The Police
Zenyatta Mondatta

THE REVIEW

Regarding the number three, we know that whatever field we refer to, the connection to the concept of perfection seems mandatory. This thought is also adopted by rock music, which, despite its countless facets, provides numerous examples where the third work turns out to be the most successful, but also others where the theory loses consistency.

This is an album that, beyond the lukewarm reception it received (it was not easy to follow up on "Outlandos D'Amour" and "Reggatta De Blanc"), can be welcomed as a suitable descendant of its noble predecessors. The tracks are still eleven and balance out between that innovative formula of pop-rock and reggae, losing the punk approach that had elegantly strengthened the first two works.

The guitar-synthesizer that starts "Don't Stand So Close To Me" immediately makes it clear that some changes in the musical setup have occurred; Sting's polite and energetic singing evolves into a convincing refrain that bursts into a delightful chorus that will give the track (which talks about young Professor Sumner's teaching experience!) the deserved role of opening the entire album. 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 they brought with their entry into the music business, which finds in this timeless song - where the sonic interweaving between instruments flows with a continuous unfolding of the same - a new way to compose hit singles.

The summer flavor of "When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around" introduces us to the perhaps more frivolous but pleasant part of the album where the pressing rhythm of "Canary In A Coalmine" shows how extensive Sting's compositional creation can be, as well as "Bombs Away" (written by Copeland), a pop-rock song with a simple and flawless chorus that represents the full versatility of the bassist to interpret others' tracks.
The perfect combination of music and lyrics is definitely represented by "Voices Inside My Head," where the only words sung are the title repeated endlessly over a musical carpet created by Sting and expanded by the practical-genius flair of the three, with Summers engaged in an ecstatic performance that acts as a binding agent between all the instruments and reminds us how plucking the same note multiple times with different intensity can make a piece like this great; a true purifying atmosphere where a furious scream is freed, starting again from where the instrumental "Reggatta De Blanc" had ended.

Surely the second part of this album is less homogeneous than the first with a intertwined mix of lively, spirited tracks with gray and reflective compositions; "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" (a track from the soundtrack of "The Last American Virgin") has everything needed to ensure a respectable follow-up to "Don't Stand So Close To Me" in the high positions of the international charts, bursting (except for the punk component!) all those elements (Beatlesque choruses, chopped guitar, and doses of reggae) that have always characterized the police sound.
The accelerated and delightful reggae of "Man In A Suitcase" is the last glimpse of fun and recreation that can be heard on this record before the sonorous gloom and experimental attitude of the three emerge with "Shadows In The Rain". Appropriate stylistic placement on this b-side finds Summers' tracks (with the Arabian-flavored funeral march of "Behind My Camel") and Copeland (who with the instrumental-cinematic "The Other Way Of Stopping" helps maintain in listeners that need to keep the music/images duo alive).

In conclusion, "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; a varied assortment of tracks endowed with an exclusive charm that has certainly extended the band's popularity, worthy of the consideration of uniqueness achieved also with impeccable live performances, but which allowed them to seize and retain the scepter of one of the most essential, innovative, and inimitable bands in the musical globe.