Andy Summers just got ranked 250/250 on the new best guitarists list which has Saint Vincent ahead of Eric Clapton. A Rolling Stone list is about as useful as a George Foreman Grill that's been washed through a bathtub and punted off a cliff. Summers is ridiculously good.
Much as I love Stings solo work, nothing beats the sheer raw energy of The Police. I really wish they’d kept going - they really were a powerhouse of a band!
Sting drives the song with his machine gun-like bass, Stewart locks in with Sting and plays his ass off, and Andy is a phenomenal guitarist with a long resume from the early Sixties who plays smokin' riffs that fill in the atmosphere of the song. This is a great performance.
I was very fortunate to see one of the shows on that tour. Andy Summers played the heck out of that red strat, never switched to another guitar and never retuned as far as I could tell. Definitely amazing and definitely under appreciated.
The point is that they are exactly that. Musicians! These days talentless cretins who don't even play an instrument just palm us off with electronic noises generated on a computer and have the unpresadated gaul to call themselves musicians. They are not! 👊
I agree. Stang’s vocals sounded good, but I didn’t like his phrasing on this one live. It seemed like he was phrasing the same way he does his solo albums, rather than staying true to The Police style
He really is a fantastic drummer! The more I watch clips of him, the more I appreciate what he brings to the table. I love his tell-tale rim shots too! Such a signature sound for him over the years.
Certainly a truly important one at that. If not 'THE' greatest, certainly a truly important one . the musicianship is over top, such variety and such skill.
@S A I do like Rush. I think Sting has always had the better voice and bass playing compared to Geddy Lee. And Stewart could play any Rush tune easy. The guitar is more compelling from Alex and the musical concepts that Rush created were better as well.
@@wesleycolemanmusic I love both bands but Stewart had a lot more “feel” on the drums for me. Neil is a machine. Which is good and bad. No comparison when it comes to voices. Sting has one of the greatest voices ever.
Many people don’t realise Andy is a serious jazzer, session guitarist and classical guitarist, that’s why he had the knowledge to be so creative and innovative in the Police.
@@joeantonelli5533 What has soloing got to do with anything? The obvious answer is that he chooses not to in this clip, and also because the Police were not that sort of band generally, although live they did stretch out. It's not obligatory to solo.
As a bass player, I am in awe of Sting's ability to play off beat and sing complicated words at the same time. Using his thumb to fret the E string is sheer talent.
I don't remember him playing that way back in the day - it has the look of someone who's been playing a lot more guitar than bass lately and then when he puts a bass on guitar-think takes over.
+Han Daimond Man,do I SECOND THAT ONE!!! Stewart Copeland has ALWAYS been a Fave of mine behind the set!!!! Have always LOVED his "odd-time" signatures,and his switching back and forth on the rhythm-sections!!! Dude can STILL beat those skins quite GREAT!!!
Yes. OP is correct. Ask average people about the best rock guitarists- you’ll hear Hendrix, Van Halen, Clapton etc..- and all rightly so. But summers is never mentioned.
Stewart seems like the last of a rare bread of drummers from big selling bands that will improvise during live shows. He follows no script. He's a free bird behind that kit. Watching these guys play live is like it once was before bands had to sync with so many automated sounds and lights thus stick to an exact script carefully played to a metronome.
Miracle is the right word. I had NO idea this performance existed. This appears to be about 25 years after their breakup but what’s obvious is that these guys all spent those years committed to their instruments-and they were already virtuosos to begin with. Deep listening going on, too.
The lyrics still ring true today. And by God, there's more talent gathered on this stage than in all the charts of the last past 20 years. No autotune required!
Agreed. He had a wonderful ability to play counter melodies to Sting's vocals. As a listener you could change focus from Sting to Andy all the time in every song with equal interest in the melodies they were playing.
Just as every GREAT band. The rythm comes first. No skeleton, no bullshit. The groove is the very alpha of it all. When it is about great bands, I intend... 😊😊
@@doodlebob3758 So you haven't heard then? Apparently they were formed by the government to have an ear on the ground in the rock n roll scene because rock stars were becoming political, hence, why they murdered Lennon. That's why they were called The Police, and Gordon changed his name to Sting, it was an operation. But they were very talented musicians, that much is true!
@@DogSerious that's a cool story but I'm not sure I believe it. That means that the government greenlit them snorting lines and smoking weed which I don't put past, but doesnt seem right to me. any sources?
@@DogSerious... and while he had an office in Times Square, NYC Stewart's older brother meddled himself with FBI. Today, only one of the two is still around! Scandalous!
The Police. Rush. ZZ Top. Trios of ridiculous talent. Holy crap this was amazing. What a rendition of this song! True enough to the original and nice yet totally fresh arrangement.
The Police were such so unique. Stewart wrote Reggae beats on most of their hits, and it just worked with Sting, and Summers. I can't think of another band consistently playing 1 drops, and landing #1 albums, and singles. Brilliant!
Copeland's chops made The Police music have staying power. All very talented musicians but Copeland is the heart and soul of their music. He kept it more then interesting!
Sophisticated band at the top of their game.... Eloquent lyrics.... Interesting chords and arrangements Captivating rhythms Powerful vocals What a great performance...……..
They still rock after all these year, Sting with his soulful approach to his vocals, Stewart still an animal behind the drums, and Andy Summers playing guitar "Like A Boss".
Still one of my most favored bands. Each guy is an absolute master of his instrument. This level of talent seems to be lacking these days. Still listen to these guys almost everyday. The snare sound that Stewart gets is epic. Just love these guys.
Well with a bass player singing Copeland has the back beat, rhythm section, etc. to take care of! He's really on the 3 allot and his high hat and cymbal work is the best if the best! He's gotta be in decent shape very active. Actually all the police members tended to master 2 roles but besides rush they are the best 3 piece band. If you took anyone piece away and they don't work but Copeland could bang silverware around on mash potatoes and is watch him! Yet the musician in me sees how hard the time changes are for playing and or SINGING this song! I wanted to see THIS tour so badly! It was so expensive to a level that was gross. Thank the stars we have RU-vid!
He really is a talented and has a specific style that fit perfectly with the sound of the Police. Too bad he couldn't handle behaving. They could have banged out 1 or 2 more albums and a couple of tours and he would have 50 million more bucks in his bank account. And if you watch the video, Andy Summers wouldn't stand over in front of his own mic because he knows no one would look at him. I was waiting for him to creep over and stand hip to hip with Sting.
Quite a rock tradition, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, Cream, Nirvana, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Stray Cats, Grand Funk Railroad, ZZ Top, Rush - gotta play loud with just the right tromp boxes.
Stripped down and raw, this song is still a work of high-energy, sophisticated genius. Sting’s bass parts are a real treat to hear in this sparse arrangement, brilliant counterpoint to Summer’s innovative choral work. Sting might be the singer/superstar frontman, but the Police is absolutely a three-legged stool: all three players were critical to that band’s stunning musical achievements.
I loved reading your description of them. Thank you. I grew up listening to their CD's and now, 20 years on, I still find so much passion and intricacy in their music.
The guitar work is very clever, the composition and arrangement thoughtful and keeps it interesting. These guys aren't pop ..they are high quality musicians.
Agreed. And the proof is their solo careers. Did some great work after the band but never better than in this band. They really complimented each other.
I dare say, Copeland's performance upstaged them all. If the Police aren't in the Hall of Fame already, they will be. Knocked it out of the park on this...stellar.
Stewart Copeland was the first musician to make me want to play the drums. I remember being impressed with his style as early as age 8, when I was just starting to explore music.
I saw them on this tour. It’s in the top 3 concerts I’ve been witness to over 50 years. Three musicians making incredible noise, all at the top of their game and top of their class.
Well, Stewart definitely earns his money here. He is as integral to the band as Sting. Stewart is even better now than he was when he was young, unlike a lot of "older" rockers!
That's great that you can appreciate a band from before your time because too many people under a certain age are obsessed with pigeon-holing everything and not liking music outside their own era and calling everyone who's younger than they are 'boomers' and they seem to just dispose of music soon after they hear it. I started listening to the Police back around 1982 when I was about 20 and my guitar playing was influenced by Andy Summers. The Police were a band that came screaming out of left field at the time because there was a lot of crap on the radio back then like The Eagles, so the fact the The Police were so fresh and different and actually ended up getting on the radio (even if it was only Roxanne), was like a fking miracle because most good music back then was never played on the radio, bands like The Clash were never on the radio. Back in those times, the only way you heard about interesting music was from other people who were into music, other musicians and university radio stations. Anyhow the Police have done a lot of great music. I really like the Ghost in the Machine album. Cheers man
wow, brings back so many memories from College (80 to 85). My buddies and I saw the Police come thru for both the Ghost in a Machine Tour and the Synchronicity Tour. Just fantastic. We played the hell out of those first 4 albums, too. They still sound awesome, here, decades later. Greatness.
I saw Sting as an opening act for the Grateful Dead in Vegas and he was absolutely awesome. Totally dig The Police and Andy Sommers is totally under-rated. All of them superb musicians.
@Groove Connected true. Sting has admitted as much. He told Elvis Costello back around this time that he wanted to control the band from the bottom (bass) and the top (vocals). Still, I love me some Andy. He opened up my music and guitar playing worlds.
I got to see them in November 2007 during this tour. Sting had a cold the night before and there was talk about them cancelling the show. His voice was on point and the performance by all was nothing short of amazing.
