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Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings

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Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings
Box set by
The Police
Released28 September 1993 (1993-09-28)
Recorded1977–1986
GenreNew wave
Length287:02
LabelA&M
ProducerThe Police, Nigel Gray, Hugh Padgham
The Police chronology
Greatest Hits
(1992) 		Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings
(1993) 		Live!
(1995)

Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings is a four-CD box set by the Police, containing all five of their studio albums in chronological order, as well as non-album singles, non-album B-sides, and tracks from various compilation albums and the Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack (1982). The box set also comes with a 68-page booklet.

Contents

The box set states that it 'contains every single song the Police ever released' but it excludes ten officially released tracks from before its release in 1993:

  • "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (Spanish Version) (4:00) and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (Japanese Version) (4:00) were released in the US in 1981 as a double A-side 7", with Sting singing the song in both Spanish and Japanese (AM-25000).
  • "Truth Hits Everybody" (Remix) (3:30) appeared as the A-side of the bonus single, which was included in the UK 7" limited edition double pack of "Every Breath You Take" (AM 117/AM*01).
  • "Every Breath You Take" (Backing Track) (4:05) and "Roxanne" (Backing Track) (3:11) were released in Japan in 1983 as a double A-side 7" (AMP-782).
  • "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (Live Version) (5:22) from Atlanta in 1983 was included on the US 12" Promo of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (SP-17264).
  • "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (4:47) appeared as the A-side of the UK 7" of "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (AMY 354) and then released on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles was not included on the UK version of the box set.
  • "Don't Stand So Close To Me" (Live) (3:40) from Atlanta in 1983, appeared as the B-side of the UK 7" of "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (AMY 354).
  • "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86" (Dance Mix) (6:32) appeared on the A-side of the UK 12" of "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86" (AMY 354) was not included on the US version of the box set. There is no edition of the box set that includes both the standard version and the Dance Mix of "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86".
  • "Can't Stand Losing You" (Live) (5:30) from the Paris Theatre, London in 1979, appeared on the 1988 Strange Fruit Compilation UK CD 21 Years of Alternative Radio 1 (SFRCD 200).
  • "Shambelle" (AMS 8164) misses the beginning high hat introduction played by Stewart Copeland making the song incomplete. The full version (5:10) was later released on the "Every Move You Make" 6-CD Box Set in Nov. 2018.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

Allmusic gave resounding approval to the set, going so far as to claim that all 78 songs are "timeless classics," making it the ideal purchase for the casual listener. They also praised the booklet included, especially the Police biography, and asserted that the digital remastering is so superior to the sound quality of the original releases that they would recommend the purchase even to those who already have all the recordings on the box set.[1]

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."Fall Out"Stewart CopelandNon-album single, 19772:04
2."Nothing Achieving"Ian Copeland, CopelandB-side of "Fall Out", 19771:56
3."Dead End Job"Sting, Copeland, Andy SummersB-side of "Can't Stand Losing You" (UK) & "Roxanne" (US), 19783:35
4."Next to You"StingOutlandos d'Amour, 19782:50
5."So Lonely"StingOutlandos d'Amour4:49
6."Roxanne"StingOutlandos d'Amour3:12
7."Hole in My Life"StingOutlandos d'Amour4:52
8."Peanuts"Copeland, StingOutlandos d'Amour3:58
9."Can't Stand Losing You"StingOutlandos d'Amour2:58
10."Truth Hits Everybody"StingOutlandos d'Amour2:53
11."Born in the 50s"StingOutlandos d'Amour3:40
12."Be My Girl – Sally"Sting, SummersOutlandos d'Amour3:22
13."Masoko Tanga"StingOutlandos d'Amour5:40
14."Landlord" (live at The Bottom Line, New York, 4th April 1979)Sting, CopelandPropaganda – No Wave II, 19792:36
15."Next to You" (live at The Bottom Line, New York, 4th April 1979)StingPropaganda – No Wave II3:11
16."Landlord"Sting, CopelandB-side of "Message in a Bottle", 19793:09
17."Message in a Bottle"StingReggatta de Blanc, 19794:51
18."Reggatta de Blanc"Copeland, Sting, SummersReggatta de Blanc3:06
19."It's Alright for You"Copeland, StingReggatta de Blanc3:13
20."Bring On the Night"StingReggatta de Blanc4:16
21."Deathwish"Copeland, Sting, SummersReggatta de Blanc4:13
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."Walking on the Moon"StingReggatta de Blanc5:02
2."On Any Other Day"CopelandReggatta de Blanc2:57
3."The Bed's Too Big Without You"StingReggatta de Blanc4:26
4."Contact"CopelandReggatta de Blanc2:38
5."Does Everyone Stare"CopelandReggatta de Blanc3:52
6."No Time This Time"StingReggatta de Blanc3:17
7."Visions of the Night"StingB-side of "Walking on the Moon" (UK) & "Bring On the Night" (US), 19793:05
8."The Bed's Too Big Without You" (mono)StingSix Pack, 19803:29
9."Truth Hits Everybody" (live)StingSix Pack2:26
10."Friends"SummersB-side of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (UK) & "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (US), 19803:36
11."Don't Stand So Close to Me"StingZenyatta Mondatta, 19804:04
12."Driven to Tears"StingZenyatta Mondatta3:20
13."When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around"StingZenyatta Mondatta3:38
14."Canary in a Coalmine"StingZenyatta Mondatta2:26
15."Voices Inside My Head"StingZenyatta Mondatta3:53
16."Bombs Away"CopelandZenyatta Mondatta3:09
17."De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"StingZenyatta Mondatta4:09
18."Behind My Camel"SummersZenyatta Mondatta2:54
19."Man in a Suitcase"StingZenyatta Mondatta2:19
20."Shadows in the Rain"StingZenyatta Mondatta5:02
21."The Other Way of Stopping"CopelandZenyatta Mondatta3:22
Disc three
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."A Sermon"CopelandB-side of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (UK) & "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (US), 19802:33
2."Driven to Tears" (live)StingUrgh! A Music War soundtrack, 19813:29
3."Shambelle"SummersB-side of "Invisible Sun" (UK) & "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (US), 19815:00
4."Spirits in the Material World"StingGhost in the Machine, 19812:59
5."Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"StingGhost in the Machine4:22
6."Invisible Sun"StingGhost in the Machine3:44
7."Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)"StingGhost in the Machine2:53
8."Demolition Man"StingGhost in the Machine5:57
9."Too Much Information"StingGhost in the Machine3:43
10."Rehumanize Yourself"Copeland, StingGhost in the Machine3:10
11."One World (Not Three)"StingGhost in the Machine4:47
12."Omegaman"SummersGhost in the Machine2:48
13."Secret Journey"StingGhost in the Machine3:34
14."Darkness"CopelandGhost in the Machine3:14
15."Flexible Strategies"Sting, Summers, CopelandB-side of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (UK) & "Spirits in the Material World" (US), 19813:43
16."Low Life"StingB-side of "Spirits in the Material World" (UK), 19813:45
17."How Stupid Mr. Bates"Sting, Summers, CopelandBrimstone & Treacle soundtrack, 19822:41
18."A Kind of Loving"Sting, Summers, CopelandBrimstone & Treacle soundtrack2:03
Disc four
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."Synchronicity I"StingSynchronicity, 19833:23
2."Walking in Your Footsteps"StingSynchronicity3:36
3."O My God"StingSynchronicity4:02
4."Mother"SummersSynchronicity3:05
5."Miss Gradenko"CopelandSynchronicity1:59
6."Synchronicity II"StingSynchronicity5:02
7."Every Breath You Take"StingSynchronicity4:13
8."King of Pain"StingSynchronicity4:59
9."Wrapped Around Your Finger"StingSynchronicity5:13
10."Tea in the Sahara"StingSynchronicity4:19
11."Murder by Numbers"Sting, SummersB-side of "Every Breath You Take", 1983; also included in cassette and CD versions of Synchronicity4:36
12."Man in a Suitcase" (live)Stingmaxi-single of "Every Breath You Take" (UK), 19832:17
13."Someone to Talk To"SummersB-side of "Wrapped Around Your Finger", 19833:08
14."Message in a Bottle" (live)Stingmaxi-single of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK), 19834:51
15."I Burn for You"StingBrimstone & Treacle soundtrack; also included in maxi-single of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK)4:49
16."Once Upon a Daydream"Sting, SummersB-side of "Synchronicity II", 19833:31
17."Tea in the Sahara" (live)StingB-side of "King of Pain", 19845:06
18."Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"StingEvery Breath You Take: The Singles, 19864:51

Personnel

The Police
  • Stewart Copeland – drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar on "Fall Out", "Nothing Achieving", "It's Alright for You" and "A Sermon", lead vocal on "On Any Other Day", spoken word on "Does Everyone Stare"
  • Sting – bass guitar, keyboards, saxophone, oboe, lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "So Lonely", drum machine on "Synchronicity I"
  • Andy Summers – guitar, keyboards, bass guitar on "Behind My Camel", backing vocals, piano on "Does Everyone Stare" and "Be My Girl – Sally", spoken word on "Friends", "Dead End Job" and "Be My Girl – Sally", lead vocals on "Mother" and "Someone to Talk To"
Additional
  • Henry Padovani – guitar on "Fall Out" and "Nothing Achieving"
  • John Sinclair – piano on "Hole in My Life" and "Masoko Tanga"
  • Jean Russell – piano on "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
  • Olaf Kübler – saxophone on "Low Life"
  • Suzanna Hamilton – screaming on "A Kind of Loving"

Production

References

  1. ^ a b Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings at AllMusic
  2. ^ "The Police: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
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