Half-Speed Mastered Six Vinyl LP Box Set Celebrating 40 years of Outlandos d'Amour, release date November 16, 2018. Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings is a six vinyl LP box set which brings together The Police’s entire recorded studio albums, as well as a 12-track sixth disc entitled Flexible Strategies which contains exclusive bonus material of non-album recordings and B-sides. Re-mastered and cut onto 180-gram heavyweight vinyl at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell, the world’s leading exponent of half-speed mastering, this limited-edition set celebrates the 40th anniversary of the multi-million selling band’s first album, Outlandos d’Amour. It also contains a special 24 page, 12”x12” photo book featuring rare and unseen images from the band's personal archives housed in deluxe packaging of a hardcover box with lift-off lid. The Police’s studio albums include - Outlandos d'Amour (1978), Reggatta de Blanc (1979), Zenyatta Mondatta (1980), Ghost in the Machine (1981) and Synchronicity (1983). Formed in 1977, The Police are comprised of Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. During their existence their contribution to the lexicon of rock was immense. The originality of their music fused elements from both punk and reggae to form a brilliant new style that can only be described as Music of the Police. They exist within their own genre. Having sold in excess of 50 million albums worldwide, The Police had phenomenal chart success and earned a multitude of accolades both public and critical, but they never allowed such peripherals to overshadow their commitment to the music itself. This collection features 14 U.K. and 18 U.S. Top 20 singles, including five U.K. and four U.S. single number ones and four U.K. number one albums and a number one U.S album.

Review from Vinyl Reviews by Vance Hiner

The music on Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings forms a complex tapestry of jazz, prog rock, and reggae held together by world-class musicianship and some of the most distinctive pop melodies of the past 40 years. While the Police’s success can still be measured in massive album sales, the overall improvement in sound quality to the group’s records offered by the LPs in this box set provides a clearer picture of each member’s contributions and underlines why the band remains unique.

When Outlandos D’Amour appeared in 1978, the London rock scene still felt the effects of the Sex Pistols’ punk rebellion. And while Police drummer Stewart Copeland was inspired by the movement’s energy, he and the rest of the group bristled at punk’s disdain for musical polish. Guitarist Andy Summers later admitted the band used the outward trappings of punk and a love of reggae to smuggle jazz into the Police’s repertoire. The tracks on Outlandos D’Amour show a group hinting at punk (“Next to You”), trying out new-wave/reggae fusion (“Can’t Stand Losing You”), and experimenting with tango and Broadway-style storytelling (“Roxanne”). On this reissue, Abbey Road’s Miles Showell rescues the music from the murkiness of the U.K. and U.S. first pressings. While Nigel Gray’s mix on the originals sounds muddy and homogenized, Showell’s half-speed remaster (from high-res digital) provides clearer soundstage dimensions and superior instrumental separation.

After the popularity of its debut, the Police returned to Gray’s Surrey Sound Studios to refine its fusion for Regatta de Blanc.The combination of Sting’s distinctive tenor, Copeland’s syncopation, and Summer’s shimmering chord structures resulted in the distinctive “Message in a Bottle,” a song that comes across as upbeat and brooding. Such juxtaposition of light and dark tonalities gets further demonstrated on “Walking on the Moon”—and quickly became a trademark of the Police’s approach. Showell’s remaster improves the overall sonics by reducing the  grain and decreasing the fatiguing sensation of Summer’s decidedly metallic, sometimes piercing guitar notes.

While Copeland has stated the recording of Zenyatta Mondatta felt rushed, the album possesses the fullest and most resonant sound of the trio’s initial three releases. It also serves as a showcase for Sting’s instrumental prowess. His rolling bass lines, coupled with Copeland’s muscular precision, provide an addictive swing. Here, the sonic gap between the 1981 original pressings and Showell’s work narrows. Beginning with Zenyatta Mondatta, Nautilus Recordings began producing half-speed SuperDisc remasters of Police records—each handled by Bruce Leek and Richard Donaldson. The Nautilus edition sounds a bit brighter and more forward compared to Showell’s treatment. While both prove less grainy than the original U.S  pressing, the notion of “best sounding” will likely come down to personal taste.

Ghost in the Machine introduces more keyboards, horns, and the ideas of philosopher Arthur Koestler into the Police’s music. The band’s dynamics also became less democratic, with the songs dominated by Sting’s vision. Co-produced by Hugh Padgham, famous for his pioneering of the 80s gated drum sound, Ghost in the Machine’s sounds very much of the era. On the 1981 Nautilus SuperDisc, instruments appear more forward in the mix compared to the Showell remaster. And while Showell’s approach may be more balanced, Sting’s bass lines feel more engaging on the SuperDisc.

The Police’s final album, Synchronicity, can be summed up by saying “side two.” Beginning with “Every Breath You Take” and continuing through “Murder by Numbers,” it stands as flawless stretch of pure pop song craft. Not to say “Synchronicity” and “Walking in Your Footsteps” are without their charms, but the remainder of side one feels forgettable. My Robert Ludwig cut of the 1985 original U.S. pressing has forever been ingrained in my memory, which might explain why I favor it over Showell’s version. While the latter sound less grainy, the Ludwig LP boasts an expansive immediacy.

The six LPs are pressed on ultra-flat, quiet vinyl at Germany’s Optimal Media. Flexible Strategies, the bonus recordin the set, collects uninspiring B-sides (“Someone to Talk To”) and sluggish remixes (“Truth Hits Everybody”) that don’t invite repeated listening. A large booklet of black-and-white band photographs arranged in a distracting, topsy-turvy triangular layout comes standard, as does an opaque nylon title sash that proves difficult to remove if you want to regularly use the textured, tip-on box. For the $199 ask price, the packaging and booklet fall short.

Review from Tinnitist by Darryl Sterdan 

WHO ARE THEY? Singer-bassist and Tantric sex enthusiast Sting, drummer/nemesis and token American Stewart Copeland and inoffensive middle-man guitarist Andy Summers — AKA the biggest British band of the late ’70s and early ’80s (as evinced by the massive hoopla over their brief reunion tour in 2007). AKA the trio that introduced reggae-pop to the masses. AKA your mom’s favourite group. AKA the thing that paid for Sting’s Tuscan estate.

WHAT IS THIS? The first comprehensive collection in 25 years, Every Move You Make is a six-disc box housing newly remastered versions of all their studio albums — Outlandos d’Amour (1978), Reggatta de Blanc (1979), Zenyatta Mondatta (1980), Ghost in the Machine (1981) and Synchronicity (1983) — plus a sixth disc of non-album B-sides (many penned by Summers and Copeland, who often found their quirkier tunes overshadowed by Sting‘s bulletproof pop-chart juggernauts).

WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? Good — though perhaps not quite as good as it should. These new remasters tighten up the bottom end of the mix noticeably, which leaves some tracks feeling a bit thin and top-endy. Still, it’s nice to have nearly all the tunes in one place. Though it does seems petty for them to leave off Fall Out and Nothing Achieving from their first single with original guitarist Henry Padovani.

WHAT SHOULD IT BE TITLED? Arresting Development.

HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? Paired with indie-rock singer-guitarist Juliana Hatfield‘s tellingly titled recent tribute disc Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police.

WHAT 10 WORDS SUM IT UP? Nostalgic, familiar, crowdpleasing, punky, poppy, speedy, stylish, groundbreaking, comprehensive, energetic.

WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? You can sequence your own greatest-hits playlist, so let’s talk bonus tracks: For my money, earlier, punkier firecrackers like Dead End Job, Landlord and Visions of the Night are the real prizes here. Of course, those who prefer proficiency over propulsion may gravitate towards later, jazzier fare like Flexible Strategies, Low Life and Murder by Numbers.

WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS SAY? ‘Really? They made five albums and didn’t leave a single unreleased studio track in the vault?’

HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO IT? Assuming you aren’t already sick of hearing them on your local oldies station, it’s worth reminding yourself every now and then how good these guys actually were.

IF THIS ALBUM WERE A PRECIOUS METAL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Solid platinum.

SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL IT? Nobody really has to own all The Police albums — but everybody really should.