Ebbene sì con 'Synchronicity' giungiamo all'ultimo capitolo della discografia da studio dei tre policemen; possiamo affermare che prima di vedere nelle vetrine dei negozi 'Synchronicity', trascorre il più ampio intervallo che sia mai intercorso tra due pubblicazioni del gruppo di Sting.
Ad onor del vero dobbiamo ricordare che seppur il 1982 non abbia visto l'uscita di un disco targato The Police, i tre inglesi immettono sul mercato tre nuove canzoni (per l'appunto "How Stupid Mr Bates", "A Kind Of Loving", e "I Burn For You") che hanno fatto da soundtrack al film "Brimstone&Treacle".
'Synchronicity' mette subito in chiaro che il gruppo ha ancora optato per diversi cambiamenti che vanno a ricoprire sia l'argomento testi, - con un maggior orientamento verso i rapportiumani e l'amore che la fà davvero da padrone, senza dimenticare l'analisi del pensiero Jungiano che trova nella sincronicità uno dei suoi temi di maggior interesse -, sia quello musicale con la eterna ricerca del nuovo, sia per l'impatto sonoro che sembra trovare un "perfetto" livello di concretizzazione. L'inizio nervoso di "Synchronicity I" lascia lo spazio ad un incalzante melodia vocale che ben s'innesta con parti musicali dotate di solidità e compattezza, dove cori e controcanti ne fanno un brano munito di vigore ed incisività che solo questo nuovo percorso musicale di Sting & Co. poteva aiutare a venir fuori. L'intro di "Walking In Your Footsteps" è una delle molteplici sfaccettature di quel sentiero di innovazione intrapreso dal gruppo, dovele percussioni gestite da Copeland danno man forte agli affilati vocalizzi di Sting in modo da far acquisire al brano la parvenza di una ballata dal sapore primitivo, palesando ancheil motivo per cui il geniale bassista sia impareggiabile anche per le sue qualità canore.
"Oh My God" che sembra davvero fuoriuscire dal nulla, si presenta come un brano che sicuramente non rimarrà a primo colpo nella testa dell'ascoltatore, ma che con la sua estrema semplicità può comunque allietare un ascolto non propriamente impegnativo dando comunque modo di apprezzare un soliloquio a base di sax nel finale. "Synchronicity II" è sicuramente una di quelle tracce che mostrano la faccia più elegantemente rock del trio; dopo una space intro, un'indovinatissima ed ariosa strofa il cui contributo di Summers influenza non poco a rendere il tutto più graffiante portando ad un bridge solido e levigato ad arte, che trova la sublimazione in un mirabile ritornello dal lodevole impatto melodico. Per una traccia di estremo valore che chiude la prima parte del disco, un'altra di caratura sicuramente superiore battezza la b-side, il suo titolo è "Every Breath You Take". La canzone dal testo che ogni donna vorrebbe sentirsi dedicare non presenta nè rock, nè reggae e nè reminiscenze punk, ma un vero e sublime concentrato di tutte quelle positive qualità che vorremmo poter trovare in tutti i brani pop da sottoporre alle nostre orecchie. Dall'avvincente e facilmente memorizzabile strofa ad un affabile ritornello che ha tutte le carte per poter indurre un motivato piacere in chi ascolta, facendo si che la ditta Sting Copeland & Summers possa centrare quel traguardo di perfezione compositiva ed esecutiva rimasto ancora da raggiungere, di un tangibile spirito di insieme che forse i primi "Cream" e pochi altri possono dire di aver tastato con mano.
Il piano di "King Of Pain" schiarisce subito ogni dubbio, i The Police sanno muoversi con confidenza anche in ambiti musicali desueti come questo, dove un brano dall'iniziale e lento incedere si trasforma in una rock song di pregevole fattura che raggiunge lo zenit in quella semplice strofa seguita dall'intenso refrain che ne arricchisce il valore artistico. Personalmente non ritengo che man mano che si và verso la fine del disco si incontrano braniche ricoprono solo l'infelice ruolo di riempitivo. La mainstream e delicata "Wrapped Around Your Finger" unitamente alla fioca e velata atmosfera di "Tea In The Sahara" ne sono un esempio, guidando per mano chi ascolta tra sentieri musicali fatti di continue e gradevoli sorprese. Con questo lavoro è chiara la conquista della leadership da parte di Sting, sempre più padrone delle sue capacità compositive che lo fanno figurare come autore di ben otto brani e che vede di conseguenza ridurre il contributo creativo (ma non per quel che riguarda l'aspetto strumentale, of course!!) di Summers e Copeland a non più di cinque minuti totali, rispettivamente suddivisi tra la follia di "Mother" e l'avanguardista storia di "Miss Gradenko" (...conosceremo la parola glasnost, solo di lì a qualche anno..).
Per chi fosse mai caduto nell'errore di poter credere che il terzetto inglese avesse coniato un genere da poter spremere per un'intera carriera artistica, mai nulla di più sbagliato è stato confermato con l'uscita sul mercato da parte di 'Synchronicity', disco che nella sua intelligente ed inconsueta eterogeneità dimostra, di essere una inconfutabile prova vincente di chi ha saputo rischiare la propria maturità artistica sulla propria pelle oltrechè l'epitaffio di una band senza tempo.
Elenco tracce testi e video
03 O My God (04:02)
Everyone I know is lonely
and God's so far away,
And my heart belongs to no one
So now sometimes I pray
Please take the space between us
And fill it up some way
Take the space between us
and fill it up some way
O my God you take the biscuit
Treating me this way
Expecting me to treat you well
No matter what you say
How can I turn the other cheek
It's black and bruised and torn
I've been waiting
since the day that I was born
Take the space between us
and fill it up some way
Take the space between us
and fill it up some way
The fat man in his garden
The thin man at his gate
My God you must be sleeping
Wake up, it's much too late
Take the space between us
and fill it up some way
Take the space between us
and fill it up some way
Do I have to tell the story
of a thousand rainy days
since we first met?
It's a big enough umbrella
But it's always me that ends up getting wet
04 Mother (03:05)
Well, the telephone is ringing
Is that my mother on the phone?
The telephone is ringing
Is that my mother on the phone?
The telephone is screaming
Won't she leave me alone
The telephone is ringing
Is that my mother on the phone?
Well, every girl I got out with
Becomes my mother in the end
Every girl I go out with
Becomes my mother in the end
Well, I hear my mother calling
But I don't need her as a friend
Every girl I go out with
Becomes my mother in the end
Oh Oh mother
Oh mother dear please listen
And don't devour me
Oh mother dear please listen
And don't devour me
Oh women please have mercy
Let this poor boy be
Oh mother dear please listen
And don't devour me
05 Miss Gradenko (02:00)
Don't tell the director I said so
But are you safe Miss Gradenko?
We were at a policy meeting
They were planning new ways of cheating
I didn't want to rock your boat
But you sent this dangerous note
You've been letting your feelings show
Are you safe Miss Gradenko?
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Are you safe Miss Gradenko?
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody at all in here?
Nobody but us
Nobody but us
Is anybody alive in here?
Nobody but us
Your uniform don't seem to fit
You're much too alive in it
You've been letting your feelings show
Are you safe Miss Gradenko?
Miss Gradenko are you safe?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody alive in here?
Is anybody at all in here?
Nobody but us in here
Nobody but us
Nobody but us in here
Nobody but us
06 Synchronicity II (05:05)
The Police - Synchronicity II Lyrics
Another suburban family morning.
Grandmother screaming at the wall.
We have to shout above the din of our Rice Crispies
We can't hear anything at all.
Mother chants her litany of boredom and frustration,
But we know all her suicides are fake.
Daddy only stares into the distance
There's only so much more that he can take.
Many miles away something crawls from the slime
At the bottom of a dark Scottish lake.
Another industrial ugly morning
The factory belches filth into the sky.
He walks unhindered through the picket lines today,
He doesn't think to wonder why.
The secretaries pout and preen like cheap tarts in a red light street,
But all he ever thinks to do is watch.
And every single meeting with his so-called superior
Is a humiliating kick in the crotch.
Many miles away something crawls to the surface
Of a dark Scottish lake.
Another working day has ended.
Only the rush hour hell to face.
Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes.
Contestants in a suicidal race.
Daddy grips the wheel and stares alone into the distance,
He knows that something somewhere has to break.
He sees the family home now looming in the headlights,
the pain upstairs that makes his eyeballs ache.
Many miles away there's a shadow on the door
Of a cottage on the shore
Of a dark Scottish lake...............
07 Every Breath You Take (04:14)
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you
O can't you see
You belong to me
My poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you
Since you've gone I been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, please
O can't you see
You belong to me
My poor heart aches
With every step you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you
Every move you make
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
08 King of Pain (04:59)
There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop
I have stood here before in the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
There's a little black spot on the sun today
(That's my soul up there)
It's the same old thing as yesterday
(That's my soul up there)
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
(That's my soul up there)
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop
(That's my soul up there)
I have stood here before in the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
There's a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall
(That's my soul up there)
There's a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall
(That's my soul up there)
There's a blue whale beached by a springtide's ebb
(That's my soul up there)
There's a butterfly trapped in a spider's web
I have stood here before in the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
There's a king on a throne with his eyes torn out
There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt
There's a rich man sleeping on a golden bed
There's a skeleton choking on a crust of bread
There's a red fox torn by a huntsman's pack
(That's my soul up there)
There's a black winged gull with a broken back
(That's my soul up there)
There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
I have stood here before in the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I always thought you could end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
King of Pain
King of Pain
King of Pain
I'll always be king of pain
09 Wrapped Around Your Finger (05:13)
You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger
I have only come here seeking knowledge
Things they would not teach me of in college
I can see the destiny you sold
turned into a shining band of gold
I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger
Mephistopheles is not your name
But I know what you're up to just the same
I will listen hard to your tuition
And you will see it come to its fruition
I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger
Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
Vanish in the air you'll never find me
I will turn your face to alabaster
When you find your servant is your master
And you'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger
10 Tea in the Sahara (04:15)
My sisters and I
Have one wish before we die
And it may sound strange
As if our minds are deranged
Please don't ask us why
Beneath the sheltering sky
We have this strange obsession
You have the means in your possession
Tea in the Sahara with you
Tea in the Sahara with you
The young man agreed
He would satisfy their need
So they danced for his pleasure
With a joy you could not measure
They would wait for him here
The same place every year
Beneath the sheltering sky
Across the desert he would fly
Tea in the Sahara with you
Tea in the Sahara with you
Tea in the Sahara with you
Tea in the Sahara with you..ooooo
The sky turned to black
Would he ever come back
They would climb a high dune
They would pray to the moon
But he'd never return
So the sisters would burn
As their eyes searched the land
With their cups still full of sand
Tea in the Sahara with you
Tea in the Sahara with you
Tea in the Sahara with you
Tea in the Sahara with you..ooooo
11 Murder by Numbers (04:33)
Once that you've decided on a killing
First you make a stone of your heart
And if you find that your hands are still willing
Then you can turn a murder into art
There really isn't any need for bloodshed
You just do it with a little more finesse
If you can slip a tablet into someone's coffee
Then it avoids an awful lot of mess
It's murder by numbers one two three
It's as easy to learn as your ABCs (2x)
Now if you have a taste for this experience
And you're flushed with your very first success
Then you must try a twosome or a threesome
And you'll find your conscience bothers you much less
Because murder is like anything you take to
It's a habit-forming need for more and more
You can bump off every member of your family
And anybody else you find a bore
Because it's murder by numbers one two three
It's as easy to learn as your ABCs (2x)
Now you can join the ranks of the illustrious
In history's great dark hall of fame
All our greatest killers were industrious
At least the ones that we all know by name
But you can reach the top of your profession
If you become the leader of the land
For murder is the sport of the elected
And you don't need to lift a finger of your hand
Because it's murder by numbers one two three
It's as easy to learn as your ABCs
Because it's murder by numbers one two three
It's as easy to learn as your ABCDEs
one two three
ABC (x3)
i said
Because it's murder by numbers one two three
It's as easy to learn as your ABCs
Because it's murder by numbers one two three
It's as easy to learn as your ABCDEs
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Altre recensioni
Di luciano
Qui dentro, alla rinfusa, spinti dall'istinto di autoconservazione a cercare di proseguire il rapporto, ognuno dà il meglio di sè, essendo però disponibili a proseguire solo alle proprie condizioni!
Questo album è nervoso, scontroso, asciutto, sconnesso. È pure più scarno di Ghost in the Machine. Eppure è assolutamente indispensabile averlo.
