'Roxanne' is undeniably a classic, and hearing Sting--surely one of the whitest men in pop--trying to affect a Jamaican accent is oddly endearing. 'Message in a Bottle' is very pretty, and 'Can't Stand Losing You,' 'Don't Stand so Close to Me,' and 'Spirits in the Material World' are all perfectly catchy ('Don't Stand...' being the best, clunky and obvious Lolita reference notwithstanding), in spite of the fact that they all have basically the same chorus. For whatever reason, 'Invisible Sun' perfectly evokes the eighties politial landscape to me, and it's a good song to boot. Probably my favorite thing here is 'Synchronicity II,' with its genuinely nightmarish lyrics. The other four Synchronicity tracks are pleasant enough, if perhaps a bit overly slick to quite qualify as great.

'So Lonely' is absolutely hideous, on the other hand. The falsetto yelping may have worked on 'Roxanne,' but here it's just embarassing. The song has no value whatsoever. How could it have possibly been released as a single? 'Bed's Too Big Without You' is a little better, but it's not a classic. And 'De Do whatever' and 'Every Little Thing She Does...' are just kind of vapid.

But no matter; there's no particular reason that you shouldn't pick this one up. And it's preferable to American collections since it has four more songs, only one of which is the most godawful thing ever recorded. So have fun.

Greatest Compilation
The Police - Greatest Hits is probably the best Police compilation you'll be able to get your hands on.

Arriving in the midst of punk, the Police hid their more advanced musical skills under a sound that was like punk, but with more difficult chords and varied drumming. This got them a record contract. As the years went on, they expanded their sound, adding phase to their guitar, synths started to appear, singer Sting started talking politics. This all got the attention of the world.

You get a taste of their faux-punk beginnings with "Roxanne", "So Lonely" and "Can't Stand Losing You". You get the new wave anthems "Message in a Bottle", "Walking on the Moon", "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (a song about a student-teacher affair). You get the big American hits "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da ", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "Spirits In The Material World". You get the droning politics of "Invisible Sun", you get the Synchronicty tracks "King of Pain" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger", whose sound point more toward to Sting's solo career. and of course you get the Police's most famous song "Every Breath You Take".

If you're the casual listener, this is the Police compilation to get. Despite some great album tracks in their career, they were more of a singles band, and on this disc the best of those singles are covered. The extra money for it being an import is worth it.

For a good dose of Sting, Andy and Stuart, get the Police - Greatest Hits

All the hits are here!
I could never really get my self into any of the Police's albums. They were the kind of album you'd borrow off someone else, and tape the few good tracks. Through their career, the police released about four variations of best ofs and greatest hits. They did release a greatest hits in 1986 that featured a remix of "don't stand so close", but missed out on many of the popular hits. Out of all their material they have produced, this compilation is IT!

This one has all their hits from their reggae roots in the mid seventies through to their new romantic sound in the mid eighties. All my favourites are on here including "every little thing she does is magic", "Roxanne", "Can't stand loosing you", "message in a bottle" and and and at long last, the original version of "don't stand so close". I hated that remix that was done in the late eighties. Other hits on this set include "every breath you take", "spirits in the material world", "wrapped around your finger", "de do do do, de da da da" and "synchronicity". This CD covers all their great hits with 16 selections. If you like the police in any way, you can't go wrong with this disc.

Greatest Police Compilation Ever!
Even Though This CD Is An Import From Who Knows Where, This CD Is Way Better Than "Every Breath You Take: The Classics", Because The Only Songs It's Missing Are Remixes! Those Songs Are "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86", & "Message In A Bottle (New Classic Rock Mix", Which Aren't As Good As The Original Versions. Plus, This Collection Has My Favorite Police Song, "Synchronicity II"!, Plus 3 Other Songs You Can't Get On "Every Breath You Take"! I Recommend This CD Worth Buying Than Buying That Crappy Other Compilation!!!!!!

The Best Band of the 80s
The Police were undisputably the best band of the early 1980s: they were critically acclaimed, they scored huge hits on both the radio and MTV, and they made simply fantastic music that stands out from the pack of 80s excess. Not only that, but lead man/bassist Sting also went on to have a successful solo career after the band disbanded.
When a Police song comes on the air, you can tell right away who it is: the mix of reggae and rock, with lyrics that mean something stands out sharply from they typical songs released in the early years of 80s. With their disbanding in 1984, they symbolically pased the torch to Irish band U2, who released "The Unforgettable Fire" that year, and followed with "The Joshua Tree" three years later.
Everyone knows these songs, and because there's 16 on this album as opposed to 14 on the "Classics" CD, this is a much better buy if you're willing to depart with an extra few dollars. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: they were the best band of the 80s (maybe excepting the Smiths and Stone Roses). Get this collection today and see why.
Import only collection originally released in 1992. Features 16 tracks including 4 tracks that did not make the US 'Every Breath You Take: The Classics'collection, 'So Lonely', 'The Beds To Big Without You', 'Synchronicity 2' & 'Tea In The Sahara'. This import edition also contains the original versions of 'Message In The Bottle' & 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' whereas the aforementioned US collection contains updated versions. The remaining 10 tracks are the tracks everybody knows, 'Roxanne', 'Can't Stand Losing You', 'Walking On The Moon', 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da', 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', 'Invisible Sun', 'Spirits In The Material World', 'Every Breath You Take', 'King Of Pain' & 'Wrapped Around Your Finger'.
Includes 'so Lonely', 'bed's Too Big Without You' and 'synchronicity 2' and "Tea in the Sahara", all Missing from the USA Equivalent Album. As Well, the Original Versions of "Message in a Bottle" and "Don't Stand So Close to Me" Appear Here, Not the Remakes that were Recorded for the American Release Too.