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Episode 62 covers The Police’s fourth studio album, 1981’s “Ghost in the Machine.” The album was released on 2 October 1981 by A&M Records. The songs were recorded between January and September 1981 during sessions that took place at AIR Studios in Montserrat and Le Studio in Quebec, assisted by record producer Hugh Padgham. Ghost in the Machine topped the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200. The album produced the highly successful singles “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic“, “Invisible Sun“, and “Spirits in the Material World“, with a fourth single, “Secret Journey“, also being released in the US. Ghost in the Machine was listed at number 322 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Mark, Kevin, Alex, and Chris take you on a historical journey surrounding the album as well as share our favorites and not-so favorites from the record. We go on a deep dive track-by-track listen of this album as well as share personal stories of discovering The Police’s “Zenyattà Mondatta.” Tune in next week for Episode 63 covering the fifth and final Police studio album “Synchronicity.”
Subscribe, Rate, and Review:
Quick Reviews
Mark The album is half solid new wave early 80s pop, the other half is a huge batch of what could have been decent music turned to garbage because of the awful horns.
Chris Love the muscular and dark feel of the record for the most part. Too many horns.
Alex Some very strong material here but too many songs that just repeat and jam.
Kevin If it weren’t for those four repetitive songs stuck right in the middle of the album, awash with horns, this would have been a much stronger outing.
Love It or Flush It
| M | C | A | K | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Spirits in the Material World" | 2:59 | L | L | L | L | |
| 2 | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | 4:22 | L | B | L | L | |
| 3 | "Invisible Sun" | 3:44 | L | L | L | B | |
| 4 | "Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)" | 2:52 | F | L | L | L | |
| 5 | "Demolition Man" | 5:57 | F | F | L | T | |
| 6 | "Too Much Information" | 3:43 | T | T | L | F | |
| 7 | "Rehumanize Yourself" | 3:10 | F | L | T | F | |
| 8 | "One World (Not Three)" | 4:47 | F | L | F | F | |
| 9 | "Omegaman" (stylised as "Ωmegaman") | 2:48 | B | L | B | L | |
| 10 | "Secret Journey" | 3:34 | L | L | L | L | |
| 11 | "Darkness" | 3:14 | B | B | F | L |
Love It or Flush It Legend
L = Love. As many as you like.
F = Flush. Must flush at least one track per album.
B = Buy. Purchased for the ultimate LTS “Best Of” playlist for each of us. One per album.
T = Terminate. Should have never even existed. One per album.
The Rules
Each of us must Love, Flush, Buy, and Terminate AT LEAST ONE track on an album, no matter how great or terrible the album is. Whoever wins the “7 for the Buy” section gets an extra Buy or Terminate to use on the album. Because Chris hosts this section and thus cannot win, he gets an extra Buy or Terminate every 4 albums.
Album Information
Ghost in the Machine is the fourth studio album by English rock band the Police. The album was released on 2 October 1981 by A&M Records. The songs were recorded between January and September 1981 during sessions that took place at AIR Studios in Montserrat and Le Studio in Quebec, assisted by record producer Hugh Padgham.
Ghost in the Machine topped the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200. The album produced the highly successful singles “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic“, “Invisible Sun“, and “Spirits in the Material World“, with a fourth single, “Secret Journey“, also being released in the US. Ghost in the Machine was listed at number 322 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The album was reissued in 1983 on CD.
