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“Driven to Tears” – The Police
(Words/music: Sting, available on Zenyatta Mondatta, Interscope 1980) 

Given Sting’s post-Police foray into soft rock, it’s understandable how some might dismiss the Police.  When coupled with the way some of their songs are used - “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” on the soundtrack to The Wedding Singer and “Every Breath You Take” surprisingly misappropriated by wedding singers (and sampled by Puffy, of course), It’s understandable how some banish the Police into the realm of adult contemporary radio.  To do so, however, sells the band short, particularly in the way the three musicians in the band were more than the sum of their parts.

While Sting, the primary songwriter, vocalist, and biggest personality in the group, still receives the most attention, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland more than held their own with their more famous bandmate.  Summers, an accomplish guitarist outside of the rock world, brings his knowledge of jazz into his guitar playing, particularly in the unconventional chord voicings in “Driven to Tears,” moreover, Summers’ guitar has a distinctive echoey tone that helps cast the mood appropriate for Sting’s lyrics about poverty.  His solo, however, departs from this shimmery echo into the more disjointed and dissonant sound one might expect on a Gang of Four record rather than a Sting recording.  Additionally, Copeland, a cult hero in the drumming world, controls the beat with an acrobat’s prevision and flair for the dramatic.  Whether locking into the double-time groove in the bridge section or tossing off-the-cuff fills into empty space, Copeland stakes claim to one third of the sonic space in the song.  Copeland and Summers give sting the canvas to tell his story of disgust and empathy, giving just enough detail to communicate his point without making himself the center of the circus.  Instead, as with the band’s best recordings, the entire trio shares the spotlight.

More on The Police: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm