The Police Live! cd

[njperry]

This week I listened to the Police Live! cd for the first time in years. Only the cd of the 1979 concert. (The cd of the 1983 concert is barely listenable to me with the background singers and other extras)

I was reminded of how good and energetic they were in the early years. A great show. Even songs I don't care much for such as Peanuts and Born in the 50s have such force that I like the versions here.

And you can hear Stewart's distinctive drumming very well.

[TheEqualizer]

You don't like Peanuts?

I guess to each his own, but I just ADORE that song. Just drips of early Police spirit

[sockii]

I need to drag that out for a good listen myself soon.

EQ, count me in as another lover of Peanuts. It's perhaps my favorite track on Outlandos, to be honest.

Born in the 50s, however, usually gets the "skip this" button.

[Throb]

Funny I was thinking over the weekend of Peanuts and Outlandos. Our fairly new local radio station The Sound 100.3 here in LA is a throwback to album rock and the old KMET (some of the jocks were on the “Mighty Met”). Anyway, over the holiday weekend they had a “vinyl” weekend. Listeners picked album sides and then they played them on Vinyl the whole weekend, so great to hear the cracks and hisses over the airwaves. They played Side 1 of Outlandos, which I had not heard for a while. I was driving and thought how great to hear Peanuts. Always one of my favorites from the early live shows.

Sockii, no Born in the 50's That's my other favorite from the early live shows.

[DirtyMartini]

[quote="sockii"]Born in the 50s, however, usually gets the "skip this" button.[/quote]

Seconded.

[Throb]

Am I the only one the loves Born in the 50's

oh wait., it's your b-day so I forgive you

[smax]

the synchronicity rehearsal tapes are immeasurably better than the gig that found its way onto that CD.
maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, i fkin LOVE that rehearsal tape.

love peanuts too, both for the arguments between rod and gordo: which i've always assumed come because sting wrote Peanuts about Rod.
" Years ago Rod carved into the table on Sting's jet the words "Where's your fucking sense of humour, you miserable sod?" In return, Sting nipped round in a balaclava and dark clothing early one morning and wrapped 40 ft of anchor chain round the electronic gates of Rod's house in Beverly Hills, trapping him inside his own mansion."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/pers ... laddy.html

"Stewart, the randy rocker turned raspy crooner, sounded like a bitter old man when he was asked why he was continually overlooked for a Grammy award.
"They tend not to give it to the British unless you're Sting. The sun shines out of his arse, a pure jazz musician, Mr. Serious who helps the Indians," Stewart blurted out in an unguarded moment. …"
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-89110169.html

and i also like Peanuts for the fact that it sounds like gordo is shouting "Penis".

[conroy]

The 1979 CD is like a comfort food to me. After listening to it, I then gorge myself on a feast of viewing POLICE AROUND THE WORLD, URGH! A MUSIC WAR, and finally EVERYONE STARES.

[kmart]

I agree with pretty much what everyone has said on this thread..to a point..
As a collector of shows from the Police throughout the years (I have alot of shows, both cd's and dvd's of the Police from each of their tours. I try to get one from each month so I can compare the set list and how they have changed some of the songs during the tour. That show at the Orpheum in Boston is Fantastic!
( My earliest is the Gong reunion...who can honestly say they like the way they sounded at Mont Du Mason?)
I found the shows from 1977 and 1978 to be my favorite shows and the ones that I will listen to over and over again...The Outlandos and Regatta tours were amazing.
I thought the Zenyatta shows were great too....My biggest disappointments? Ghost in the Machine tour tapes with the horns and all....GITM could easily be my fav all time Police album, but in the live bootlegs I have, it just didn't cut it...It seemed the joy wasn't there....and does anyone else find GATESHEAD painful to watch? Wipe your mouth, Stingo! They looked like they couldn't wait for the gig to end.
I do like the Synchronicty shows, keyword being like...the juice just isnt there...didn't really care for the back up singers.... but I have found the reunion shows, especially the later ones, to be really good.Right up there with their early stuff, in my book.

What do you think? Am I off base? Your favorite tours? Your least favorite tours?

[redneckpride]

I remember getting this Cd I think I was 11

[63falcon]

[quote="njperry"]This week I listened to the Police Live! cd for the first time in years. Only the cd of the 1979 concert. (The cd of the 1983 concert is barely listenable to me with the background singers and other extras)

I was reminded of how good and energetic they were in the early years. A great show. Even songs I don't care much for such as Peanuts and Born in the 50s have such force that I like the versions here.

And you can hear Stewart's distinctive drumming very well.[/quote]
Oh, this is a really fun CD! I found a second hand copy last summer on a trip to Chicago w/ my boyfriend-alomg wl Kark Kent Green LP, at a store right across the street from one of my favorite Louis Sullivan buildings no less! Talk about serendipitous.......
There is more verbal interplay between Stewart & Sting on the 1979 recording, love the pieces played-and I also don't really like Born in the %0's or Peanuts either-but enjoy the concert. I do like the 1983 show, I think it is the Atlanta Show that was also made into a DVD, but am not completely sure. Less to no interplay, but Synchronicity 2, always great!
Oh, I also got great vintage Police, Clash, and Ramones buttons, plus a Fly By Night/Rush one,......like I said, seredipitous!

[giovanni]

The Boston recording IS the quintessential Police sound...the pure Police...that's why we love them I guess.
The Atlanta recording (the songs were taken by two shows if I don't get wrong, even if it's not credited like that) is an evolution of the band...I guess it's good to listen to them one after the other...and I guess that was the intention when they released that double cd, to show how the band grew, there is some sort of perfection in Atlanta, but you can get it listening to both of them one after the other...a kind of conceptual album if you want to put it like that.

[TheEqualizer]

To me, the ZM tour was where the boys produced their quintessential sound.

[sockii]

I agree with pretty much what everyone has said on this thread..to a point..
As a collector of shows from the Police throughout the years (I have alot of shows, both cd's and dvd's of the Police from each of their tours. I try to get one from each month so I can compare the set list and how they have changed some of the songs during the tour. That show at the Orpheum in Boston is Fantastic!
( My earliest is the Gong reunion...who can honestly say they like the way they sounded at Mont Du Mason?)
I found the shows from 1977 and 1978 to be my favorite shows and the ones that I will listen to over and over again...The Outlandos and Regatta tours were amazing.
I thought the Zenyatta shows were great too....My biggest disappointments? Ghost in the Machine tour tapes with the horns and all....GITM could easily be my fav all time Police album, but in the live bootlegs I have, it just didn't cut it...It seemed the joy wasn't there....and does anyone else find GATESHEAD painful to watch? Wipe your mouth, Stingo! They looked like they couldn't wait for the gig to end.
I do like the Synchronicty shows, keyword being like...the juice just isnt there...didn't really care for the back up singers.... but I have found the reunion shows, especially the later ones, to be really good.Right up there with their early stuff, in my book.

What do you think? Am I off base? Your favorite tours? Your least favorite tours?

kmart - great post. For a time I was a pretty obsessive collector of live show recordings, and most of my favorites are from 78-79...I loved the energy and jams and experimentation. I also find Gateshead kind of difficult to watch, because Sting (IMHO) looks so coked-up and angry through the whole performance, and I don't really like the sound of most of the GITM tour with the additional horns and such. To me it muddled the band's sound. Ditto the Sync tour with the back-up singers and such. I'd much rather have the raw sound of Stewart and Andy's backing vocals on those early shows.

[DirtyMartini]

:shock: Am I the only one the loves Born in the 50's

oh wait., it's your b-day so I forgive you

HAHA. Thanks!


I, too, can't listen to the GITM and Synch tours: the brass and backup singing kills the music for me. I favor the Reggatta and Zenyatta eras, both for the tunes and the musical cohesion the band seems to have by then.

I haven't listened to the Reunion boots in years, though. Going to take some more time to unmemorize that show, I think.

(Agroovie1 assembled an incredible list of publicly available boots for the tours that I wanted to post, but I can't seem to dig it up. I wonder if the recent MegaUpload fiasco has messed that up.)