The Police

[Sean]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='426134' date='Mar 5 2009, 01:28 PM']Copeland is one of my favourite all round musicians. One of the first records I ever bought was a puke green vinyl 10" EP with...



and



on it.

He played all the instrument on it.


I do appreciate Sting's playing but he never got any better than being that freaky Harkonnen in Dune and ambassador for the tantric orgasm. IMHO [/quote]

I was playing that EP a coupel of weeks ago. Grandelinquent is fantastic - the whole thing is brilliant.

[BigBeefChief]

He's a bit of a wally sometimes, but I still think Sting is a stud. A lot of the birds like him, and he's still in good shape. I reckon Trudy Styler is a right dirty bitch as well. Loves a bit of A and O to completion without.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='Sean' post='426138' date='Mar 5 2009, 01:34 PM']I was playing that EP a coupel of weeks ago. Grandelinquent is fantastic - the whole thing is brilliant.[/quote]
+100
If only I had something to play it on I'd dig out my old copy.

[craigjf1969]

Anybody who thinks that they are "dire" live, should take a look at their Certifiable DVD,and then comment again....

[basswesty]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='425372' date='Mar 4 2009, 06:05 PM']Maybe. Copeland don't groove, and he speeds up.[/quote]

Copeland doesn't hold speed well at all but then again there are recordings where you can hear Sting shouting 'FASTER'

Saw them in 2007 though. Good gig.

[MB1]

MB1.
Thought the Stewart Copeland/ Stanley Clarke Collaborations were rather Good!

[xilddx]

[quote name='craigjf1969' post='426144' date='Mar 5 2009, 01:39 PM']Anybody who thinks that they are "dire" live, should take a look at their Certifiable DVD,and then comment again....[/quote]

+ everything

It about as perfect as it could possibly be. Sting's voice is pure gold on this, better than he's ever been. The band are ace, the re-interpretations of their own songs are ace.

[crag42]

[quote name='MB1' post='426151' date='Mar 5 2009, 01:45 PM']MB1.
Thought the Stewart Copeland/ Stanley Clarke Collaborations were rather Good! [/quote]


Good call....

Animal Logic..... I have one of their albums it's class


Craig

[YouMa]

Theres some could off the cuff stuff of them when they first got back together at the whisky go go on youtube.

[SteveK]

[quote]It makes me laugh when people with about 1/10th the talent of these guys come on here and comment about their playing.[/quote]

hmmm! A couple of points:

1. You know nothing about me.

2. This is a forum... A place to debate an issue or express [i]opinions.[/i]


[quote]Copeland = favourite drummer of all time
Sting = one of the main reasons i play bass.[/quote]

OK, you're a fan and the band obviously means a lot to you.

FWIW I think Sting is an outstanding songwriter and the band made some great records. The OP, however, asked for opinions about the rhythm section. My feeling is that there are two quite different aspects to The Police: Records and Live shows.
As I've said, they've made some great records, but film of the live shows that I've seen (mostly from 70s and 80s) gives the impression of "Heads down and first one to the bar"
Of course, one man's "Frantic and grooveless" can be another man's "Exciting".

I'd certainly be interested to see the Certifiable DVD though.

Steve

[xilddx]

[quote name='SteveK' post='426239' date='Mar 5 2009, 02:57 PM']film of the live shows that I've seen (mostly from 70s and 80s) gives the impression of "Heads down and first one to the bar"
Of course, one man's "Frantic and grooveless" can be another man's "Exciting".

I'd certainly be interested to see the Certifiable DVD though.

Steve[/quote]

Certifiable is a fab DVD.

In the years they were around, the Police changed/progressed an awful lot. They started off punky, got reggae, finished jazzy rock pop. Almost a different band. They were a bit sloppy initially, but not "dire".

[Linus27]

[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='426070' date='Mar 5 2009, 12:43 PM']is this worth debating?

Copeland = favourite drummer of all time
Sting = one of the main reasons i play bass.[/quote]

+1

[The Funk]

[quote name='craigjf1969' post='426144' date='Mar 5 2009, 01:39 PM']Anybody who thinks that they are "dire" live, should take a look at their Certifiable DVD,and then comment again....[/quote]

*ahem[i]overdubbed[/i]ahem*

[xilddx]

[quote name='The Funk' post='426345' date='Mar 5 2009, 04:11 PM']*ahem[i]overdubbed[/i]ahem*[/quote]

Really? How do you know?

[The Funk]

I haven't heard it but my friend told me there's a clearly audible second guitar part on a few tracks. That doesn't mean the whole thing was redone in the studio - just that the mistakes were probably fixed. Apparently that's the norm for live albums/DVDs these days.

Edited March 5, 2009 by The Funk

[xilddx]

[quote name='The Funk' post='426360' date='Mar 5 2009, 04:19 PM']I haven't heard it but my friend told me there's a clearly audible second guitar part on a few tracks. That doesn't mean the whole thing was redone in the studio - just that the mistakes were probably fixed. Apparently that's the norm for live albums/DVDs these days.[/quote]

Oh blimey, that's nothing. I thought you meant lots of ODs, vocals, etc.

It's very rare to find a live album that's not been ODed, been the norm for donkey's years.

[risingson]

It didn't sound overdubbed to me, or at least not entirely anyway. IMO they're great live.

[The Funk]

Like I said, I haven't heard it so I can't make a guess about how much was redone in the studio.

I saw them at Twickers for the reunion shows - now that they're not coked up to the eyeballs, they seemed to keep time well.

[Bilbo]

Define 'great'. To be frank, they never held my attention for very long. I don't dislike The Police, I just don't like them enough to consider spending any time listening to them. I can enjoy a track or two but that's about it but, as for great, no, not really.

But that's just me.

[risingson]

Copeland's great... but hard to hold a flame to Vinnie Colaiuta playing on Sting's solo stuff... check it out: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RbOFm8W5Wk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RbOFm8W5Wk[/url]

[Linus27]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='426405' date='Mar 5 2009, 04:39 PM']Define 'great'. To be frank, they never held my attention for very long. I don't dislike The Police, I just don't like them enough to consider spending any time listening to them. I can enjoy a track or two but that's about it but, as for great, no, not really.

But that's just me.[/quote]

I think, looking back at the time they were around, late 70's to early 80's, they were very much ahead of their time. In fact, some of the song could be called timeless classics because even today, some songs still sound fresh. Listening to a lot of other groups now from around them, the songs sound rough, raw and rubbish. I just think at the time, they were special and very much ahead of their time.

[The Funk]

I'd go further and say they created their own trademark sound as a rhythm section - and if anyone tries to do anything along those lines, their influence is clear for everyone to hear.

They're one of the great rhythm sections because they gave us one of the classic rhythm section styles.

[bremen]

[quote name='The Funk' post='426427' date='Mar 5 2009, 04:50 PM']I'd go further and say they created their own trademark sound as a rhythm section - and if anyone tries to do anything along those lines, their influence is clear for everyone to hear.

They're one of the great rhythm sections because they gave us one of the classic rhythm section styles.[/quote]

I'd go along with that, though they never really moved me. Chacun a son groove.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='liamcapleton' post='426416' date='Mar 5 2009, 04:44 PM']Copeland's great... but hard to hold a flame to Vinnie Colaiuta playing on Sting's solo stuff... check it out: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RbOFm8W5Wk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RbOFm8W5Wk[/url][/quote]
Excuse my ignorance but I've not really heard of this Colaiuta chappy but if that's a good example of his playing style then I can't see why you rate him over Copeland. They actually sound pretty similar to me.

Copeland is not a steady 4's (or even a reggae rules 1-2-[u]3[/u]-4) kind of guy. I've heard bands over the years covering The Police and not one of them has ever nailed Copeland's tricky little fills or syncopations correctly - even if they've managed to lock into his signature.

[bremen]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='426449' date='Mar 5 2009, 05:01 PM']Excuse my ignorance but I've not really heard of this Colaiuta chappy[/quote]



He's namechecked in F. Zappa's 'Catholic Girls'.