Police's "Synchronicity" 40th anniversary deluxe box set pops with energy

Online prognosticator Rick Beato recently opined that in 2100, acts like the Beatles, Nirvana, Queen, and, yes, the Police will still be in heavy rotation when it comes to celebrating the rock era. Beato makes a solid, data-supported case. But as a college professor who teaches popular music, I have observed that today’s students seem just as besotted, if not more so, with Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. 

So will the Police, those purveyors of white reggae with just five studio albums to their name, really ply their way into the next century? The new deluxe box set for "Synchronicity," the band’s megaselling 1983 LP, certainly makes a strong case of its own. Back in the day, the Grammy-winning album was propelled by a quartet of hit singles in “Every Breath You Take,” “King of Pain,” “Wrapped Around Your Finger” and “Synchronicity II.” If you were in earshot of a radio at the time, “Every Breath You Take” was embedded in your daily soundtrack. 

As it happened, it was a minor miracle that the Police reunited at all to create "Synchronicity." The band had long been plagued by interpersonal rancor — lead singer Sting and drummer Stewart Copeland were the principal combatants. But the results speak for themselves, with the group abandoning its reggae roots for an album that brims with the atmospherics, jazz hues and world music that would characterize Sting’s solo career.

I am delighted to report that the deluxe edition of "Synchronicity" will be a joy for older fans and newly minted Police aficionados alike. I have long been dissatisfied with the original digital versions of the LP, which often sounded muted. The new version, remastered from the original tapes, outpaces earlier editions in every respect. The album absolutely pops with energy. 

And folks who enjoy generous helpings of ancillary material will not be disappointed. The super deluxe version not only includes the remastered album, but numerous outtakes and demo recordings that amount to some 84 tracks. Listening to the various takes of “Synchronicity II” as it snakes its way through the production process is worth the price of admission in and of itself. You can literally follow along as new layers of terror and intrigue accrue as Sting relates his mysterious tale about the primordial slime that gathers in the heart of “a dark Scottish lake.”

Will music lovers still be seeking out the Police in droves in 2100? I honestly haven’t got a clue. Predicting the multitudinous sociocultural shifts that are bound to occur between now and then is a fool’s errand. But I know this: as long as humans have ears and access to the world’s digitized back catalog, the Police will find devoted adherents.