Ghost in the Machine (album)
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| Ghost in the Machine | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by The Police | ||
| Released | October 1981 | |
| Recorded | ??? | |
| Genre | New Wave | |
| Length | 41:03 | |
| Label | A&M Records | |
| Producer(s) | The Police & Hugh Padgham | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Police chronology | ||
| Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) |
''Ghost in the Machine'' (1981) |
Synchronicity (1983) |
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"Ghost in the Machine" redirects here. For other uses, see Ghost in the Machine (disambiguation).
Ghost in the Machine is the fourth album by The Police, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). Much of the material in this album was inspired by Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine, which also donated the title. The cover art for Ghost in the Machine features an LED graphic that depicts the heads of the three band members each with a distinctive hair style (from left to right, Andy Summers, Sting with spiky hair, and Stewart Copeland with a fringe); the band was unable to decide on a photograph to use for the cover.
The album was the first Police record to feature heavy use of keyboards and saxophones. "Spirits in the Material World" used a synthesizer to mask the song's reggae influence, and the middle twenty minutes of the record ("Hungry for You" through "One World") has a great deal of saxophone harmonies. Interestingly enough, the opening to "Secret Journey" is a guitar layered with effects pedals. As Andy Summers recollects:
| I have to say I was getting disappointed with the musical direction around the time of Ghost in the Machine. With the horns and synth coming in, the fantastic raw-trio feel—all the really creative and dynamic stuff—was being lost. We were ending up backing a singer doing his pop songs." |
The LP opens with "Spirits in the Material World", a dark pop song with keyboards dubbed over Summers' original guitar line. Following that is "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", which features piano and a strong Caribbean vibe. "Invisible Sun" refers to The Troubles in Northern Ireland (an ArmaLite is the British Army's version of what is designated the M16 rifle in the United States Army). "Hungry For You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)" is sung mostly in French. "Demolition Man", one of the band's longest songs, almost six minutes in length, features a strong bass line and saxophone, and was written by Sting while staying at Peter O'Toole's Irish mansion. Grace Jones and Sting have both recorded solo versions of the song.
"Too Much Information", "Rehumanize Yourself", and "One World (Not Three)" all concern various political themes. The final three songs return to the darker sound which opens the album: "Ωmegaman" features lyrics dealing with personal pressure, "Secret Journey" is a moody song about inner strength and enlightenment, and "Darkness", the album's Stewart Copeland-penned closer, is a ballad about the pressures of being a rock star.
"Invisible Sun", released as a single before the album, was a large success in the UK, making it to #2 even though the video was banned by the BBC for including footage referring to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Later, "Every Little Thing She Does" made it to #3 in the U.S. and #1 in Britain, and "Spirits in the Material World" made it to the U.S. Top 20.
Arthur Koestler's reaction to the album is said to have been muted. He knew little about the burgeoning New Wave scene, and is alleged to have said:
| Look at this. Did you ever see a magazine called the New Musical Express? It turns out there is a pop group called The Police - I don't know why they are called that, presumably to distinguish them from the punks - and they've made an album of my essay The Ghost in the Machine. I didn't know anything about it until my clipping agency sent me a review of the record. |
In his younger days, Sting was an avid reader of Koestler. Another of The Police's albums Synchronicity was also inspired by Koestler's The Roots of Coincidence, which mentions Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity.
The logo for Police Sunglasses (as well as some police departments) uses the same font for the word "Police" as featured on the album's cover.
In 2000 Q magazine placed Ghost in the Machine at number 76 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 322 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs writtn by Sting unless otherwise indicated.
- "Spirits in the Material World" – 2:59
- "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:22
- "Invisible Sun" – 3:44
- "Hungry for You (J'aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)" – 2:53
- "Demolition Man" – 5:57
- "Too Much Information" – 3:43
- "Rehumanize Yourself" (Stewart Copeland, Sting) – 3:10
- "One World (Not Three)" – 4:47
- "Ωmegaman" (Andy Summers) – 2:48 ("Omegaman" on some editions)
- "Secret Journey"– 3:34
- "Darkness" (Copeland) – 3:14
[edit] Personnel
The Police
- Sting - bass, lead vocals
- Stewart Copeland - drums, vocals
- Andy Summers - guitar, vocals
Additional personnel
- Jean Roussel - keyboards on "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
[edit] Trivia
"J' aurais toujours faim de toi" translates in French as "I would always be hungry for you". It is more likely that the band meant "J' aurai toujours faim de toi" which translates as "I will always be hungry for you." There are a few other language mistakes in the song's lyrics.
Having given up on finding a correct, definitive version of the lyrics on the web, herewith the best I've been able to come up with--edit away...
Rien de dormir cette nuit
Je veux de toi jusqu'à ce que je sois sec
Mais nos corps sont tout mouillés
complètement couvert de sueur
Nous nous noyons dans la marée
Je n'ai aucun désir
Tu as ravagé mon coeur
et moi, j'ai bu ton sang
Mais non pouvons faire ce que nous voulons
j'aurais toujours faim de toi
Tout le monde est à moi
Je l'ai gagné dans un jeu de cartes
Et maintenant je m'en fous
C'était gagné trop facilement
Ça y est alors ma belle traîtresse
Il faut que je brûle de jalousie
Tu as ravagé mon coeur
et moi, j'ai bu ton sang
The automatic translation software leaves something to be desired, but here's a first draft:
No sleep tonight
I want you until I am drained
But our bodies are very wet
completely covered of sweat
We drown in the tide
I want nothing
You broke my heart
and me, I drank your blood
But no matter what we do
I'll always be hungry for you
I have everything
I won it in a game of cards
And now it drives me crazy
It was won too easily
That is then my beautiful traitress there
It is necessary that I burn jealousy
You broke my heart
and me, I drank your blood
[edit] Charts
Album)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Billboard Pop Albums | 2 |
| 1983 | The Billboard 200 | 111 |
| 1983 | The Billboard 200 | 118 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 1 |
| 1981 | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | Billboard Pop Singles | 3 |
| 1981 | "One World (Not Three) /Too Much Information/Every Little thing She Does Is Magic" | Billboard Club Play Singles | 60 |
| 1982 | "Secret Journey" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 29 |
| 1982 | "Secret Journey" | Billboard Pop Singles | 46 |
| 1982 | "Spirits In The Material World" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 7 |
| 1982 | "Spirits In The Material World" | Billboard Pop Singles | 11 |
| The Police |
|---|
| Sting – Andy Summers – Stewart Copeland |
| Henry Padovani |
| Discography |
| Studio Albums: Outlandos d'Amour (1978) - Reggatta de Blanc (1979) - Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) - Ghost in the Machine (1981) - Synchronicity (1983) |
| Live Albums: Live! (1995) |
| Compilation Albums: Every Breath You Take: The Singles (1986) - Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings (1993) - Every Breath You Take: The Classics (1995) - The Very Best of Sting & The Police (1997, 2002) |
