Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings

Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings is a four-CD boxed set by The Police, containing all of their studio albums in chronological order, as well as singles, B-sides, and tracks from various compilation albums and the Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack.

Disc 1 includes live renditions of "Landlord" and "Next to You" which were recorded at the Bottom Line, New York on 4 April 1979 and originally broadcast on WNEW-FM, New York).

Disc 3 has a live version of "Driven to Tears" which was recorded live at Les Arenes, Frejus, France, 28 August 1980 and featured in Urgh! A Music War.

Contrary to its title, these are not the complete recordings to 1986. "Truth Hits Everybody '83" appeared on a limited edition gatefold single of "Every Breath You Take". Two new versions of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" were released in 1980 as a double A-side 7", one with Sting singing Japanese lyrics, the other with Spanish lyrics (AM-25000). Also released was a 12" single for "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" which featured both an additional remix and live version of the song. Live recordings of "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" had also been released. None of these are included on the boxed set.

Reception

Allmusic gave resounding approval to the set, going so far as to claim that all 78 songs are "timeless classics", making it the ideal purchase for the casual listener. They also praised the booklet included, especially the Police biography, and asserted that the digital remastering is so superior to the sound quality of the original releases that they would recommend the purchase even those who already have all the recordings on the boxed set.^[1]

Track listing

• Tracks previously unreleased on CD are marked with "*".

Disc 1

1. "Fall Out" (Stewart Copeland)* – 2:04
2. "Nothing Achieving" (Copeland)* – 1:56
   • Tracks 1-2 originally released as a single (UK only) in 1977.
3. "Dead End Job" (Sting, Copeland, Andy Summers)* – 3:35
   • B-side of the singles "Can't Stand Losing You" (UK), and "Roxanne" (U.S.).
4. "Next to You" (Sting) – 2:50
5. "So Lonely" (Sting) – 4:49
6. "Roxanne" (Sting) – 3:12
7. "Hole in My Life" (Sting) – 4:52
8. "Peanuts" (Copeland, Sting) – 3:58
9. "Can't Stand Losing You" (Sting) – 2:58
10. "Truth Hits Everybody" (Sting) – 2:53
11. "Born in the 50's" (Sting) – 3:40
12. "Be My Girl - Sally" (Sting, Summers) – 3:22
13. "Masoko Tanga" (Sting) – 5:40
    • Tracks 4-13 originally released on the album Outlandos d'Amour.
14. "Landlord" (Live) (Sting, Copeland) * – 2:36
15. "Next to You" (Live) (Sting)* – 3:11
    • Tracks 14-15 originally released on the A&M compilation album Propaganda - No Wave II in 1980 (AMLE 64786).
16. "Landlord" (Sting, Copeland) * – 3:09
    • B-side of the single "Message in a Bottle".
17. "Message in a Bottle" (Sting) – 4:51
18. "Reggatta de Blanc" (Copeland, Sting, Summers) – 3:06
19. "It's Alright for You" (Copeland, Sting) – 3:13
20. "Bring on the Night" (Sting) – 4:16
21. "Deathwish" (Copeland, Sting, Summers) – 4:13
    • Tracks 17-21 originally released on the album Reggatta de Blanc.

Disc 2

1. "Walking on the Moon" (Sting) – 5:02
2. "On Any Other Day" (Copeland) – 2:57
3. "The Bed's too Big Without You" (Sting) – 4:26
4. "Contact" (Copeland) – 2:38
5. "Does Everyone Stare" (Copeland) – 3:52
6. "No Time This Time" (Sting) – 3:17
   • Tracks 1-6 originally released on the album Reggatta de Blanc.
7. "Visions of the Night" (Sting)* – 3:05
   • B-side of the singles "Walking on the Moon" (U.K), and "Bring on the Night" (U.S.).
8. "The Bed's too Big Without You" (Mono) (Sting) * – 3:29
9. "Truth Hits Everybody" (Live) (Sting) * – 2:26
   • Tracks 8-9 originally released on Six Pack (UK only) in 1980.
10. "Friends" (Summers)* – 3:36
    • B-side of the singles "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (UK), and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (U.S.).
11. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (Sting) – 4:04
12. "Driven to Tears" (Sting) – 3:20
13. "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" (Sting) – 3:38
14. "Canary in a Coalmine" (Sting) – 2:26
15. "Voices Inside My Head" (Sting) – 3:53
16. "Bombs Away" (Copeland) – 3:09
17. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (Sting) – 4:09
18. "Behind My Camel" (Summers) – 2:54
19. "Man in a Suitcase" (Sting) – 2:19
20. "Shadows in the Rain" (Sting) – 5:02
21. "The Other Way of Stopping" (Copeland) – 3:22
    • Tracks 11-21 originally released on the album Zenyatta Mondatta.

Disc 3

1. "A Sermon" (Copeland) * – 2:33
   • B-side of the singles "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (UK), and "Don't Stand So Close To Me" (U.S.).
2. "Driven to Tears" (Live)(Sting) * – 3:29
   • Originally released on the compilation album Urgh! A Music War in 1981.
3. "Shambelle" (Summers) * – 5:00
   • B-side of the singles "Invisible Sun" (UK), and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (U.S.).
4. "Spirits in the Material World" (Sting) – 2:59
5. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (Sting) – 4:22
6. "Invisible Sun" (Sting) – 3:44
7. "Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)" (Sting) – 2:53
8. "Demolition Man" (Sting) – 5:57
9. "Too Much Information" (Sting) – 3:43
10. "Rehumanize Yourself" (Copeland, Sting) – 3:10
11. "One World (Not Three)" (Sting) – 4:47
12. "Omegaman" (Summers) – 2:48
13. "Secret Journey" (Sting) – 3:34
14. "Darkness" (Copeland) – 3:14
    • Tracks 4-14 originally released on the album Ghost in the Machine.
15. "Flexible Strategies" (Sting, Summers, Copeland) * – 3:43
    • B-side of the singles "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", (UK), and "Spirits in the Material World" (U.S.).
16. "Low Life" * (Sting) – 3:45
    • B-side of the UK single "Spirits in the Material World".
17. "How Stupid Mr. Bates" (Sting, Summers, Copeland) * – 2:41
18. "A Kind of Loving" (Sting, Summers, Copeland) * – 2:03
    • Tracks 17-18 originally released on the soundtrack album Brimstone & Treacle in 1982.

Disc 4

1. "Synchronicity I" (Sting) – 3:23
2. "Walking in Your Footsteps" (Sting) – 3:36
3. "O My God" (Sting) – 4:02
4. "Mother" (Summers) – 3:05
5. "Miss Gradenko" (Copeland) – 1:59
6. "Synchronicity II" (Sting) – 5:02
7. "Every Breath You Take" (Sting) – 4:13
8. "King of Pain" (Sting) – 4:59
9. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (Sting) – 5:13
10. "Tea in the Sahara" (Sting) – 4:19
    • Tracks 1-10 originally released on the album Synchronicity.
11. "Murder by Numbers" (Sting, Summers) – 4:36
    • Not included on original LP release of the album Synchronicity.
    • B-side of the single "Every Breath You Take".
12. "Man in a Suitcase" (Live) (Sting) * – 2:17
    • originally released on the maxi-single "Every Breath You Take" (UK only).
13. "Someone to Talk To" (Summers) * – 3:08
    • B-side of the singles "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK), and "King of Pain" (U.S.).
14. "Message in a Bottle" (Live) (Sting) * – 4:51
    • Originally released on the maxi-single "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK only).
15. "I Burn for You" (Sting) * – 4:49
    • Originally released on the soundtrack album Brimstone & Treacle in 1982.
    • Also included on the maxi-single "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK only) which contributes to its ordering in this collection.
16. "Once Upon a Daydream" (Sting, Summers) * – 3:31
    • B-side of the single "Synchronicity II".
17. "Tea in the Sahara" (Live) (Sting)* – 5:06
    • B-side of the singles "King of Pain" (UK), and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (U.S.).
18. "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (Sting)* – 4:51
    • Originally released on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles.

NOTE: The German & Australian pressings have a different version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" on this disc (matrix number: 540 154-2 01 & 540 150-2). The mix clocks at 6:24, has an extended intro, a different ending, no playground sound effects, and a radically different guitar solo.

References