POLICE – WILLIAMSBURG 1984 (2 CD-R)

Description

William & Mary College, Williamsburg, VA, USA 8 February 1984

　THE POLICE decided to go on hiatus in 1984, embarking on their final activities. This superb live album allows you to fully experience their very last performance.

　This release features a recording of the Williamsburg performance on February 8, 1984. It’s a newly released master that has been generating a lot of buzz. The “SYNCHRONICITY Tour” already boasts several soundboard masterpieces, including the Atlanta performance on the official releases “LIVE!” and “SYNCHRONICITY CONCERT,” as well as our store’s classic pressing “MONTREAL 1983 SOUNDBOARD (Wardour-596)” and the newly discovered “BARCELONA 1983 SOUNDBOARD (Uxbridge 2764)” from the European leg. Now, a superb recording from a completely different period has appeared. First, let’s take a look at the overall picture of the world tour to understand the position of this release.

●1983
《June 1st: “SYNCHRONICITY” released》
・July 23rd – September 11th: North America #1 (31 shows) ← *MONTREAL 1983 and others
・September 17th – October 14th: Europe (18 shows) ← *BARCELONA 1983
・October 28th – November 28th: ​​North America #2 (21 shows) ← *Official Atlanta and others
・December 8th – 31st: UK (16 shows) ← *WEMBLEY ARENA 1983
●1984
・January 30th + 31st: Italy (2 shows)
・February 4th – 25th: North America #3 (14 shows) ← ★HERE★
・February 29th – March 4th: Oceania (3 shows)
《THE POLICE ceases activities》

【SBD? Or superb AUD? –A new master recording of unknown origin:
　This is THE POLICE from 1983/1984. The Williamsburg performance on this recording is the fourth show of “North America #3,” the final leg of the tour. Looking at the entire tour, there were fewer than 20 shows left, and it was just before the last three shows in Oceania remained. It was a scene from the final North American tour as the band’s journey headed towards its end.

　The sound of this recording, which captures such a show, is currently sparking a major debate among collectors. To put it simply, the question is, “Is this a soundboard recording? Or is it a superb audience recording?”—its true nature remains unclear.
　When you press the play button, the first thing you hear is a powerful and robust performance sound. However, there is a soft, rounded quality, perhaps due to age-related deterioration, so you can’t immediately conclude that it’s a soundboard recording. But as the show progresses, the sound improves dramatically. By the time the second song, “Synchronicity II,” arrives, the haze suddenly clears, and a beautiful soundscape unfolds, much like an FM broadcast. From that point on, it’s truly impossible to know. Judging from the sound, it sounds exactly like a soundboard recording, but the person who released it says, “I don’t know if it’s an SBD or an AUD,” and no broadcast source has been found. For this reason, the artwork for this recording cannot be labeled “STEREO SOUNDBOARD”…but frankly speaking, when it comes to enjoying the music, the origin is a minor detail. The sound world that unfolds is indistinguishable from that of a top-tier soundboard album.

　In fact, its listening experience is on par with—or even surpasses—genuine soundboard masterpieces. To be more specific, it surpasses “BARCELONA 1983 SOUNDBOARD” and comes close to the beauty of the pressed masterpiece “MONTREAL 1983 SOUNDBOARD.” If the Montreal recording had a “freshness like a master recording of an FM broadcast,” this recording, from the second track onward, possesses a transparency and resolution that is difficult to compare. Sting’s bass lines have a thick, elastic contour, Andy Summers’ guitar reverberates into space down to every single note, and Stewart Copeland’s drums pierce the ear with an attack that is not at all muddy—and because THE POLICE is a trio, the presence of each instrument is laid bare, which is why this freshness is especially effective.

[A comprehensive full show that covers THE POLICE’s final period]
　This show, with its truly superb sound, is the full show from “North America #3,” which took place just before the band’s demise. Here, let’s organize it by comparing it with the Atlanta performance from the two official releases, ‘LIVE!’ and ‘SYNCHRONICITY CONCERT’.

●Synchronicity (9 songs)
– Synchronicity I / Synchronicity II / Walking In Your Footsteps / O My God / Wrapped Around Your Finger / Tea In The Sahara / King Of Pain / Every Breath You Take / Murder By Numbers (★★)
●Others (10 songs)
– Outlandos d’Amour: Hole In My Life (★) / Roxanne / Can’t Stand Losing You
– Shiroi Regatta: Message In A Bottle / Walking On The Moon (★)
– Zenyatta Mondatta: De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da / Don’t Stand So Close To Me
– Ghost in the Machine: Spirits In The Material World / Invisible Sun (★) / One World (Not Three) (★)
*Note: Songs marked with “★” were not heard at the Atlanta performance on the official release “LIVE!”. Songs marked with “★★” are not even included in the video version of “SYNCHRONICITY CONCERT”.

…and so on. The setlist, centered around tracks from “SYNCHRONICITY” and summarizing his career, is truly worthy of being called the culmination of his world tour. What’s noteworthy is the large number of songs not found on official albums. From “Walking On The Moon,” “Invisible Sun,” “One World (Not Three),” and “Hole In My Life,” to “Murder By Numbers,” which wasn’t included on the official “LIVE!” or the video version “SYNCHRONICITY CONCERT,” the selection is sure to make album fans drool.

　Moreover, each song is performed live by the three members as they embark on this historic final leg of the tour. More than six months after the tour began, the setlist and the band’s ensemble have reached a perfectly polished culmination. From the intro of “Voices Inside My Head” to the climax of “Can’t Stand Losing You,” it’s a condensed 87 minutes with absolutely nothing superfluous.

　Unknown yet superb—this mysterious sound conveys the very end of the “SYNCHRONICITY Tour” in a full live album. With a beauty that rivals the pressed masterpiece “MONTREAL 1983 SOUNDBOARD,” this fulfilling two-disc set is luxuriously packed with track selections not found on the official release. Experience to the fullest the final North American stage of THE POLICE as they head towards their end.

★A superb recording of the “February 8, 1984 Williamsburg performance” that was recently released and is generating buzz. Although its origin is unknown, the sound quality is astonishing, sounding exactly like a soundboard recording, and its beauty rivals that of the pressed masterpiece “MONTREAL 1983 SOUNDBOARD.” This fulfilling two-disc set allows you to enjoy the final full show, including “Murder By Numbers” and other tracks not found on the official release.

Disc 1 (60:39)
1. Voices Inside My Head
2. Synchronicity I
3. Synchronicity II
4. Walking In Your Footsteps
5. Message In A Bottle
6. Walking On The Moon
7. O My God
8. De Do Do Do
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Tea In The Sahara
11. Hole In My Life
12. Spirits In The Material World
13. Invisible Sun
14. One World

Disc 2 (26:07)
1. King Of Pain
2. Don’t Stand So Close To Me
3. Every Breath You Take
4. Murder By Numbers
5. Roxanne
6. Can’t Stand Losing You