Ghost in the Machine (The Police album)

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Ghost in the Machine
Ghost In The Machine cover.jpg
Studio album by The Police
Released 2 October 1981 (1981-10-02)
Recorded January – September 1981
Studio
Various
Genre
Length 41:03
Language English, French
Label A&M – AMLK 63730
Producer
The Police chronology
Zenyatta Mondatta
(1980)Zenyatta Mondatta1980		 Ghost in the Machine
(1981)		 Synchronicity
(1983)Synchronicity1983
Singles from Ghost in the Machine
  1. "Invisible Sun"
    Released: September 1981
  2. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
    Released: November 1981
  3. "Spirits in the Material World"
    Released: January 1982
  4. "Secret Journey"
    Released: May 1982

Ghost in the Machine is the fourth studio album by English rock band The Police. The album was originally released on 2 October 1981 by A&M. The songs were recorded between January and September 1981 during sessions that took place at AIR Studios in Montserrat and Le Studio in Quebec, assisted by record producer Hugh Padgham.

The album reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and No. 2 in the U.S. Billboard 200. The band released three successful singles from the album: "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Invisible Sun", and "Spirits in the Material World". However the song "Secret Journey" was released as a single in the U.S. in place of "Invisible Sun". The album went multi-platinum in the U.S. It was listed at No. 323 in the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Album title

Much of the material in the album was inspired by Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine, which also provided the title. It was the first Police album to bear an English-language title.

In his younger days Sting was an avid reader of Koestler. The subsequent Police album Synchronicity was inspired by Koestler's The Roots of Coincidence, which mentions Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity.

Production and recording

The album was the first Police record to feature heavy use of keyboards and horns. "Spirits in the Material World" has a rhythmic string synthesizer part, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" uses piano arpeggios and "Invisible Sun" has a background of synthesizer chords. The following twenty minutes of the record—"Hungry for You (J'aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)" through "One World (Not Three)"—include many saxophone harmonies, while the opening to "Secret Journey" showcases the Roland Guitar Synthesizer.

Sting included all the synthesizer parts in his demos for the songs, and brought in Jean Roussel for the piano parts on "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". The demo for "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" was such a high-budget recording that the group could not better it with the equipment available at AIR Studios; they ended up using it as the backing track for the official recording, with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers dubbing their parts on. Sting also played all the saxophone parts on the album. Summers recollected:

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", featuring keyboards dubbed over Summers' reggae-inspired guitar licks. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" features piano, a strong Caribbean vibe, and an extended non-verbal vocal solo at the end. "Invisible Sun" is a mixture of slow, steady verses, a bombastic chorus, and several guitar solos. "Hungry For You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)" is sung mostly in French, with the bass and horns both repeating a single 8-note melody for the length of the song, while the guitar maintains a steady beat. "Demolition Man", the band's longest song—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. It became a belated hit in 1993 as the theme song for the action movie of the same name, starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Grace Jones and Sting have both recorded solo versions of the song. Manfred Mann's Earth Band also recorded a version—rearranged and with extensive use of synthesizers—in 1982 for their Somewhere in Afrika album.

"Too Much Information", "Rehumanize Yourself" and "One World (Not Three)" feature heavy use of horns. As with "Landlord" and "Dead End Job", Copeland had written both music and lyrics for "Rehumanize Yourself" but Sting rejected the lyrics and replaced them with ones he wrote himself.[1] The final three songs, "Omegaman", "Secret Journey" and "Darkness", return to the darker sound which opens the album. "Omegaman" was chosen by A&M to be the first single from the album, but Sting—who had only played on the song grudgingly—refused to allow its release in single form.[2][3]

Cover artwork

The cover art for Ghost in the Machine features a seven-segment display-inspired 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. Wire bonds can be seen on the original issue vinyl album cover, suggesting perhaps that the display is custom rather than merely seven-segment, or perhaps that it is a photographic collage. The album's cover is ranked at No. 45 in VH1's 50 Greatest Album Covers. The graphic was designed by Mick Haggerty.

Release and chart performance

"Invisible Sun", released as the first single (in the UK only) was a great success, making it to No. 2[4] even though the video was banned by the BBC for including footage of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Later "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" reached No. 3 in the U.S. and No. 1 in Britain, and "Spirits in the Material World" made it to No. 11 in the U.S. and No. 12 in the UK.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars[5]
Chicago Tribune 2.5/4 stars[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 4/5 stars[7]
The Village Voice B+[8]

The reception for Ghost in the Machine was mostly positive. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that "it's pointless to deny that they make the chops work for the common good—both their trickiness and their simplicity provide consistent pleasure here."[8] Debra Rae Cohen of Rolling Stone noted that the band had showed "more commitment, more real anger, on Ghost in the Machine than ever before.[9] Greg Prato of AllMusic, in a retrospective review of the album, wrote that the Police "had streamlined their sound to focus more on their pop side and less on their trademark reggae-rock."[5] Prato went on to say that while it "was not a pop masterpiece, Ghost in the Machine did serve as an important stepping stone between their more direct early work and their more ambitious latter direction".[5]

In 2000 Q magazine placed Ghost in the Machine at number 76 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2012 the album was ranked number 323 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the band's highest-ranking work on the list. Pitchfork Media ranked it at number 86 in their list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Sting, except where noted[10]. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Spirits in the Material World"   2:59
2. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"   4:22
3. "Invisible Sun"   3:44
4. "Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)"   2:52
5. "Demolition Man"   5:57
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "Too Much Information"   3:43
7. "Rehumanize Yourself" (Sting, Stewart Copeland) 3:10
8. "One World (Not Three)"   4:47
9. "Ωmegaman" (Andy Summers) 2:48
10. "Secret Journey"   3:34
11. "Darkness" (Copeland) 3:14
Total length:
 41:03

Personnel

  • Sting – bass guitar, lead and backing vocals, double bass, keyboards, saxophone
  • Andy Summers – guitars, backing vocals, guitar synth, keyboards
  • Stewart Copeland – drums, backing vocals (5, 11), percussion, keyboards

With:

Production

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1981 "Invisible Sun" UK Singles 2[4]
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" UK Singles 1[4]
Billboard Mainstream Rock 1
Billboard Pop Singles 3
"One World (Not Three)"/"Too Much Information"/"Every Little thing She Does Is Magic" Billboard Club Play Singles 60
"Spirits in the Material World" UK Singles 12[4]
Billboard Mainstream Rock 7
Billboard Pop Singles 11
1982 "Secret Journey" Billboard Mainstream Rock 29
Billboard Pop Singles 46

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Platinum 100,000
France (SNEP)[31] Gold 299,100[32]
Germany (BVMI)[33] Gold 250,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA)[35] 3× Platinum 3,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes

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Preceded by UK Albums Chart number one album
10 October 1981 – 30 October 1981		 Succeeded by
Dare by The Human League
Preceded by
All Alone Am I by Timi Yuro
 Dutch Mega Chart number-one album
14 November 1981		 Succeeded by
Greatest Hits by Queen
Preceded by Canadian RPM number-one album
28 November 1981 – 12 December 1981		 Succeeded by
The Great White North by Bob and Doug McKenzie
Preceded by
Buona Fortuna by Pooh
 Italian Chart number-one album
12 December 1981		 Succeeded by
Artide Antartide by Renato Zero –
Preceded by Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
14 December 1981 – 20 December 1981		 Succeeded by
Business as Usual by Men at Work

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  1. ↑ Garbarini, Vic (Spring 2000). "I think if we came back...", Revolver.
  2. ↑ Summers, Andy (2006). One Train Later. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-35914-0.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 The Police in the UK Charts, The Official Charts.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Police-Ghost-In-The-Machine/release/1606397
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Note: user must select 'the POLICE' from drop-down.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select THE POLICE and click OK
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Ghost in the Machine in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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