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It certainly cannot be said that The Police were one of those bands that underwent an interminable gestation period before giving birth to a new album. "Ghost In The Machine" was released on the market in October 1981, completing another fiery tour that began during the summer of 1980 with the Superbowl of Milton Keynes (UK) and ended on the other side of the globe only at the end of the following February at the Entertainment Centre in Perth. This latest chapter in the band's history reminds us that the "three" owe a lot to that atmosphere of musical novelty that has accompanied them since the beginning, giving them the incredible chance to create a sound world distinguished for being instinctive and direct, like the pure and unmediated attitude.
The album title is taken directly from a book by Arthur Koestler, in which the theory is affirmed that the self-destructive tendencies of human beings can be mitigated with the help of chemical supplements that act on their more irrational and violent parts. This record is a means through which Sting describes himself by depicting his persona, showing even more than in the past a particular care for the autobiographically flavored lyrics.
A hint of a roll kicks off "Spirits In the Material World" with an introduction of a semi-dance in ternary rhythm, whose almost constant pace pairs well with the choral singing of Sting, certainly renewed compared to previous works, creating a piece that is the perfect synthesis of rhythms and sounds that will pilot the new British invasion that would follow shortly. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" - which was released simultaneously as a single -, well represents the new (temporary!?) musical identity of the trio, converging in four minutes an initial delicate melody on a soft synth carpet in which the piano accompaniment leads straight to one of the album's catchiest refrains without ever descending into banality, despite the "ioooooo" at the end almost as if wanting to represent the omnipresence of the trademark. Despite a now-established certainty, I feel compelled to emphasize that the release of GITM was preceded by a few weeks by "Invisible Sun", where a dark keyboard carpet and a shadowy rhythm are the elements that best suit to address the difficult theme of the eternal British/Irish dispute, which would serve the group to shoot the most austere clip of their entire videography. This album marks a real departure from the reggae of their beginnings, aiming straight at catchy pop, which finds in the modern simplicity of "Too Much Information" - which tackles the theme of the computer age of the 80s ("too much information running through my brain, too much information driving me insane") and in the psychotic "Demolition Man" where the brass section reinforces the sound directives given by the throbbing bass well-directed by a Summer in great shape, which well suits the harsh lyrics that leave little to the imagination ("I'm a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom I kill conversation as I walk into the room"). The pleasant chord progression of "Hungry For You" is not at all compensated by Sting's singing in French, which discreetly regains credit in interpreting the relentless "Rehumanize Yourself", castigated in my opinion by perhaps too noisy sax presence.
Apart from the opening tracks, the one that will surely see great audience involvement in live shows is titled "One World (Not Three)", which not only has lyrics that could prompt reflection today regarding the countries where a piece of bread can still represent a luxury for many ("The third world breathes our air tomorrow we live on the time we borrow In our world there's no time for sorrow in their world there is no tomorrow"), but also boasts a clever and brilliant chorus to which one cannot help but sing along. Summers's compositional contribution is represented by "Omegaman", where the group's energy is best expressed, acting as the perfect ingredient to a text with dark tones, addressing the theme of the personification of a modern Superman busy with everyday problems ("The night came down, jungle sounds were in my ears city screams are all I've heard in twenty years"). Copeland's pen is expressed in the feeble and paced atmosphere of "Darkness" (which I personally consider the proper follow-up to the dreamlike "Secret Journey"), where the ease of dreaming from a comfortable chair is affirmed as much as the difficulty in realizing one's purposes once the awareness of having one's feet on the ground is reached.
An album that, even if it may not have fully met the expectations of the die-hard fans, remains without a doubt a milestone for the sound achieved, as well as the most concrete manifestation of the courage of the three in having risked their reputation, daring, with an album whose sounds, while winking at greater commerciality (which is not always synonymous with "selling out"), never risks being perceived as a product with no end in itself.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Spirits in the Material World (02:59)
There is no political solution
To our troubled evolution
Have no faith in constitution
There is no bloody revolution
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
Our so-called leaders speak
With words they try to jail you
They subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
We are spirits in the material world
Where does the answer lie?
Living from day to day
If it's something we can't buy
There must be another way
We are spirits in the material world
03 Invisible Sun (03:44)
I don't want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an armalite
I don't want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
I don't want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
I don't ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives us hope when the whole day's done
It's dark all day and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with my head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives us hope when the whole day's done
And they're only gonna change this place
By killing everybody in the human race
And they would kill me for a cigarette
But I dont even want to die just yet
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives us hope when the whole day's done
05 Demolition Man (05:57)
Oh! Demolition, demolition
Demolition, demolition
Tied to the tracks and the train's fast coming
Strapped to the wing with the engine running
You say that this wasn't in your plan
And don't mess around with the demolition man
Tied to a chair, and the bomb is ticking
This situation was not of your picking
You say that this wasn't in your plan
And don't mess around with the demolition man
I'm a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom
I kill conversation as I walk into the room
I'm a three line whip, I'm the sort of thing they ban
I'm a walking disaster, I'm a demolition man
Demolition, demolition
Demolition, demolition
You come to me like a moth to the flame
It's love you need but I don't play that game
'Cause you could be my greatest fan
But I'm nobody's friend, I'm a demolition man
I'm a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom
I kill conversation as I walk into the room
I'm a three line whip, I'm the sort of thing they ban
I'm a walking disaster, I'm a demolition man
Demolition, demolition
Demolition, demolition
Tied to the tracks and the train's fast coming
Strapped to the wing with the engine running
You say that this wasn't in your plan
And don't mess around with the demolition man
Tied to a chair, and the bomb is ticking
This situation was not of your picking
You say that this wasn't in your plan
And don't mess around with the demolition man
06 Too Much Information (03:42)
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
I've seen the whole world six times over
Sea of Japan to the Cliffs of Dover
Oh
I've seen the whole world six times over
Sea of Japan to the Cliffs of Dover
Oh
Overkill
Overview
Over my dead body
Over me
Over you
Over everybody
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
I've seen the whole world six times over
Sea of Japan to the Cliffs of Dover
Oh
I've seen the whole world six times over
Sea of Japan to the Cliffs of Dover
Oh
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
I've seen the whole world six times over
Sea of Japan to the Cliffs of Dover
Oh
I've seen the whole world six times over
Sea of Japan to the Cliffs of Dover
Oh
Overkill
Overview
Over my dead body
Over me
Over you
Over everybody
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
Too much information running through my brain
Too much information driving me insane
(to fade)
07 Rehumanize Yourself (03:10)
He goes out at night with his big boots on
None of his friends know right from wrong
They kick a boy to death 'cos he don't belong
You've got to humanise yourself
A policeman put on his uniform
He'd like to have a gun just to keep him warm
Because violence here is a social norm
You've got to humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
I work all day at the factory
I'm building a machine that's not for me
There must be a reason that I can't see
You've got to humanise yourself
Billy's joined the National Front
He always was a little runt
He's got his hand in the air with the other cunts
You've got to humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself
I work all day at the factory
I'm building a machine that's not for me
There must be a reason that I can't see
You've got to humanise yourself
A policeman put on his uniform
He'd like to have a gun just to keep him warm
Because violence here is a social norm
You've got to humanise yourself
Re-humanise yourself...
09 Omegaman (02:47)
The night came down, jungle sounds were in my ears
City screams are all I've heard in tewnty years
The razor's edge of night, it cuts into my sleep
I sit upon the edge now
Shall I make that leap?
I'm the Omegaman
I'm the Omegaman
The sky's alive with turned on television sets
I walk the streets and seek another vision yet
The echo makes me turn to see that last frontier
The edge of time closes down as I disappear
I'm the Omegaman
I'm the Omegaman
I'm the Omegaman
I'm the Omegaman
Always talking to myself
Oh!
The time that's best is when surroundings fade away
The presense of another world comes close to me
It's time for me to throw away this paper knife
I'm not alone in reaching for a perfect life
I'm the Omegaman
I'm the Omegaman
I'm the Omegaman
I'm the Omegaman
I'm so tired
Of the Omegaman
(to fade)
10 Secret Journey (03:33)
Upon a secret journey
I met a holy man
His blindness was his wisdom
I'm such a lonely man
And as the world was turning
It rolled itself in pain
This does not seem to touch you
He pointed to the rain
You will see light in the darkness
You will make some sense of this
And when you've made your secret journey
You will find the love you miss
And on the days that followed
I listened to his words
I strained to understand him
I chased his thoughts like birds
You will see light in the darkness
You will make some sense of this
And when you've made your secret journey
You will find the love you miss
You will see light in the darkness
You will make some sense of this
You will see joy in this sadness
You will find this love you miss
And when you've made your secret journey
You will be a holy man
(repeat to fade)
11 Darkness (03:13)
I can dream up schemes when I'm sitting in my seat
I don't see any flaws 'til I get to my feet
I wish I never woke up this morning
Life was was easy when it was boring
I could make a mark if it weren't so dark
I could be replaced by any bright spark
But darkness makes me fumble
For a key, to a door, that's wide open
Instead of worrying about my clothes
I could be someone that nobody knows
I wish I never woke up this morning
Life was easy when it was boring
I can dream up schemes when I'm sitting in my seat
I don't see any flaws 'til I get to my feet
I wish I never woke up this morning
Life was easy when it was boring
I wish I never woke up this morning
Life was easy when it was boring
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By Lucabbrasi
The real Police, here, found themselves again, without any lights or various glam: real, essential and baroque at the same time, but definitely a terrible war trio...
Has anyone, by chance, never listened to them? Curious? Good, start with this album.
By Rax
Despite being a very British man, Andy Summers has spoken out harshly against this electronic conversion of Sting.
'Invisible Sun' is perhaps the ultimate masterpiece of the Police, with a calligraphic Summers and a wonderfully restrained Copeland making almost solemn a very dark piece.
