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Rating:
THE REVIEW
The Police are my favorite New Wave/pop group. Their music is incredibly relaxing. The words are whispered, the sound spreads evenly without that incoherent aggressiveness of most pop groups. The tracks have a concise and well-accentuated rhythm (clearly of reggae origin), yet they are not for dancing, they are for listening. You need to let yourself be submerged by their sound like warm water.
The first song we encounter is "Don't Stand So Close To Me", my favorite pop song. This perfectly reflects the characteristics described above. Calm, it gives you an incredible tranquility. And at certain points, it is elaborated with background sounds that enrich it.
"Driver To Tears" has a crazy rhythmic base featuring the bass of the great Sting and later, with a compelling crescendo, the drums. We move on to the calm "When The World Is Down" which, with its repetitiveness, leads us into a real cavern of light and muffled sounds. After this track, we have the more cheerful and lively "Canary In A Coalmine". Sting sings it all in one breath, with just one brief pause. "Voices Inside My Head" is an almost entirely instrumental track. The choirs that appear after a minute and forty are low-voiced, and with a series of almost tribal screams, they leave the listener once again immersed in a warm, ambient, almost progressive atmosphere. We move on to the nerve-racking (compared to the rest of the album) "Bombs Away" with a typically pop chorus and a very progressive guitar solo.
Another very enveloping track is the following "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". In my opinion, the second-best track of the album. Its languid guitar and tempo changes are very beautiful. Some sung parts (those before the chorus) are almost epic. Truly a great piece! "Behind My Camel" is a dark and distressing instrumental track. The guitar sobs and the synthesizer really get on your nerves. I still have to figure out if I like it, but it's genius in the meantime. "Men In A Suitcase" is the most reggae track of the album. Cheerfully nice, it makes you want to sing it. "Shadows In the Rain" is practically without guitar (you can hear it distorted in the distance). Sting's "reverberant" voice announces the lyrics over the bass and drums. Very original: you can almost see the "shadows in the rain". The last song is "The Other Way Of Stopping", a thrilling, somewhat dark progressive piece. The protagonist here is the drums and various electronic percussion. The track is completely instrumental.
That said, it concludes one of the best pop albums I have ever heard.
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Summary by Bot
The review praises The Police's album Zenyatta Mondatta as a relaxing and well-crafted New Wave pop record. Emphasizing reggae-inspired rhythms and atmospheric tracks, it highlights key songs like 'Don’t Stand So Close To Me' and 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.' The reviewer describes the album as immersive and innovative, praising instrumental tracks and Sting’s vocal performances. It concludes that this is one of the best pop albums heard by the reviewer.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
The Police
British rock trio formed in 1977 (Sting, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland) known for blending rock, reggae and new wave and for hits such as "Every Breath You Take".35 Reviews
Other reviews
By Lucabbrasi
"Despite the inevitable dilution heard in the tracks of this album, it’s worth pointing out true 'classics' of undisputed quality."
"All in all, an album that if it had been conceived and produced more calmly, or perhaps without pressures from the record label, could have yielded better results."
By claudio carpentieri
Try listening at full volume to those eight initial snare drum beats in "Driven To Tears," and you’ll understand why even today, when people talk about The Police’s sound, it is done by appreciating that magical sense of novelty.
"Zenyatta Mondatta" can be considered a sunny sonic document that aptly represents the transition from the ’70s to the ’80s of one of the most extraordinary ensembles the multicolored universe of rock music has ever had.
