Dez's Five Star Albums: The P's, pt. 1 (Two Bands)

JMW accused the last entry in this series of being “willfully perverse.” This entry should right that ship, as it features selections from two bands that should be no surprise. As I’ve said before, some bands excel with the single. But bands like Pink Floyd think in terms of thematic, cohesive albums, so naturally they will have an advantage on this type of list. Part 2 of the P’s will cover everyone other than Pink Floyd or The Police.

Pink Floyd – Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967): Pink Floyd’s debut is the greatest psychedelic record ever made, and it completely belongs to rock’s most famous acid casualty, the madcap himself, Syd Barrett.

Pink Floyd – Meddle (1971): After years of fumbling, Floyd finally find their sound in a post-Barrett world, on an album that includes their finest recorded moment (or 24 moments), the side long “Echoes.”

Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (1973): Can’t say much about this one that hasn’t already been said, it is part of our rock and roll consciousness at this point – on the Billboard charts from 1973 to 1988.

Pink Floyd – Animals (1977): Often gets lost in the shuffle of their incredible 70’s streak, sandwiched in between Wish You Were Here and The Wall, but it has a devoted following, as evidenced by a group of my students with whom I discuss/argue music who all claim this as their favorite Floyd album.

The Police – Regatta de Blanc (1979): After some faux punk posing on their still excellent debut, The Police find their “white reggae” rock/pop sound on their sophomore release.

The Police – Zenyatta Mondatta (1980): The most spare and skeletal Police album, it also distills the essence of the band’s sound to its core, with plenty of space in the songs; while Sting and Stewart Copeland consider it unfinished, it is Andy Summers’s favorite Police record.

The Police – Ghost in the Machine (1981): Reversing course, The Police follow up their most spare record with their most sonically dense, augmenting the trio’s sound with horns, synthesizers and even steel drums.

The Police – Synchronicity (1983): At least they went out on top, their final studio effort was also their biggest seller; they hit commercial pay dirt while still remaining musically interesting (a multi-million seller featuring two songs about Carl Jung’s theories, and another song with the lyric: “Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis”).

The Police – Certifiable (live) (2007): I’ve heard a lot of live Police material from each of their eras, and they never sounded better than on their recent reunion tour, they are all better musicians now than they were in the 80’s; this complete live show from Buenos Aires is Exhibit A.

ABOVE: Some bands have a sound that for whatever reason, almost everything they do hits you just right. The Police are one of those bands for me. Sting’s bass playing takes the strong melody while Andy Summers’s guitar work fills in atmosphere with brilliant use of effects and sonic textures (influencing such other sonic architects like U2’s Edge). Stewart Copeland is my favorite drummer, filling in that space that the trio format leaves open. Sting’s writing, at least with The Police, was always interesting, and he has such a distinct voice. The Police have the honor on my five star list of having the highest percentage of their albums appear, with approximately 75% of their discography reaching the five star level. I am sure they are honored.