The 30 Best Police Covers Ever

 Posted by at 2:26 pm  2 Responses »
Jun 262026
 

‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

Police Covers

Conceived and delivered during a time of band strife, Synchronicity was nevertheless the biggest record (and cassette) in the world in 1983, and was the fourth consecutive #1 album for The Police. Every band who formed in the ‘80s, and many subsequently, knew their music. Already on rotation on the radio, The Police also timed their run well to coincide with the launch of MTV, and they and their publicity team were keen to harness the power of that medium. When a new musical format emerged (a regular occurrence in the ‘80s) re-releases of The Police would be top of the list as guaranteed sellers, generating more listens. The back catalogue is quite compact, but it hums with complex, sophisticated music that speaks to many.

That breadth of interest means that the world of Police covers is particularly rich. Reggae and dub artists, keen to repay and mark the favor that The Police did for them in publicizing their craft, were grateful and expressed themselves in their genre. Sting recorded phonetic vocals for some tracks in Spanish and Japanese, and there are great covers in those languages as a thank you. Indie god Juliana Hatfield was the perfect age to be a Police completist as she dreamed of a career in music, and repaid that love with a whole tribute album. There is a great goth and emo covers album, and not all of it is covers of “King of Pain” and “So Lonely.” Punks can see themselves in the ramshackle start of the band. Genre tribute albums have to incorporate The Police, with a greater or lesser level of success.

Musicians who have a different taste in music, but similar in nasal stimulants, can be difficult to keep together. Especially when one of them keeps 80% of the writing royalties to himself, not allowing his talented bandmates to record more than one of their own songs per blockbuster album. Synchronicity was the last studio album the band made. The other great thing about ubiquity, though, is that you can find copies, in multiple formats, of their records in vinyl and thrift stores throughout the world. New bands will be formed from what people find there. It was a challenging task to identify the best Police covers, but it was very worthwhile.

— Mike Tobyn

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The Police

 Posted by at 2:27 am  No Responses »
May 142009
 

When The Police reunited in 2007, I was thrilled. I’d loved their two-disc live set ever since “borrowing it” from a friend in high school. To that I’d added their Greatest Hits, and that was basically all I needed. Though ticket prices were outrageous for that reunion tour, I managed to catch ‘em at Bonnaroo (read my review) and loved every minute of it. Only having the greatest hits and the live set, I knew all the songs but two. They did leave out a couple classics – where was “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”? – but not many. So here’s a chance to relisten to the tunes of Sting and co.

John Butler Trio – Message in a Bottle
They opened with this at the ‘Roo, so we’ll open with it here. Come to think of it, JBT was also at Bonnaroo that year. Wonder if they played this. Acoustic funk with plenty of guitar slapping and white-boy warble. [Buy]

Mika vs. Armand Van Helden – Can’t Stand Losing You
I never quite know what to make of this one. It’s a cover-cum-remix off of the great Radio 1 cover double-disc. Fun but dark, it kind of reminds me of that vampire dance scene in Blade. You know, the one where blood bursts from the showerheads as everyone raves on. Not sure what the connection is to this song. [Buy]

Uncle Earl – Canary in a Coalmine
I discovered Uncle Earl at the same Bonnaroo as the Police, and they busted out this cover – appropriate, as the Police passed it by four hours later. John Paul Jones’ favorite bluegrass group featuring Sara Watkins barely keep their harmonies ahead of the galloping mandolin and fiddle. This is a live version from I don’t know when. They need to record it. [Buy]

Limbeck – So Lonely
¡Policia!: A Tribute to the Police has the biggest names out there, from Fall Out Boy to Underoath. If you share my taste in music, you’ll understand why I think most of it is pretty terrible. Thank god for lesser-knowns Limbeck then for a thumping yet thoughtful take on my favorite Police tune. [Buy]

David Lamotte – Walking In Your Footsteps
Backed by slow tribal drumming, this sparse arrangements really highlights “Hey Mr. Dinosaur, you really you couldn’t ask for more / You were God’s favorite creature, but you didn’t have a future.” Not sure what sting was going for with this one, but Barney approves. [Buy]

Rabbit Junk – Walking On the Moon
Hey Sting, you know who else takes giant steps? Dinosaurs. Just sayin’. [Buy]

Artgeko – The Bed’s Too Big Without You
Finally, a more straightforward rock song. The crunchy guitar riffs are nice, but nothing compared to the echo-harmony breakdown of the title line. Short but sweet, and you don’t see it coming. [Buy]

Frankmuzik – Every Breath You Take
Spastic dance music about stalking. You can get it along with dozens more original covers in the first volume of Buffetlibre’s Rewind series. [Buy]

Rosetta Stone – Synchronicity II
I did a post long ago with lots of gothic covers, so add this to the list. Rosetta Stone has a whole disc of goth-tastic covers of eighties tunes. It’s called Unerotica, and worth a snatch for when you’re feeling dark. [Buy]

Alanis Morissette – King of Pain
I’d hoped to never have Alanis on my iPod, but here we go. This comes from her MTV Unplugged set, before her career was relegated to ironic Black-Eyed Peas covers. If you can handle her voice – a lot to ask I know – it’s a nice stripped down take. And props to her for not changing it to “Queen of Pain.” [Buy]