Thursday, September 11, 2008

Album Of The Day #54: GHOST IN THE MACHINE - The Police

Title: Ghost In The Machine

Artist: The Police
Label: A & M
Year: 1981
Songs: Spirits In The Material World/Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic/Invisible Sun/Hungry For You (j'aurais toujours faim de toi)/Demolition Man/Too Much Information/Rehumanize Yourself*/One World (Not Three)/Omegaman**/Secret Journey/Darkness***
Written by: Sting, except *Sting & Stewart Copeland, **Andy Summers and ***Stewart Copeland
Produced by: The Police and Hugh Padghman
Thoughts: I love this album, and the title is so fitting. Ghost In The Machine expanded the Police's instrumentation beyond bass/drums/guitars and added horns and keyboards to the mix. Although it might sound that it ages it considerably, this description doesn't work, because the songs are too strong for the instrumentation to weigh them down. The Stewart/Sting co-write "Rehumanize Yourself" is interesting and Sting's political songs ("One World [Not Three]" and "Invisible Sun") are unique. "Secret Journey" is pretty cool and philosophical. My favorite track, though, besides the lovely "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", is Andy's "Omegaman". Clearly, this track single handedly proves that Sting wasn't the only writer in the group!
Rating: 9/10

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