN A BOX - concludes with the infamous "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86", a revamp of the group's original hit which was the final song recorded by The Police. I like this song, though it has a more mainstream sound than the other compositions of the group. It goes without saying that it's far inferior to the original.

MESSAGE IN A BOX: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS is absolutely essential for any fan of The Police. It collects every one of the group's five albums and features a variety of highly intriguing rarities, as well as some interesting live recordings. It makes especially apparent the fact that The Police were not just one of the greatest bands of the 80's - they were very likely one of the greatest bands of all time. No Police fan can go without purchasing this, and I'd highly recommend it to everyone else as well.

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.

This box set is truly a must-have: it has every track from all 5 Police studio albums, plus a collection of b-sides, live tracks and rarities. I can finally toss my worn-out 45 singles, which had such b-side gems like "Shamble," the jazzy "Flexible Strategies" and "Someone to Talk to" which features Andy Summers on vocals. Thanks to this collection, I can now hear these rarities in a remastered sound that's fuller and richer than the vinyl editions ever were. Plus, there's a booklet which nicely summarizes the Police's discography. So my advice is simple: get it. Even if you own all of their studio work, it's still worth the investment to buy this package, which has every song in one collection.

This is going out to all of the fans out there. It doesn't matter if you have all the old CD's or vinyl. You are going to want to get this collection anyway. Not because it might have a few tracks you don't have in your collection (although you get just about every Police song ever recorded), but because all of them are digitally remastered. I'm not talking about some slight remaster you might have gotten from other CDs. This is the real deal.

I have put these songs against other Police CDs I have gotten over the years and there is a major difference in the audio quality. You thought the clarity was tight before, but you haven't heard anything yet. The improvements made to the original masters is like night and day. Unless you have those newly remastered Digipack import CD's this is the way to go.

Not only do you get the whole enchilada music-wise, but the booklet that comes with the set is equally worthwile. You get pictures of EVERY album and CD made to date, a history of the band that doesn't shy away from the controversy, and informative biographies of the artists. All in all this is what a box set is supposed to be like.

What a great idea this is! Basically this box set gathers the band's five excellent albums together which are "Outlandos d'Amour" (1978), "Reggatta de Blanc" (1979), "Zenyatta Mondatta" (1980), "Ghost In The Machine" (1981), and "Synchronicity" (1983) plus many b-sides that range from studio recordings not included in the albums or live tracks.

Of course all tracks have been remastered so if you are thinking about getting the Police albums, this is the way to do it! But to complete the collection you should also get the excellent double live album that was released in 1995 too! So don't forget about that. It includes two concerts. One from 1979 and the other from 1983.

Here are the unreleased songs included in the box set:
CD1: "Fallout", "Nothing Achieveing", "Dead End Job", "Landlord"(live), "Next To You"(live), and "Landlord".

CD2: "Visions Of The Night", "The Bed's Too Big Without You"(mono version), "Truth Hits Everybody"(live), and "Friends".

CD3: "A Sermon", "Driven To Tears"(live), "Shambelle", "Flexible Strategies", "Low Life", "How Stupid Mr. Bates", and "A Kind Of Loving".

CD4: "Man In A Suitcase"(live), "Someone To Talk To", "Message In A Bottle"(live), "I Burn For You", "Once Upon A Daydream", "Tea In The Sahara"(live), and "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86".

For fans of the late 70's new wave movement or rock in general this group featuring Sting on vocals/bass, Andy Summers on guitar and sometimes vocals, and the awesome drumming from Stewart Copeland is essential listening as their fusion of reggae, rock, and other styles became hugely influential.
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later...

This box set is comprehensive in a way that does credit to box sets. The Police had a finite recording career, which makes a complete set like this possible. If you buy this and their live album, you will have all the Police worth having. And what will you have? Something special. The Police were a peerless rock trio. Like all good trios, they really had great instrumental chops. Stewart Copeland is perhaps the best rock drummer I've ever heard, so precise and scintillating, yet with a certain degree of restraint that is admirable. Sting and Andy Summers are clearly masters of their instruments as well, and Sting's vocals remain startling. The songwriting is uneven but never uninteresting, and it's wonderful to hear the band's sound develop and evolve over time. All your favorite hits are here, sounding great in this digital remaster, plus previously unavailable gems and B-sides, including some from the very early punk days. There is an informative booklet (the Police played their asses off for years before attaining any kind of commercial success, even while making great records) that tells the band's story, and comments by band members about each of the previously unreleased songs. There are also many fine photographs. (But the set isn't bulky either, like some big box sets are.) A great band, a great box set.

I loved the Police when I was a teenager and I picked this box set up a few years ago and listened to it repeatedly. The early stuff is good, its not great but you can hear the evolution of the band. All of the oddball stuff, such as Stewart Copeland's songs and Andy Summer's songs have a lot of humor to them and are gems in their own right and are good to listen to after you've listened to Every Breath you Take for the millioneth time. The only gripe I could have with this box set is the packaging. I Hate, Hate, Hate the rectangle box sets that don't have actual CD cases that allow for proper CD storage. My copy of this box set was ruined because of CDs wouldn't stay in place and got scratched up all to Hell. I can only hope with the recently rumored Police activity for the 30th anniversary of Roxanne that this box set will be repackaged in a much better format. If the record company would do that I would re-buy this box set in a heart beat because The Police and the songs they did together were that good.

Message In a Box is a 4 disc, 78 track anthology of all the Police's recorded studio work and a handful of live songs. Its title is a bit deceiving because it's not in a "box" at all; rather, it is a book or gatefold-style set. Also found in the gatefold is an attached booklet of color photos, a history of the band's career, a complete discography (with photos of all their releases) and, most interestingly, the stories behind the band's "B-Sides and other Obscure Releases," as told by Sting, Stewart and Andy.

The songs are more or less in sequence of release or their order on each respective Police album. Because of the volume of songs, the ordering's not perfect. The Regatta De Blanc album straddles discs one and two. It's a minor complaint - if a complaint at all - and is offset by all the cool added material.

The highlight of the set is really all the "B-sides and other obscure releases". A few of those are better than tracks that found their way onto albums. A true Police fan will want this set just for those songs. If you like the Police enough to buy all their stuff, you're better off buying this set instead of their 5 studio albums separately. It'll save you a few bucks.

The sound quality is good; there are certainly no glaring quality issues. As for the music, it's incredible! The Police are one of the best bands ever and are truly underappreciated. Their blend of reggae, ska, punk, rock and new wave sounds was quite astounding, even during the creative surge in pop music in the late 70's, early 80's.

I have hundreds of CD's but Message in a Box is, without question, in my top 10.

The Police's "Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings" is what it says - the complete set of studio recordings by the Police. In this boxed set, you get every song from the 5 Studio albums released by the Police, plus some B sides, live recordings, and other rare stuff put into a 4 CD collection. What is nice is that this is a pretty affordable way to get all of the Police's recordings in one package.
When I review a boxed set, I like to start by looking at the packaging since that is a key element in addition to the content. It seems that nowadays everything that is above 2 CDs that is considered a "Boxed Set". There really have become 2 categories of Boxed Sets. The first is a "Classic Boxed Set". This comes in a covered box about the size of an LP and contains CDs (sometimes in jewel cases, sometimes just on the bottom of the box) and a book about the same size. The second type is more like a 5.5" x 10" hardcover book which I term "Hardcover Box Set'. The CDs basically are stored in the hardcover binding and the book is in the middle. I much prefer what I call the Classic Boxed Set to the Hardcover format. The "Message in a Box" set is a Hardcover format. This is disappointing to me because for a 'Complete' collection, I would have liked to see the "Classic Boxed" presentation.

The book that is contained in the set is outstanding. The book opens with a profile of how things looked for the Police in 1976, just as the band was coming together. Then there are individual biography/profiles devoted to the three band members - Stewart Copeland, Sting, and Andy Summers. Right before the Summers bio, there is a section on how Stewart and Sting joined forces. Following the bios, there is a detailed profile of the history of the band. In addition to the many photos, there are sidebars that form a timeline of important dates in the band's history. Each of the sections of the history of the band is devoted to the different studio albums that the band put together. There is even a section that chronicles how the Police would dissolve as well as profiles on what the band members did after the Police. There is a small section devoted to the B-Sides and obscure releases with comments by each of the band members. Then there is a photos section of singles and albums. A detailed discography adorned with album, single, and video covers is also featured. Finally, each song in the set has a list of credits of songwriting and production credits. The nice thing is how you learn what band members wrote what songs.

As for the content, this speaks for itself. Every major studio recording is included in the set and then some. Everything is put in order on the CDs from the first single "Fallout" to the last song "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86 (released on the Every Breath You Take: The Singles" greatest hits. The rare and B side stuff is also put into chronological order as well.

A couple of minor things I would have liked to see
1) The 'Classic Boxed' Packaging (mentioned above)
2) An Interviews CD. The book does a great job at giving you insight into the band members, but there would have been nothing like having the actual voice
3) Unedited Stuff - perhaps there wasn't much saved, but I'm sure there had to be some unedited stuff to add to this.

But these are extremely minor points - the best thing is that this Boxed Set really delivers as advertised. Whether you are a beginner to the Police or a more seasoned fan, this collection should not disappoint.