Ghost in the Machine
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For other uses, please see Ghost in the Machine (disambiguation)
| Ghost in the Machine | ||
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| Album by The Police | ||
| Released | October 1981 | |
| Recorded | ??? | |
| Genre | New Wave | |
| Length | 41 min 8 sec | |
| Label | A&M | |
| Producers | The Police, Hugh Padgham | |
| Professional reviews | ||
| AMG | 3.5/5 | link (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47D1ED847A47E20E0B11A40DEB561F61A8F1AACD83E284541D1B43844C30E79EC40A6D8B1E8B800E203E3FE2FBB5B08CCC8EE56F890673F378DEAAC653F2E3A7B&uid=MIDMR0411170004&sql=10:9juvad1kv8wj~T1) |
| The Police Chronology | ||
| Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) | Ghost in the Machine (1981) | Synchronicity (1983) |
Ghost in the Machine is the fourth album by The Police, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). Much of the material in this album was inspired by Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine, which also donated the title. The cover art for Ghost in the Machine features an LED 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 bang).
The album was the first Police record to feature heavy use of keyboards and saxophones. "Spirits in the Material World" used a synthesizer to mask the song's reggae influence, and the middle twenty minutes of the record ("Hungry for You" through "One World") has a great deal of brass. As Andy Summers recollects:
"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", a dark pop song with keyboards dubbed over Summers' original guitar line. Following that is "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", which features piano and a strong Caribbean vibe. "Invisible Sun" refers to troubles in Northern Ireland, and "Hungry For You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toil)" is sung mostly in French. "Demolition Man" is one of the band's longest songs, at almost six minutes in length, and is very jazzy with a strong bass line and saxophone. "Too Much Information", "Rehumanize Yourself", and "One World (Not Three)" all concern various political themes. The final three songs return to the darker sound which opens the album: "Omegaman" features lyrics dealing with personal pressure and features an interesting guitar riff by its writer, Andy Summers, "Secret Journey" is a moody song about inner strength and enlightenment, and "Darkness", the album's Stewart Copeland-penned closer, is a ballad about the pressures of being a rock star.
"Invisible Sun", released as a single before the album, was a large success in the U.K., making it to #2 even though the video was reportedly banned by the BBC for its references to Northern Ireland. Later, "Every Little Thing She Does" made it to #3 in the U.S. and #1 in Britain, and "Spirits in the Material World" made it to the U.S. Top 20.
Arthur Koestler's reaction to the album is said to have been muted. He knew little about the burgeoning New Wave scene, and is alleged to have said:
- "Look at this. Did you ever see a magazine called the New Musical Express? It turns out there is a pop group called The Police - I don't know why they are called that, presumably to distinguish them from the punks - and they've made an album of my essay The Ghost in the Machine. I didn't know anything about it until my clipping agency sent me a review of the record."
In his younger days, the singer Sting was an avid reader of Koestler. Another of The Police's albums Synchronicity was also inspired by Koestler's The Roots of Coincidence, which mentions Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity.
| Contents |
Track listing
- "Spirits in the Material World" (Sting) - 2:59
- "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (Sting) - 4:22
- "Invisible Sun" (Sting) - 3:44
- "Hungry for You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toil)" (Sting) - 2:53
- "Demolition Man" (Sting) - 5:57
- "Too Much Information" (Sting) - 3:43
- "Rehumanize Yourself" (Copeland, Sting) - 3:10
- "One World (Not Three)" (Sting) - 4:47
- "Omegaman" (Summers) - 2:48
- "Secret Journey" (Sting) - 3:34
- "Darkness" (Copeland) - 3:14
Personnel
The Police
- Stewart Copeland - drums, vocals
- Sting - bass, vocals
- Andy Summers - guitar, vocals
Additional personnel
- Jean Roussel - keyboard
Production
- Producers: The Police, Hugh Padgham
- Mastering: Bob Ludwig
- Art direction: Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff, Mick Haggerty
- Design: Mick Haggerty
- Artwork: Mick Haggerty
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Pop Albums | 2 |
| 1983 | The Billboard 200 | 111 |
| 1983 | The Billboard 200 | 118 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | Mainstream Rock | 1 |
| 1981 | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | Pop Singles | 3 |
| 1981 | "One World (Not Three)/Too Much Information/Every Little thing She Does Is M" | Club Play Singles | 60 |
| 1982 | "Secret Journey" | Mainstream Rock | 29 |
| 1982 | "Secret Journey" | Pop Singles | 46 |
| 1982 | "Spirits In The Material World" | Mainstream Rock | 7 |
| 1982 | "Spirits In The Material World" | Pop Singles | 11 |
hu:Ghost in the Machine