Mariah Carey debuted at #1 with “Fantasy”

Fantasy Mariah Carey

Writer(s): Mariah Carey, Adrian Belew, Christopher Frantz, Dave Hall, Steven Stanley, Martina Weymouth (see lyrics here) Released: September 12, 1995 First Charted: September 30, 1995 Peak: 18 US, 19 CB, 19 GR, 16 RR, 8 AC, 16 RB, 4 UK, 12 CN, 11 AU, 15 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.25 US, 0.48 UK, 3.5 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 116.42 video, 164.5 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Fantasy” was the lead single from Daydream, Mariah Carey’s fifth studio album. It was the second song in history – following Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” – to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent eight weeks on top and also hit the pinnacle in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It wa her ninth song to reach the top in the U.S. In Canada, its 12 weeks at #1 tied it with six other songs for the most weeks at the top. SF Lyrically, the up-tempo R&B, dance-pop song talks about a woman in love with a man and fantasizing about an impossible relationship with him. The song samples Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” from 1981, a song which peaked at #31, but was popular in dance clubs. SF Carey got the idea to sample the song after hearing it on the radio. WK The New York Times’ Stephen Holden said that with the song, Carey “glides confidently into the territory where gospel-flavored pop-soul meets light hip-hop.” WK About.com’s Bill Lamb called the song “truly inspiring” and a “career high water mark” for Carey. WK All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said “she has earned her status as an R&B/pop diva.” WK Slant magazine called it “escapism perfected, [a] summer bubblegum gem with a sweet, flawless vocal line driven by a diva in her prime.” WK A remix featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard was credited with introducing collaborations between R&B and hip-hop to the mainstream pop culture. WK Carey had wanted to branch into hip-hop for a while, but her husband, Tommy Mottola (the head of Sony Music), dismissed the genre as a “passing fad.” SF She later referred to the song as “a major turning point” in her career and one of her “proudest and happiest moments.” SF The Fader’s Judnick Mayard, said it “may still be the best and most random hip-hop collaboration of all time.” WK The New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones said that Carey’s “idea of pairing a female songbird with the leading male MCs of hip-hop changed R&B and, eventually, all of pop.” WK She said that because of “Fantasy,” “It became standard for R&B/hip-hop stars like Missy Elliott and Beyoncé, to combine melodies with rapped verses.” WK Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/2/2021; last updated 4/10/2023.

David Bowie Outside released

Outside David Bowie

Released: September 25, 1995 Peak: 21 US, 8 UK, -- CN, 55 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: glam rock/classic rock veteran

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Leon Takes Us Outside [1:25] Outside (Armstrong/Bowie) [4:04] The Heart’s Filthy Lesson [4:57] (9/16/95, 92 US, 20 MR, 35 UK) A Small Plot of Land [6:34] Segue – Baby Grace (A Horrid Cassette) [1:39] Hallo Spaceboy (Bowie/Eno) [5:14] (3/2/96, 12 UK, 36 AU) The Hotel (Bowie) [6:50] I Have Not Been to Oxford Town (Bowie/Eno) [3:49] No Control (Bowie/Eno) [4:33] Segue –Alberta Touchshriek [2:03] The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (As Beauty) (Bowie/Eno/Gabrels) [4:21] Segue – Ramona A. Stone/I Am with Name [4:01] Wishful Beginnings (Bowie/Eno) [5:08] We Prick You (Bowie/Eno) [4:35] Segue – Nathan Adler, Pt. 1 [1:00] I’m Deranged (Bowie/Eno) [4:31] Thru These Architects’ Eyes (Bowie/Gabrels) [4:22] Segue – Nathan Adler, Pt. 2 [0:28] Strangers When We Meet (Bowie) [5:07] (12/2/95, 39 UK) Songs written by Bowie/Campbell/Eno/Gabrels/Garson/Kizilcay unless indicated otherwise. Total Running Time: 74:36 The Players: David Bowie (vocals, saxophone, guitar, keyboards) Brian Eno (synthesizers) Reeves Gabrels (guitar) Carlos Alomar (rhythm guitar) Erdal Kızılçay (bass, keyboards) Mike Garson (grand piano) Sterling Campbell, Joey Baron (drums) Yossi Fine (bass)

Rating: 3.537 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “David Bowie seemed like an artist without direction ever since the success of Let's Dance, switching styles and genres with a speed that made him appear nervous, not innovative. Recorded with his former collaborator Brian Eno, Outside was intended to return some luster to his rapidly tarnishing reputation. Instead of faux soul or mainstream pop — or even dissonant hard rock, for that matter — Bowie concentrates on the atmospheric, disturbing electronic soundscapes of his late-'70s ‘Berlin’ trilogy (Low, Heroes, and Lodger), adding slight, but detectable, elements of industrial, grunge, and ambient techno.” AMG “Bowie also raised the stakes by making Outside the first in a series of concept albums about mystery, murder, art, and cyberspace. Everything that would have made Outside a triumphant comeback seemed to be in place, but the album is severely flawed. Not only is the story poorly developed and confusing, but the album is simply too long. Throughout the record, good ideas bubble to the surface, yet are never fully explored, and the sheer bulk of the album means that the good songs — Hallo Spaceboy, Strangers When We Meet, The Hearts Filthy Lesson — are buried underneath the weight of the mediocre material.” AMG “Furthermore, nothing on the album is a departure from Bowie's late-‘70s records; when he does experiment with newer musical forms or write about futuristic technology, he seems unsure of himself. That said, Outside is Bowie's most satisfying and adventurous album since Let's Dance. It’s clear that he’s trying once again, and when he does hit his mark, he remains a brilliant artist.” AMG Notes: ”Strangers When We Meet” was originally on 1993’s The Buddha of Suburbia. Also, an Australian import release features another version of “Hallo Spaceboy.” In 2004, Columbia Records reissued the album with B-side “Get Real” tacked on to the original album.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Bowie AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 2/20/2008; last updated 8/3/2021.

 

The Police: A Retrospective (1977-1986)

The Police A Retrospective: 1977-1986

Overview: Formed: 1977 Where: Newcastle, England Disbanded: 1986 Reunited: 2007-08 tour “Nominally, the Police were punk rock, but…only in the loosest sense of the term. The trio’s nervous, reggae-injected pop/rock was punky, but it wasn’t necessarily punk.” A-P “The Police brought bristling energy and musical sophistication to the New Wave movement. They were among the first post-punk success stories, applying the succinct and speedy strictures of that genre to more challenging material that appealed to listeners of all ages and musical persuasions.” RH “All three members were considerably more technically proficient than the average punk or new wave band. Andy Summers had a precise guitar attack that created dense, interlocking waves of sounds and effects. Stewart Copeland could play polyrhythms effortlessly. And Sting, with his high, keening voice, was capable of constructing infectiously catchy pop songs. While they weren’t punk, the Police certainly demonstrated that the punk spirit could have a future in pop music.” A-P “On the punk-rock scene, too much musical acumen was almost a liability, but the Police compensated for their abundant chops by adopting a stripped-down sound. Their original songs were short and concise, and their lean, uncluttered approach disciplined them in beneficial ways.” RH “As their career progressed, the Police grew considerably more adventurous, experimenting with jazz and various world musics. All the while, the band’s tight delivery and mastery of the pop single kept their audience increasing, and by 1983, they were the most popular rock & roll band in the world.” A-P Though they were at the height of their fame, internal tensions caused the band to splinter apart in 1984, with Sting picking up the majority of the band’s audience to become an international superstar” A-P and “viable solo artist, one obsessed with expanding the boundaries of pop music. Sting incorporated heavy elements of jazz, classical, and worldbeat into his music, writing lyrics that were literate and self-consciously meaningful, and he was never afraid to emphasize this fact in the press. For such unabashed ambition, he was equally loved and reviled, with supporters believing that he was at the forefront of literate, intelligent rock and his critics finding his entire body of work pompous. Either way, Sting remained one of pop’s biggest superstars for the first ten years of his solo career, before his record sales began to slip.” A-S The Beginnings (The Police): Bassist Gordon Sumner (aka Sting) and drummer Stewart Copeland formed the Police in 1977. Sting, who got his nickname because of a black-and-yellow jersey he wore, used to be a teach and ditch digger while also playing in jazz-rock bands on the side. One of those was a group called Last Exit. Copeland grew up in the Middle East where his father was a CIA field officer. He attended college in California before moving to England, where he played with a progressive-rock band called Curved Air. Sting was living in Newcastle, England in 1976 when Copeland met him at a local jazz club. They formed a progressive-pop band with Corsican guitarist Henri Padovani. They gigged at local London pubs for a few months as the Police – a name which Copeland had already come up with. RH When they were hired to be a bleached-blonde punk band in a commercial for chewing gum, they got exposure but drew the scorn of genuine punk rockers. A-P Still, the look gave the group “an aura of New Wave hipness that intimated they were younger than they really were.” RH In 1977, the trio recorded its first single, Fall Out, for the indie-label IRS, which Copeland founded with his brother Miles (who also managed the Police). It sold 70,000 copies, which was a big hit for an independent release. A-P Padovani was replaced by guitarist Andy Summers. He was nearly a decade older than his bandmates and had played with Neil Sedaka, as well as “rhythm & blues (Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band), psychedelic rock (Eric Burdon and the Animals) and progressive rock (Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers).” RH The Players Gordon Sumner (aka “Sting”) (vocals/bass). Born October 2, 1951 in England. Andy Summers (ne Somers) (guitar). Born December 1, 1942 in England. Stewart Copeland (drums). Born July 16, 1952 in Alexandria, Virginia. Links ThePolice.com (official site) Facebook Wikipedia Sting & The Police: Top 60 Songs DMDB podcast: The Best of the Police, 1977-1986 (In Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Synchronicity)

Awards

Studio Albums

Compilations ES Every Breath You Take – The Singles (1978-86, released 1986) G Greatest Hits (1978-83, released 1992) MB Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings (box set: 1977-1986, released 1993) EC Every Breath You Take – The Classics (1978-86, released 1995) FS Flexible Strategies (archives: 1977-83, released 2018) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the above compilations/live albums are noted.

Outlandos D’Amour (1978)

Next to You So Lonely G Roxanne ES, G, EC, 97, 98 Hole in My Life Peanuts Can’t Stand Losing You ES, G, EC, 97, 98 Truth Hits Everybody Born in the ‘50s Be My Girl – Sally Masoko Tanga

About the Album: With the lineup of Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers in place, The Police were signed to A&M Records. In the spring of 1978, they released Roxanne, “a Sting-penned paean to a prostitute” RH noted for “its intriguing start-stop rhythms.” RH It failed to chart. The group then launched a tour of America that summer despite not having an album to support yet. Among their appearances was a performance at New York’s famous CBGB’s club on October 20, 1978. The group’s debut album, Outlandos D’Amour (“Outlaws of Love”), was released in November. It was “filled with the economical, reggae-accented New Wave pop that became the group’s stock in trade.” RH The group toured in support of Alberto y los Trios Paranoias and released So Lonely. In the spring of 1979, the rereleased “Roxanne” reached #12 on the UK charts and the Outlandos D’Amour album got to #6. “Miles also had the group tour parts of the world, including India and Argentina, that were unaccustomed to having rock bands pass through…This groundwork eventually helped the Police become a global sensation.” RH Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including chart data, sales, awards, and information on individual songs.

Reggatta De Blanc (1979)

Message in a Bottle ES, G, EC, 97, 98 Reggatta de Blanc It’s Alright for You Bring on the Night BN Deathwish Walking on the Moon ES, G, EC, 97, 98 On Any Other Day The Bed’s Too Big Without You G Contact Does Everybody Stare No Time This Time

About the Album: Sting tried out his acting chops in the summer of 1979 with a part in the film Quadrophenia, based on the Who’s album of the same name. He also acted in Radio On. That fall, the Police released their second album, Reggatta De Blanc, which loosely translates to “White Reggae.” It was preceded by the single Message in a Bottle, which topped the UK charts. The band went on to hit #1 with Reggatta De Blanc in the UK and it reached #25 in the United States. They also stoked their international following with tours in countries such as Thailand, India, Mexico, Greece, and Egypt, that rarely saw concerts from foreign performers. A-P “By tour’s end, the Police were budding superstars.” RH Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including chart data, sales, awards, and information on individual songs.

Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)

Don’t Stand So Close to Me G, EC, 97, 98 Driven to Tears BN When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around BN Canary in a Coalmine Voices Inside My Head Bombs Away De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da ES, G, EC, 98 Behind My Camel Man in a Suitcase Shadows in the Rain The Other Way of Stopping

About the Album: “Now on an extremely tight schedule, the in-demand band finished recording in the wee hours of August 9 and kicked off the first gig of a world tour in Belgium that evening.” RH “Constant playing further refined the trio’s less-is-more approach, and there were few wasted or extraneous notes even as they offered much to digest rhythmically, musically and philosophically.” RH The song’s on the Police’s third album, Zenyatta Mondatta, showed Sting turning “his attention to subjects beyond the self, resulting in more philosophical songs like Driven to Tears, When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around and Canary in a Coalmine.” RH The album also saw the group achieve their breakthrough in North America, reaching the top 10 with Don’t Stand So Close to Me (a #1 in the UK) and De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da. The album hit #5 in the United States. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including chart data, sales, awards, and information on individual songs.

Ghost in the Machine (1981)

Spirits in the Material World ES, G, EC Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic ES, G, EC, 97, 98 Invisible Sun ES, G, EC Hungry for You (J’Aurais Toujours Faim de Toil) Demolition Man BN Too Much Information Rehumanize Yourself One World (Not Three) BN Omegaman Secret Journey Darkness

About the Album: By the onset of 1981, the group had sold out Madison Square Garden. Later that year, they recorded their fourth album, Ghost in the Machine, on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Hugh Padgham produced the album and the sessions were filmed for a BBC documentary hosted by Jools Holland. The album was completed in a couple of months and released that fall. It found them “expanding their sonic palette by judiciously incorporating keyboards and saxes into the matrix. Much of the material – notably Spirits in the Material World, One World (Not Three) and Rehumanize Yourself – found Sting tapping into a spiritual vein that preached and yearned for global unity. Invisible Sun lamented violence in Northern Ireland with an almost metaphysical grace.” RH However, it was the “celebratory love song Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” RH which gave the Police their biggest hit to date. It was yet another #1 in the UK and reached #3 in the United States. The album hit #1 in the UK and #2 in the U.S. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including chart data, sales, awards, and information on individual songs.

Synchronicity (1983)

Synchronicity I Walking in Your Footsteps O My God Mother Miss Gradenko Synchronicity II G Every Breath You Take ES, G, EC, 97, 98 King of Pain ES, G, EC Wrapped Around Your Finger ES, G, EC Tea in the Sahara BN, G Murder by Numbers

About the Album: After being named Best British Group at the first Brit Awards and winning three Grammys, the group took a break. Sting acted in the movie Brimstone and Treacle. He and the Police also provided music for the soundtrack. Copeland provided the score for Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish and the San Francisco Ballet’s King Lear. He also played on sessions for Peter Gabriel and released an album under the name Klark Kent. Summers recorded I Advance Masked, an instrumental album, with Robert Fripp. A-P The Police headed back to Montserrat again and recorded a new album over six weeks. “Synchronicity “was exotic yet accessible, and its hauntingly soulful leadoff single, a href="https://davesmusicdatabase.blogspot.com/2011/06/polices-synchronicity-turns-28.html#every_breath_you_take">Every Breath You Take, topped the American charts for eight weeks.” RH With two more top-10 hits and a top-20 hit in the U.S., the album was propelled to a whopping 17 weeks atop the charts and sold over 10 million worldwide. The Police also set precedents for tours for the remainder of the ‘80s with their record-breaking world tour, including a performance to 70,000 fans at Shea Stadium on August 18, 1983. RH They also won three Grammys in 1984, including Song of the Year for “a href="https://davesmusicdatabase.blogspot.com/2011/06/polices-synchronicity-turns-28.html#every_breath_you_take">Every Breath You Take.” Go to the DMDB page for more about this album including chart data, sales, awards, and information on individual songs.

Every Breath You Take – The Singles The Police

Released: October 27, 1986 Covers: 1978-1986 Peak: 7 US, 12 UK, 11 CN, 4 AU Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 1.2 UK, 13.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: new wave/rock

Tracks: (1) Roxanne (2) Can’t Stand Losing You (3) Message in a Bottle (4) Walking on the Moon (5) Don’t Stand So Close to Me ‘86 (6) De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (7) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (8) Invisible Sun (9) Spirits in the Material World(10) Every Breath You Take (11) King of Pain (12) Wrapped Around Your Finger Total Running Time: 40:26

Rating: 4.443 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Every Breath You Take – The Singles: On June 11, 1986, the Police got back together to play a five-song set at an Amnesty International concert in Atlanta. RH Then they reconvened to record together. Sting didn’t have any intention of offering up any new songs, so the trio decided to re-record some songs for a greatest-hits album. Thanks to Copeland suffering a polo injury, even that plan was thrown off and the sessions only produced re-recordings of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.” The former was released on Every Breath You Take – The Singles while the latter wouldn’t surface until Every Breath You Take – The Classics. The compilation was the group’s fifth straight #1 in the UK and their fourth top-ten album in the United States.

Greatest Hits The Police

Released: September 1992 Covers: 1978-1983 Peak: -- US, 10 UK, 24 CN, 16 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK, 1.66 world (includes US and UK) Genre: new wave/rock

Tracks: (1) Roxanne (2) Can’t Stand Losing You (3) So Lonely (4) Message in a Bottle (5) Walking on the Moon (6) The Bed’s Too Big Without You (7) Don’t Stand So Close to Me (8) De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (9) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (10) Invisible Sun (11) Spirits in the Material World (12) Synchronicity II (13) Every Breath You Take (14) King of Pain (15) Wrapped Around Your Finger (16) Tea in the Sahara Total Running Time: 67:46

Rating: 4.188 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

About Greatest Hits: This is essentially an expanded version of Every Breath You Take – The Singles with all of those cuts here except for the 1986 re-recording of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” This set uses the original instead and also adds “So Lonely,” “The Bed’s Too Big Without You,” and “Synchronicity II.” The latter two were top-20 hits in the UK and “So Lonely” hit #6. “Synchronicity II” was also a top-20 hit in the United States. Given the running time, there was still room to include the 1986 version of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “I Burn for You.” The latter, from the Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack, was a minor hit, but belongs alongside other Police classics.

Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings The Police

Released: September 28, 1993 Covers: 1978-1986 Peak: 79 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU, 11 DF Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK Genre: new wave/rock

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Fall Out (2) Nothing Achieving (3) Dead End Job (4) Next to You (5) So Lonely (6) Roxanne (7) Hole in My Life (8) Peanuts (9) Can’t Stand Losing You (10) Truth Hits Everybody (11) Born in the ‘50s (12) Be My Girl – Sally (13) Masoko Tanga (14) Landlord (live) (15) Next to You (live) (16) Landlord (17) Message in a Bottle (18) Reggatta de Blanc (19) It’s Alright for You (20) Bring on the Night (21) Deathwish Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Walking on the Moon (2) On Any Other Day (3) The Bed’s Too Big Without You (4) Contact (5) Does Everybody Stare (6) No Time This Time (7) Visions of the Night (8) The Bed’s Too Big Without You (mono) (9) Truth Hits Everybody (live) (10) Friends (11) Don’t Stand So Close to Me (12) Driven to Tears (13) When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around (14) Canary in a Coalmine (15) Voices Inside My Head (16) Bombs Away (17) De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (18) Behind My Camel (19) Man in a Suitcase (20) Shadows in the Rain (21) The Other Way of Stopping Tracks, Disc 3: (1) A Sermon (2) Driven to Tears (live) (3) Shambelle (4) Spirits in the Material World (5) >Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (6) Invisible Sun (7) Hungry for You (J’Aurais Toujours Faim de Toil) (8) Demolition Man (9) Too Much Information (10) Rehumanize Yourself (11) One World (Not Three) (12) Omegaman (13) Secret Journey (14) Darkness (15) Flexible Strategies (16) Low Life (17) How Stupid Mr. Bates (18) A Kind of Loving Tracks, Disc 4: (1) Synchronicity I (2) Walking in Your Footsteps (3) O My God (4) Mother (5) Miss Gradenko (6) Synchronicity II (7) Every Breath You Take (8) King of Pain (9) Wrapped Around Your Finger (10) Tea in the Sahara (11) Murder by Numbers (12) Man in a Suitcase (live) (13) Someone to Talk To (14) Message in a Bottle (live) (15) I Burn for You (16) Once Upon a Daydream (17) Tea in the Sahara (live) (18) Don’t Stand So Close to Me ‘86 Total Running Time: 287:02

Rating: 4.601 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings)

About Greatest Hits: This 4-CD box set contains all 5 of the Police’s studio albums, the B-sides they released throughout their career, their debut non-album single, and cuts from the 1982 Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack.

Every Breath You Take – The Classics The Police

Released: September 12, 1995 Covers: 1978-1986 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave/rock

Tracks: (1) Roxanne (2) Can’t Stand Losing You (3) Message in a Bottle (4) Walking on the Moon (5) Don’t Stand So Close to Me (6) De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (7) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (8) Invisible Sun (9) Spirits in the Material World (10) Every Breath You Take (11) King of Pain (12) Wrapped Around Your Finger (13) Don’t Stand So Close to Me ‘86 (14) Message in a Bottle (new classic rock mix) Total Running Time: 59:20

Rating: 4.360 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings)

About Every Breath You Take – The Classics: This included all of the same songs as Every Breath You Take – The Singles, but added the original “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and a remix of “Message in a Bottle.” The DTS/SACD edition also included the ’86 version of “De Do Do Do, De Da Da.”

Flexible Strategies The Police

Released: November 16, 2018 Covers: 1978-1983 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU, 12 DF Sales (in millions): -- Genre: new wave/rock

Tracks: (1) Dead End Job (2) Landlord (3) Visions of the Night (4) Friends (5) A Sermon (6) Low Life (7) Flexible Strategies (8) Low Life (9) Murder by Numbers (10) Truth Hits Everybody (remix) (11) Someone to Talk To (12) Once Upon a Daydream

Rating: 2.832 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

About Flexible Strategies: While this collection of B-sides is unnecessary to anyone who owns the 1993 box set Message in a Box, this is a perfect collection for Police fans who already owned the five studio albums and didn’t want to plop down the cash for the box set. It would have been even better if this collection included the 1977 non-album single “Fall Out” / “Nothing Achieving” and the Police songs from the 1982 Brimstone and Treacle soundtrack.

Resources/References: Dave’s Music Database: Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists A-P AllMusic.com bio on The Police by Stephen Thomas Erlewine A-S AllMusic.com bio on Sting by Stephen Thomas Erlewine RH Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bio for the Police Wikipedia page for The Police Every Breath You Take – The Singles Wikipedia page for The Police Greatest Hits Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/31/2008; last updated 8/13/2025.