Deciding the roster for this year’s project required a number of decisions regarding artists who appear under more than one project. David Bowie could’ve been represented in the roster by Tin Machine. Several people were represented by Genesis. Robert Plant could’ve been represented by Led Zeppelin. Chris Cornell was represented by Audioslave but I could have selected a Soundgarden record instead.

And then there was the question of what to do about Sting.

What is it?

Ghost in the Machine is the 1981 album release by The Police, aka That Band Sting Was In For A Few Years Early On.

How does it sound?

Every little sampler mix is magic:

Why this pick?

And here we go.

My intention for this project’s album line-up was to balance out 52 records across four decades, more-or-less evenly, as close to 13 selections per decade as I could get. Due to the way other artists’ selections (for various reasons) filled up later decades rather quickly, this meant that for Sting it was always going to be something in the 1980s. But… I don’t feel strongly enough about his first two solo records to focus on those, and for all that it’s the much-renowned last hurrah of The Police, I don’t actually like Synchronicity that much. Is that a blasphemous musical opinion? Okay. I don’t mind a bit of blasphemy on occasion.

Through a weird kind of process of elimination, then, I picked Ghost in the Machine. It’s still almost entirely a Sting record, but not as much as Synchronicity while still more so than the first few albums from the band. And some of the non-Sting bits here are among my favorite Police tracks.

Which songs are the highlights?

“Spirits in the Material World” and “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” are, of course, stupendous pop songs. I still like them, more so now that it’s been a while since they were on the radio every single day.

“Invisible Sun” and “Secret Journey” are my favorite two songs on the record. “Omegaman” (by Andy Summers) and “Darkness” (by Stewart Copeland) are good tunes in their own right, and make me wish that The Police hadn’t devolved into The Sting Show quite so quickly as they did.

I’ll throw in an honorable mention for “Demolition Man” as well. It’s better in its later live renditions but the original has some charm to it.

Which songs don’t work so well?

Why am I not a bigger Police fan? Because I don’t really like reggae, and “One World (Not Three)” leans heavily on that style. The band’s whole early sound was a kind of reggae-rock hybrid, the sort of thing No Doubt would try to do with ‘ska’ in a later decade. No, I didn’t like them all that much, either.

I’m not sure what about “Too Much Information” puts me off, but it puts me quite off. Probably the combination of vocal delivery and repetitiveness. Sure, we’ll go with that.

I go back and forth on the mostly-French-language “Hungry For You.” This time around, it’s back rather than forth.

Which album did you almost pick in favor of this one?

I considered Zenyatta Mondatta, the album just prior to this, but I really can’t stand “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.” In which case, to stay in the 1980s, I’d have gone with the sophomore solo record from Sting, …Nothing Like The Sun. Hey, my very first big-name concert experience was at a truly awful venue (the old Civic Center) in downtown Seattle in support of that record.

Were my memory any better I’d write up my concert-going experiences, but. Alas.

Any final thoughts?

One thing about Sting’s pop song crafting sensibilities I didn’t learn to appreciate until much later is that punk quality of getting in, landing the hook a few times, then getting out again briskly. Several of the songs here clock in under three minutes and only a few run past the four minute mark. In my teen years I wanted every song to last forever, hence the massive collection of extended remix singles, but now? I admire a song that doesn’t wear out its welcome. (Admittedly, the longest track here is “Demolition Man,” which… could probably have been half to two thirds as long and been better for it.)

I’m gettin’ old, I guess.

 

And now for something that became more popular than I expected.

What is it?

Lunatic is the 2012 not-actually-a-debut record from the band KONGOS.

How does it sound?

They’re playin’ sex on the sampler mix:

Why this pick?

It’s an astonishingly good record, really.

Also, I already did a full write-up for the follow-up release, Egomaniac. Whoopsie.

I can thank J. Michael Straczynski (the Babylon 5 creator & head writer) for pointing me at the band, as he’d periodically link to one or another of their videos over on Twitter. After the first couple of times I thought, “Okay, Joe’s really into this band, let’s give it a listen.” It was the concert-type video for “Hey I Don’t Know” and I was hooked. Thanks, JMS!

Just, if you do get into KONGOS, be aware of who’s around when you play their records; they’re a bit cuss-prone. Mind the presence of bosses and small children!

Which songs are the highlights?

Most of them, really. Obviously you’ve got the big singles, “Come With Me Now” and “Hey I Don’t Know,” but there’s also “Escape” which is just absolutely lovely, and “Sex On The Radio” & “Kids These Days” are pretty good too.

The US release of the record ends strong, with “Take Me Back,” “It’s A Good Life,” and “This Time I Won’t Forget.” No dumping of the weakest songs in the back half of the CD here, no way.

Which songs don’t work so well?

“As We Are” and “Traveling On” are a bit meh, unfortunately. I don’t think slow songs will ever be KONGOS’ strong suit.

Which album did you almost pick in favor of this one?

Egomaniac is the only other one I have, so… process of elimination, there. And I certainly wasn’t going to leave the band out of the listing if I didn’t have to.

Any final thoughts?

I love both of the KONGOS records I have so far, and eagerly await their next release. Luckily that seems to be slated for first thing next year.

Weirdly, I thought they were an unknown niche band for ages, then I started hearing “Come With Me Now” in restaurants and such, and realized that they started making it big. Good job, guys! I’m sure those licensing deals for using a couple of their songs in ads for various games and shows and movies didn’t hurt.

Kudos to the band for going all-in on trying to make accordion solos cool, too. You may have noticed I used a couple of those in the sampler mix? Yeah. That’s a thing.