Search - The Police :: Zenyatta Mondatta

TOP five BEST album OF all time (please disregard the cliche

uprising81 | louisville, ky | 07/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I remember when "don't stand so close to me" came out. It was the first music i ever bought. I loved and love that song and remember hearing the other songs from the album on the radio. Almost thirty years later "When the world is running down" is my favorite, because it captures the police in a nutshell. The police had a wonderful edge in their lyrics, but the lyrics and instrumentation didn't assault the listener like punk music. Existentialist lyrics probe life vigorously, but doom and gloom is wonderfully avoided. Zenyatta Mondatta playfully dances with some potentially scary issues like psychological instability (shadows in the rain, canary in a coalmine), post-modern disconnect (when the world is running down), political impotence (de do do do, de da da da) the enormous influence of pop culture (driven to tears). This album also has refreshing humility (very hard 2 do without sounding insipid), wittily avoiding egocentrism (don't stand so close to me) and adds nifty atmospheric twists to the concept of romantic pain (voices in my head). Every one of the songs has a wonderful life of its own yet becomes muscially and lyrically stronger when combined together on this gem."