1983 - July: The Police "Synchronicity"

What the Riff?!?

Synchronicity would be the most commercially successful, fifth, and final studio album from the Police. The trio of percussionist Stewart Copeland, guitarist Andy Summers, and bassist and front man Sting would be known as “The Biggest Band in the World” after the release of this album but would never produce a studio album again.

Like “Ghost in the Machine,” the Police's previous album, Synchronicity drew its name from the works of Artheur Koestler, an author of whom Sting was an avid reader. Unlike that album, Synchronicity toned down both the reggae influences and the overdubbing. The resulting album increased the use of synthesizers and utilized a sequencer for the first time. It also drew on world music influences on several songs.

The album hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 album charts in late July and would spend 17 total weeks at the number one position on the chart, an achievement that meant it had to interrupt the reign of Michael Jackson's Thriller. It would also produce the number 1 song of the year with “Every Breath You Take.”

Sting was beginning both his solo work and becoming more involved with film at the time, and between this and contentious egos of the members, the Police would not record another album after this. An attempt was made at a sixth studio album, but Stewart Copeland broke his collarbone just before they entered the studio and progression to the album was scuttled.

Lynch features this iconic trio at the height of the Second British Invasion for this week's podcast. Friend of the show Bill Cook sits in for Bruce in this episode.

King of Pain
Sting wrote this second US single from the album when considering the effects of his separation from his wife. The psychological effects are inspired by thoughts from Carl Jung and Arthur Koestler. It went to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Synchronicity II
The final song on the first side of the album went to number 16 on the US charts as a single. The lyrics toggle between a man's increasing anxiety and paranoia and the symbolic rise of the Loch Ness Monster in parallel. "and every single meeting with his so-called superior is a humiliating kick in the crotch."

Wrapped Around Your Finger
The fourth US single was written by Sting as a dark song about turning the tables on someone who had been in charge of your life. There is a Faustian feel in the lyrics, which also feature references to Greek mythology like Scylla and Charybdis - from which we derive idioms like "between a rock and a hard place," and "between the Devil and the deep blue sea."

Every Breath You Take
Despite its beautiful music, this single is actually quite dark in its obsessive and controlling lyrics. Sting wrote the song after his separation from his wife and the beginning of a new relationship. The lyrics came to him in the middle of the night, and he wrote the song on piano in a half hour. It would be biggest commercial single he ever wrote, hitting number 1 on the US charts for 8 weeks, and becoming the best selling single of 1983. Interestingly, it was the only number 1 hit by the Police.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees (from the motion picture "Staying Alive")
John Travolta starred in this sequel to the 70's Disco hit "Saturday Night Fever." It was directed by Sylvester Stallone.

STAFF PICKS:

Our House by Madness
Wayne brings us a group from Northern London that was a bigger hit in the UK than the US. It has a lot going on musically between the piano, violins and saxophone. Lyrically it hearkens back to childhood days, slices of mundane domestic life in England. Madness performed this song as a part of the closing ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics

Big Log by Robert Plant
Rob's staff pick is the first hit for Plant as a solo artist. As he often did in Led Zeppelin, the title of the song does not appear in the lyrics. It was written in the middle of winter, and the artists had run out of fuel for the fire. They found a large tree trunk and burned one end of it in the fireplace, pushing the "big log" in as it burned. Drum programming was provided by Phil Collins.

Rock and Roll is King by ELO
Bill Cook features the Electric Light Orchestra in a 50's rhythm and blues throwback that would be their last top 20 hit. It was written by Jeff Lynne for their album "Secret Messages."

Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant
Lynch closes out the staff picks with a song time stamped in the early 80's. It was inspired by an area of Brixton, South London, called Electric Avenue because it was the first area of the city to be lit by electricity. Guyanese-British singer-songwriter Eddie Grant sings about the tension of unemployment and racism experienced by the primarily Caribbean immigrants who lived there at the time.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

An Ending by Brian Eno
Brian Eno wrote this instrumental piece in 1983 for the documentary "For All Mankind."

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