Ecstatic over The Police...
The Police spent last night demonstrating to an ecstatic crowd (which needed little convincing) why they are the most popular of the post-New Wave rock acts.
Artfully combining New Wave appearances with old rock attitudes, the band had the capacity audience on its feet and moving from the first moment.
The power of The Police derives from two sources.
First, and perhaps foremost. is the stupendous voice of their lead singer, Sting; second, their adaptation of such diverse musical elements as Jamaican reggae. Pete Townshend-type power chords and jazz bass lines.
For a three-piece band, they present some of the most surprising melodic pop music of modern times, over the top of which floats Sting's voice.
A week ago, the band postponed their Sydney concerts because he had lost his voice.
Last night one would never have known it. such were his strength and range.
Sting is one of the few true singers in rock music-a real singing machine with a voice of extraordinary emotion and at the same time intense purity.
This was best demonstrated in the band's most reggae-influenced songs: tunes like 'Bring on the Night' and 'The Bed's Too Big Without You', where the stretched Jamaican rhythms gave Sting the room to let slide.
The band did tend to overdo its use of echo, over-extending the periods between the climaxes in their songs so that the crescendo did seem contrived rather than natural elements in the music.
Overall, The Police are the best exploiters of the diverse aspects of pop I have seen perform in Australia recently.
They will be appearing again at the Hordern from March 21 to 23.
(c) The Sydney Morning Herald by Jim Middleton
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