Customer Reviews

The Police Synchronicity Concert [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of the last Police concerts, brilliantly captured. The band broke up after the 'Synchronicity' tour. Sting later said there was nowhere to go but down from this concert, that the Police had reached their ultimate expression as group artists. Enough said...

I have had a chance to see Sting live twice now and I haven't been disappointed. I always wish though I had caught one of the Police concerts. This video is the next best thing, and watching them you can see that they were/are truly talented and innovative in their playing. They don't merely reproduce a song which is great. The camera play on the audience is a little annoying, but it doesn't detract from a legendary concert. If you like the Police, BUY THE TAPE!!

I was fortunate enough to see this tour in 1983. Watching this video always brings back what an excellent show it really was. I'm of the opinion that The Police are one of the greatest 3-piece bands ever. Buy the video and relive this amazing show, or experience it for the first time.

It's been several years since I saw this video, but I consider it an exceptional example of quality showmanship, without relying on gimmicks. As a drummer, I appreciated all the shots of Stewart, especially those involving instrument changes and one song where he just barely is ready to play at the necessary time. Anyone who likes live music, Sting, or the Police will enjoy this video.

This concert catches the Police at height of their stardom, when Synchronicity ruled and they were one of biggest bands around (if not THE biggest). The songs performed during this show include virtually all of their hit singles, from "Roxanne" to "Message in a Bottle" to "Every Breath You Take", plus several album tracks from Synchronicity like "Tea in the Sahara" and "Oh My God".

The performances are all solid, but to this Police fan's ears, they lack some of the special energetic frenzy of earlier Police live shows and tours, where it was just Stewart, Sting, and Andy on-stage, no back-up singers, no one else. Stand-outs to my eyes and ears include the reggae-rock "One World" and the always enjoyable "So Lonely".

Where this video consistently drives me crazy, however, is in Godley & Creme's direction and editing. Annoying visual effects are excessively overused, particularly during "Spirits in the Material World" (where a strobe-light effect is used that makes the entire song basically unwatchable). Slow-motion blurring is applied to "Tea in the Sahara", again to no great benefit. "Every Breath You Take" is stripped of color to mimic the look of the music video. All in all it comes across as very pretentious and makes the video look quite dated today, in a way that their earlier, more simply-filmed "Around the World" concert tape doesn't. There are also a lot of annoying shots of audience members added in. While I don't mind the occasional shots of the audience, the fact of the matter is I buy a concert video to watch the BAND, not some girl licking her lips over Sting. This video would have benefitted tremendously by keeping the focus on the band itself, instead of giving in to MTV-like video gimmickry.

Still, one day I would like to see this video released in DVD format, especially if the DVD could include footage of the rest of the songs performed during this concert that were left off the video (such as "Synchronicity II".)

This video showed the police at their best. Playing favorites shuch as "Can't Stand Loosing You" and "Walking On The Moon". Though there were too many special effects I could stop watching it over and over again. The Police know how to put on a show! :)

This is a collection of great Police songs. The quality of the recording is excellent. Colour is accurate and blacks stay black and whites stay white. Sound is good, keep in mind back in '84 home theatre and all that was not big yet, so there was no need to amplify the bass, which with this recording will not give your bottom end a work out, but mids and highs are very present and very clear, listen to many of the nuances. Worth owning if your a die hard Police fan.

There's not much special about this performance of a lot of classic songs and a few usual throw-aways. Besides that I think the producer found a bunch of ticket holders beforehand and drugged them up to film them during the show. Or maybe that's just how people were in the 80s... Anyhow, this makes for constant shots of audience members getting into the "concert spirit". On top of this, they added a lot of cheesy effects like 7-year-olds playing with a video editor. Sting doesn't make things any better by trying to make "King of Pain" into a happy sing-along with the help of back-up singers/dancers.

You may feel disgusted at first but by the time you get to the girl dancing during "Message in a Bottle" and the cheesy effects kick in, you can't help but laugh. Did people acutally play air guitar in public during the 80s?