Police

Zenyatta Mondatta

No boughta? You oughta.

Review Score:

(8/10)
Critics have called Zenyatta Mondatta the worst of the Police albums. From things the band members themselves have said about the time surrounding the recording of Zenyatta Mondatta, they were tired and pressed -- both by the record company for a hit record and their touring schedule. This being the case, this album is even greater than it seems. If this is the worst the Police got, I'll take the Police over countless other bands anyday.

There are some delicious tunes here. Don't Stand So Close To Me, a song about how nervous a man can get when a young girl turns on the charm, is in many ways the best song the Police ever recorded. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da is a fun and smart song about the corrupting power of words. Also fun and smart are Man in a Suitcase, Canary in a Coalmine and When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around. More serious is the driving Driven to Tears, a song about the pain one suffers by witnessing the suffering of others: a song of empathy. Voices Inside My Head's got a mesmerizing momentum. Shadows In the Rain is gorgeously haunting (and a personal favorite).

Zenyatta Mondatta has personal significance to me: It was the first Police album I bought. I was fifteen at the time and, I suppose, I haven't gotten over it. Maybe I'm getting old, but I think fifteen year olds today would be lucky if they had a band like the Police to listen to.

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