Customer Reviews

Zenyatta Mondatta

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This is by far their best album and this very well remastered version makes this the best sounding version as well. This album and especially the track "Don't Stand So Close To Me" was the one that introduced me to the Police and just blew me away! I was just so fortunate to be a teenager at the time of the New Wave movement that was sweeping the world from Britain at the time and The Police was just one of the many great bands that were riding the crest of that Wave. Having also heard all their albums since, this one stands out head and shoulders over the rest. Firstly, it's the one coherent album in which every track flows very well and there are really no weak tracks here. Sting's brilliant lyric-writing skills also find a peak here on this album. From the first track about teacher-student romance where Sting makes references to "Lolita" in the brilliant lyric "just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" to the second track about politics and apathy keeping people poor in 3rd World nations: "too many cameras and not enough food"; brilliant, intelligent lyrics that were unheard of before then in pop/rock music. Andy Summers also does his best work here, even winning the Grammy award that year for the Best Instrumental Performance with "Behind My Camel" but check out the great work he does on "Canary in a Coalmine" and on "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" as well. This album represents The Police at their creative best and this version which is excellently remastered represents the best sound quality that you can currently get out there. Very highly recommended!

When rock critics discuss the greatest bands of all time, the Police are rarely, if ever, mentioned. Why is that? Before Sting became a boring VH-1 staple, his onetime punk outfit rose to critical and commerical heights through its winning fusion of rock, reggae, and jazz. Sting effortlessly pulled off what few blue-eyed British guys can do: perform smooth guitar-laced pop with its roots firmly planted in soul. The group's third and best album, "Zenyatta Mondatta" shows Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland at its artistic zenith. The instrumentation of "Driven to Tears" is brilliant as the band playfully swings between edgy rock and reggae. There's the memorable hooks of "When the World is Running Down..." and "De Doo Doo Doo." And we're also treated to the sizzling reggae lilt of "Shadows in the Rain" and the soulful swing of "Voices in My Head." There's not a single dud on this release; it was one of my most-played albums in my preteen years, and very little of it sounds dated. A true classic by any standard.

Often times I've heard that this record doesn't quite measure up to the other Police albums. I would dispute that assertion in a heartbeat. More often than not the Police deliver solid and uptempo pop music on 'Zenyatta Mondata' (What does that mean?). The overall sound quality is a definite step up from the first two records. The drums sound as tight and crisp as drums ever have, and Andy Summer's jazzy guitar licks are clear and innovative. The record starts off with a hot "Don't Stand So Close to Me," and continues with several other gems, such as "Man in a Suitcase," "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," "Driven to Tears," and an instrumental called "Behind My Camel." There are a couple of rough spots, namely a silly "Bombs Away." 95% of the record, however, is right on target. I wouldn't rank this as the best ever Police album recorded, but I also wouldn't claim it to be the worst, either. I would recommend this record for new Police fans.

In an interview some years ago STING had said that this was The Police's last effort where they worked truly together as a band. It was after this album that things began to fall apart in their relationships. I am not a professional critic but I consider The Police to be among the most talented ever to have recorded. I consider Zenyatta Mendatta to be the peak of their recording and professional career.

There are elements of the band's past on this album such as the second and third tracks, Driven to Tears and When the World is Running Down. These songs carry the heavy reggae beat and the flavor of the first two Police albums. Yet there are other tracks like Don't Stand So Close To Me and De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da that bleed into their next work, Ghost In The Machine. I'm not sure where songs like Canary In A Coalmine fit overall but it has its place on this album as does Bombs Away which is a witty song in my opinion.

This record contains a wealth of songwriting and it holds its own against Outlandos de'Amour and Regatta de Blanc.
It is significant that STING still regularly performs When The World Is Running Down live. He re-recorded Shadows In The Rain on his first solo effort. Ofcourse Don't Stand So Close was reworked as the goups swan-song. Zenyatta Mendatta has tremendous value in its contents. It may not have been as commercially successful as Synchronicity or have contained anything as solid as the benchmark three singles that define the peak of The Police's potential, but it overshadows Ghost on any playing field.

I believe this album is the transition between the Roxanne and Message In A Bottle years and the Every Little Thing and Every Breath You Take years. The Police did what few bands could ever do and changed their sound almost completely between their first and last albums. The same band that left us Roxanne left us Every Breath You Take and Wrapped Around Your Finger just a few short years later. Zenyatta Mendatta is where the pivot in The Police's career is fixed. This album shows what was and what will be, and I believe it stands as the bands most listenable album from start to finish. I rank it as their best album.

I don't quite agree to critics who call this as the weakest Police album. Zenyatta Mondatta actually defined the distinctive Police formula, and the overall album sound (heavily delayed/chorused guitars, snappy drum sound, minimalist approach to execution) is memorable. Zenyatta Mondatta is a very coherent album, and it set the standards and foundations for the incredible Ghost In The Machine - released after Zenyatta.

Always quoted as an important reference for the history of rock drumming, Stewart Copeland sets an important mark through his approach to drumming and groove. Andy Summers also shines through his experimentalist approach to harmony (Behind My Camel, Driven to Tears). The only weakness of Zenyatta (perhaps) is the lack of solid songs (for strong compositions, I prefer Synchronicity or Reggatta de Blanc), with the exception of course of 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', one of Sting's best songs ever.

And after nearly 22 years, I still can't get rid of Zenyatta's voices inside my head.

Critics have called Zenyatta Mondatta the worst of the Police albums. From things the band members themselves have said about the time surrounding the recording of Zenyatta Mondatta, they were tired and pressed -- both by the record company for a hit record and their touring schedule. This being the case, this album is even greater than it seems. If this is the worst the Police got, I'll take the Police over countless other bands anyday.

There are some delicious tunes here. Don't Stand So Close To Me, a song about how nervous a man can get when a young girl turns on the charm, is in many ways the best song the Police ever recorded. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da is a fun and smart song about the corrupting power of words. Also fun and smart are Man in a Suitcase, Canary in a Coalmine and When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around. More serious is the driving Driven to Tears, a song about the pain one suffers by witnessing the suffering of others: a song of empathy. Voices Inside My Head's got a mesmerizing momentum. Shadows In the Rain is gorgeously haunting (and a personal favorite).

Zenyatta Mondatta has personal significance to me: It was the first Police album I bought. I was fifteen at the time and, I suppose, I haven't gotten over it. Maybe I'm getting old, but I think fifteen year olds today would be lucky if they had a band like the Police to listen to.

With Zenyatta Mondatta, it's clear that the punk-influenced material has gone by the way side, with something more unique coming through, a style that would become honed to the ultimate in their Synchronicity album. This is a more pessimistic album compared to their first two albums, meaning their sociopolitical consciousness has expanded.

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" tells of a schoolteacher with a pupil who has an unhealthy obsession towards him, just like that man in that book by Nabokov, i.e. Humbert Humbert. The original has a more upbeat reggae-ish beat compared to the sombre elegiac 86 remix which came out on the Police's first compilation, Every Breath You Take-The Singles, As it turned out, I first heard the 86 version, THEN the original, so I prefer the remix. This was their third UK #1.

The socially pessimistic "Driven To Tears" is one of the songs where the Police's non-punk, non-reggae style comes through. There seems no hope when solutions that really work aren't there to help dying innocents, underlined by: "What's to become of our world, who knows what to do."

Given the title "When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around," I wonder if there's anything still around. With the protagonist finding solace in his old VCR, the stereo that still plays compared to the static on his new radio, and watching "Deep Throat" over and over to compensate for loneliness, it's a pretty grim world.

"Canary In A Coalmine" is a kind of fast-paced reggae with a great rhythm guitar. The oversensitive obsession in making a perfect and secure environment is key here, given what canaries were used for in mines. The flaw is wryly described when "you get so dizzy even walking in a straight line." How can one enjoy life with such standards and insecurities?

"Voices In My Head" has a similar guitar rhythm used by Waddy Wachtel in Stevie Nicks' "Edge Of Seventeen," used here at a more paced tempo, with the title chanted in unison.

Military commentary on "Bombs Away" make a reference to Afghanistan, then in its fourth year of war. However, the thoughts of the bored general towards his officers, one of disdain, to one of a fantasy guerrilla girl, seems a characterization of the beautiful enemy.

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" ties in the dynamics between free illogic chaos versus structured logic, regarding one's mind, and what poets, priests and politicians try to do to get their message across. This was the other big single from this album.

"Behind My Camel" is an offbeat instrumental, with Andy Summer's droning guitar replicating some Middle Eastern desert theme. Drummer Stewart Copeland himself penned the instrumental "The Other Way Of Stopping," a showcase for Summer's guitar and Copeland's racing drums.

The travails of a traveling businessman is detailed in the quick reggae beat "Man With A Suitcase," who spends most of his time racing towards meeting his airplane connections and going into a hotel room, described as a prison cell in the same way an airplane is described as a flying cage.

And now, a song I first heard when Sting jazzed it up for his Dream Of The Blue Turtles album. Here, "Shadows In The Rain" is a more slow reggae tune.

Zenyatta Mondatta shows the Police reaching out more to the mainstream, a step that would near closer in Ghost In The Machine and come to fruition in their swansong, Synchronicity.

I remember when "don't stand so close to me" came out. It was the first music i ever bought. I loved and love that song and remember hearing the other songs from the album on the radio. Almost thirty years later "When the world is running down" is my favorite, because it captures the police in a nutshell. The police had a wonderful edge in their lyrics, but the lyrics and instrumentation didn't assault the listener like punk music. Existentialist lyrics probe life vigorously, but doom and gloom is wonderfully avoided. Zenyatta Mondatta playfully dances with some potentially scary issues like psychological instability (shadows in the rain, canary in a coalmine), post-modern disconnect (when the world is running down), political impotence (de do do do, de da da da) the enormous influence of pop culture (driven to tears). This album also has refreshing humility (very hard 2 do without sounding insipid), wittily avoiding egocentrism (don't stand so close to me) and adds nifty atmospheric twists to the concept of romantic pain (voices in my head). Every one of the songs has a wonderful life of its own yet becomes muscially and lyrically stronger when combined together on this gem.

After releasing 2 album in just 2 years and plenty of hit singles, Police released their third album during their 3 years as a band in 1980, titled "Zenyatta Mondatta". The album is a fulfilled promise where Police proves once and for all that they're no punk band, but more of a original New Wave Rock band inspired by Reggae and Jazz. Finally after 3 years they found what most people would call "their" sound, going from a great new wave band to a groundbreaking pioneer band. Most songs are upbeat but they're no fiery rockers and for the first time there are songs with a political meaning included. A good combination between the smart Pop song, the political satire and some instrumentals makes "Zenyatta Mondatta" Police best album. Let's take a look at the songs.

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" starts with a haunting opening, Sting describe this old teacher who got the "Lolita Complex" and got a crush on one of his student half his age. No matter what the song is about it's a brilliant pop song and it became a huge smash in 1980 and still to this day, it's a classic. "Driven to Tears" is the first of many Sting composed political songs. It got this great bassline and ironic lyrics about how we don't take any responsability to how some people are starving and living in extreme poverty. "How can you say that your not responsible?, What does it have to do with me?", I guess that's why we still have poverty?. Next song with the long title follows the previous one "When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best of what's still around". "Canary in a Coalmine" is one of the cathiest Police songs ever, it sound alot like Madness with it's upbeat and happy vibe. The song is about a person who's always worried and can't sit still and just enjoy the wonderful things that life has to offer. "Voices inside my Head" is more or less instrumental with great Sumner riffs, this guy was really a genius! Once again a haunting melody and Sting singing the song title while the melody plays on. The ironic "Bombs Away" takes the price, this song is an anti-war song but all in a happy upbeat atmosphere. Sting sings "Bombs away, but we're OK / Bombs away In old Bombay".

The best song is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" another classic pop song. My guess is that it's also politic, mainly how politicians, media, religious leaders etc. try to control people with power and how tiresome it gets to hear their "beautiful words" that in reality means nothing. So, Sting just replies with the song title, basically yada yada yada. The next song is another beautiful instrumental, the arabesque "Behind My Camel", It's hard to understand that Police could record such great instrumentals. "Man in a Suitcase" is another great pop song, about a man that travels so much that his loved one's hardly recognize him and how he always put his work ahead of his family. That's how Sting felt after constant touring. "Shadows in the Rain" is weird, it's minimalistic song almost half instrumental. "The Other Way of Stopping" is also instrumental, and a good closer to a fantastic album.

Overall, the best Police album and the album where they truly became superstars. You got everything here, cool pop songs, political satires and wonderful instrumentals. Sting wasn't happy with the end result cause the album was recorded in a very short time but everyone else seems to agree that "Zenyatta Mondatta" is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Classic.

the police are amazing. and for anyone who says "ehhhhhhh" and believes that their albums are mediocre isn't really listening. because i'm almost positive that they don't have the musical ability to create this masterpiece. so don't judge something that you yourself don't have the talent to make. with that said, every police album until synchronicity awesome, flawless in production and musicianship. and the only reason i dont like synchronicity is cause it completely disconnects from their previous style and replaces it with all those cheezy synths and eighties production. sting........is responsible for that. but the talent in the band is in stewart copeland and andy summers. sting i think is a better songwriter. even so, his basslines are still an essential element of their sound. overall i cant really pic a favorite album of their's so i decided to review the first record i bought by them, zenyatta mondatta. since then i've bought all their cd's but synchronicity and i doubt that i will ever get the latter. this is a good record to burn to.