If people are familiar with The Police at all, it’s probably from a mega-hit like “Every Breath You Take,” or some other song off their classic concept album Synchronicity. That work marked both the apex of the band’s popularity as well as their demise. But most people don’t realize that, way back in the early 80s, The Police were primarly a reggae band. (Or were they a punk band? Or maybe jazz…?)
As far as I can tell, almost every great work of art is actually a synthesis of two or more styles that were previously opposed to each other. In “Driven to Tears,” we have those three disparate influences: reggae, punk, and jazz. More importantly, it is perhaps the band’s ultimate song in that is shows-off the talents of all three muscians so well. Andy Summers’s guitar is elegant yet soaring; Stewart Copeland’s drumming is at its frenetic, polyrythmic peak; and Sting’s singing and bass-playing are the core of the song.
And there’s the libretto, of course. “Too many cameras, not enough food.” It’s a line as heartbreakingly true today as it was in 1980. Maybe more so.
Rock on…!
