[.ca] Ghost In The Machine

Amazon.com essential recording:
Dark, somber, and thematically unified as no previous album by the Police, Ghost in the Machine deals almost exclusively with the negative effects of modern political and technological culture. The only departure from this focus is "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," a perfect pop song and radio hit. Elsewhere, the album treats such issues as the hope underlying resistance to oppression, the dismissal of most of the nonindustrialized world, the daily bombardment of words and images that overload the senses, and the frequent recourse to violence for personal or political expression. The songs are presented in what are, for the Police, unusually dense, layered arrangements. Andy Summers's guitar lines are even more ethereal than usual, with Sting's bass parts bobbing in a mix seasoned with keyboards and sax and propelled by Stewart Copeland's unmistakable, idiosyncratic drumming. While Synchronicity gave the Police their greatest success with hits and videos, Ghost in the Machine is the band's best recording. --Albert Massa

guybunda and the infidel don't get good music.:
some sad cases like "guybunda" and "the infidel" or whatever their lame made up names are have no clue of the impact of the police.especially an album like ghost in the machine.the infidel sounds like a racist and probably doesnt like sting cause he's white.pity.i would take the worst police album any day over the over-rated bob marley.pot-head.oh and guybunda sounds like a small minded shmuck.he probably only knows the police songs from the radio and is too busy buying 50 cent cds rather than take in the incredible sounds of the police.the police took reggae and jazz and made it coolest.way to go sting and co.poor saps like guybunda and infidel should take another listen and not talk soo much.-----later

Very dark...:
"Ghost In The Machine", the penultimate studio album from The Police is the most interesting recording they ever did, and arguably the most consistent. Unlike on other albums where there could be a mix of instrumental jams and novelty tracks as well as their signature reggae infused rock, "Ghost..." is very focused and musically more consistent than the others. The sound is very different here than on previous albums. The making of this record coincided with Sting starting out on the saxophone so there's little bits of that thrown in (almost incongruously) as well as a heavy emphasis on synth and keyboard. This entails a sonic density never present before on other albums. Another thing that will strike you upon listening to this album is that it's just generally faster. The tempo doesn't slow down until Copeland's contribution, the last track, "Darkness". The mood is very sombre, even darker than Synchonicity. Songs like "Spirits In The Material World" and "Invisible Sun" (two singles) set a dark mood for the rest of the album. In this way, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" seems rather out of place with its perky carribean feel. Other highlights include "Secret Journey" which is beautifully atmospheric and "J'Aurais Toujours Faim De Toi", where Sting shows off his rather woeful French accent. I would like to point out that Mr. Banned gave Britney Spears' albums, Jessica Simpson's album and an American trance compilation 5 stars, and gave a Rolling Stone's album, some Police albums, some Led Zeppelin albums and nearly every Beatles album 1 star, i.e. he wouldn't know music if it kicked him up the a$$.

The most politically conscious album by the Police:
With their penultimate studio album, the Police moved more towards political consciousness, emphasizing the human spirit and soul over soulless corporate machinery--hence Ghost In The Machine. However, in some songs, I detect the prelude to "Synchronicity" in quick-paced songs like "Rehumanize Yourself" and "Omegaman", with its racing guitars and drums. Only one song recalls the style of their old days. With the steady keyboard notes forming the rhythm of the verses, the single "Spirits In The Material World" deplores the moral and spiritual crisis in the world, with no hope for legally trying to change the world. The materialist-oriented 80's does give pause, making one wonder, "Where does the answer lie?/Living from day to day/If it's something we can't buy/There must be another way." The Police scored their fourth UK #1 with "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." Itself a big hit in the US, it's a catchy tune exploring that painful shyness a man feels towards a woman he admires. The shyness and distance is evoked in his line about standing with her under a big enough umbrella, but he becoming wet, climaxing in the all-time classic fears: "I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day/And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way/But my silent fears have gripped me/long before I reach the phone/long before my tongue has tripped/Must I always be alone?" With grim keyboards rising in volume, with Stewart Copeland's drums tapping out a steady beat, the moody "Invisible Sun" echoes the hopelessness of an industrial life draining the spirit out of someone so that "I face the day with my head caved in/Looking like something that the cat brought in." Such a bleak future, and a bleak song, underscored by "And they're only gonna change this place/by killing everybody in the human race/And they would kill me for a cigarette/but I'm don't even wanna die just yet." I'm not sure how effective singing in French is to a steady rhythmic Police sound is, but the majority of "Hungry For You" is sung that way. There is raw desire and savagery in the lyrics, particularly when he sings \otranslated\c: "I must burn away this jealousy/you have ravaged my heart/and me, I've drank your blood." "The doomsday weapon, "a walking disaster, arsenal of doom, the sort of thing they ban," is psychotically personified in the jamming "Demolition Man," with a brass section and pulsing bass. Sting later redid this for the futurist movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. If Sting was singing about the 80's computer age leading to "Too much information running through my brain/Too much information driving me insane" would he make a 2000's remix of "Too Much Information" for the Internet Age? A catchy, jazzy song with a brass section. Violence as a social norm...how sobering. "Rehumanize Yourself" makes a commentary on a policeman itching for violence, with a nod to the Beatles: "He'd like to have a gun just to keep him warm" and the unfulfilling purpose of making machines for a larger company and not working for one's own good and spiritual well-being. Western political and sociologically-centered bias is tackled in the funky reggae of "One World (Not Three)," referring to the now-antiquated concept of the First World being capitalist countries, the Second World being communist countries, and Third World being the underdeveloped ones. Sting says in warning of a possible nuclear or environmental catastrophe, "We can all sink or we all float/'Cos we're all in the same big boat/One world is enough/For all of us." There are mythological subtexts, of the hero's journey in "Secret Journey" and the meeting with a blind holy man/guru, whose words of wisdom include: "You will see light in the darkness/You will make some sense of this/And when you've made your secret journey/You will find the love you miss....And when you've made your secret journey/You will be a holy man." With airy but moody synths and keyboards, "Darkness" shows how it's easier to dream of lofty ideals, but when one is out there, the flaws begin to show, and it makes on frustrated enough to wish "I wish I never woke up this morning." Probably the most sciopolitically conscious and sobering album the Police have done, with a sound close to Synchronicity.

Police at their most consistent:
Although I would say that Synchronicity contains the most accessible and well-crafted Police songs, this one has the most consistency. My favorite track is #8, One World (Not Three). It is entrhalling to listen to Stewart Copeland on this tune as he takes a simple reggae beat and then adds and removes tension throughout the song with his drum/hi-hat riffs and fills. You get the feeling that the band could play around with this beat for an hour and still make it sound interesting. The only real intricately constructed songs are tracks 2, 3, and 9; the rest of the album is basically a polyrhythmic jam session. Great stuff.

Deeply, deeply 80s.:
Out of all the Police albums, Ghost in the Machine seems to have dated the most. From the first listen, you can hear that this album is deeply, deeply 80s. Maybe it's the synthesizers, maybe it's the brass section and how it's used, maybe it's Sting's overproduced vocals. It's probably a combination of all three of those things. The first three tracks are the best ones here. Spirits in the Material World is a synthy sort of reggae piece, touched with Sting's political lyrics, and a chanty chorus. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic is the song you'll come back to again and again. A love song where of Ghost in the Machines elements (piano, effects, synths) come together perfectly. This is followed up by the droning Invisible Sun, a synth-filled song about the North Ireland conflict. Great songs. However, the rest of the album isn't as great. Hungry for You is all sung in French with a cheesy brass section that plays a tune that gets really annoying even on the first listen. Demolition Man and Too Much Information have the same problem. These three usually get skipped when I'm listening to this CD. On Rehumanize Yourself, things get a little bit better. Sting's vocals are witty and evocative, the brass section makes quirky noises (e.g ambulance-like sounds), and bright synths keep the time. One World is a political piece of reggae, fairly stripped down compared the other effects and synth filled tracks. Omega Man is probably the most upbeat track here, with phase effects plastered over everything. Secret Journey starts off like a Tangerine Dream piece, but then develops into a song similar to Walking on the Moon. Great chorus! The album ends with Darkness, a song thats piano, electronic ambience and a drum beat in each speaker. None of these tracks match the first three. This is my least favourite Police album, yet it was the first one I got, so there was enough here to make me a fan. I recommend this to fans of the Police and those nostalgic for 1980s music. Everyone else should get a Police compilation, as those great first three tracks are usually on there. There isn't anything else on Ghost in the Machine to keep a casual fan interested.

• Spirits in the Material World
• Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
• Invisible Sun
• Hungry for You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toil)
• Demolition Man
• Too Much Information
• Rehumanize Yourself
• One World (Not Three)
• Omega Man
• Secret Journey
• Darkness