2023-06-20 07:20:57
For his new album, former Police drummer Stewart Copeland rearranged his old band’s songs and re-recorded them with an orchestra. “Police Deranged For Orchestra” is the name of the project, which is now being released as an album. In an interview, he explains what led him to do this and what his relationship with Sting is like today.
Copeland first experimented with “derangements” of the old songs while producing his documentary “Everyone Stares” regarding The Police’s career. The idea of adding an orchestra came to him while on tour in Germany. “I had arranged a few less well-known Police songs in an orchestral manner,” says Copeland in an interview with the German Press Agency in London. “It was so well received that the management said I should play some hits.”
The American, who founded The Police in London in 1977 with Sting and Andy Summers and embarked on a career as a film composer following the dissolution, got involved following initial doubts. “I had these derangements that I really liked,” he says. “And so I brought the two together to create this show, which is now an album.” It’s not a live album though, even though it sounds like it. It was recorded in the studio, more precisely: in several studios around the world.
Cult hits like “Roxanne” or “Message In A Bottle” are hardly recognizable in the new versions, at least initially. Other classics like “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” or the wonderful ballad “King Of Pain” are a little closer to the originals. Lesser-known songs, but with equally exciting arrangements, are “Demolition Man”, “Murder By Numbers” and “Tea In The Sahara”.
What all titles have in common is that they develop a completely new dynamic here. The Police moved somewhere between punk, new wave and classic rock, were rough and earthy. The new orchestral versions sound epic and have a cinematic atmosphere.
“As a film composer, I was a paid employee and did what I was told. Not very sexy, not very famous, but it was pretty damn useful,” said Copeland, who has since left the job. “I don’t do that anymore. Now I’m an artist once more and I can use the skills and techniques I’ve learned in something that is, to a certain extent, mine and allows me some freedom.”
The versatile US musician, who lives in the film metropolis of Los Angeles, didn’t want to deviate too much from the originals. “I love these choruses and wanted them to work the way they did then,” says the composer, “but I can experiment with them. And I’ve been able to do things that I think are more interesting than if I had an arranger do it .”
The three R&B singers Amy Keys, Carmel Helene and Ashley Támar also give the songs a whole new vocal flair. The idea of having this trio do the vocals on “Police Deranged For Orchestra” can definitely be described as a stroke of genius. Stewart Copeland had a very pragmatic reason for doing so. “Imagine if I hired some guy and the poor bastard was compared to Sting every night? The only way to replace Sting is with three soul sisters at the mic. And the only way to replace Andy is with a full orchestra.”
Incidentally, Copeland got the blessing of his former bandmates because he wanted it that way himself. “I don’t have to ask her because legally anyone can play the songs, but I did it anyway,” he says. Sting, who wrote most of the Police songs, sent a thick book with all the arrangements in advance. “Just so I can imagine him rolling his eyes,” jokes Copeland, who used to argue with the singer and bassist.
Tensions within the trio led to The Police disbanding in 1986. From 2007 to 2008 there was a short reunion including a world tour. The band members now have a good relationship with each other. “We now realize that we didn’t fight because of our egos,” explains Copeland. “Our musical philosophies have very little in common, there’s no overlap. And that’s probably what made The Police tick. These opposing ideas were difficult to navigate, but it was very productive.”
“The Police Deranged For Orchestra” shows once once more how rich the musical legacy of the unlikely trio is. Stewart Copeland has created a new, great sound experience while preserving the soul of the original songs. At his concerts, the 70-year-old plays even more songs that are not on the album. Unfortunately, another “Deranged” album is not planned.
His book “Stewart Copeland’s Police Diaries” with diary entries and photos from back then will be published in October. Despite all his passion for The Police, it is not to be expected that he will meet up with his ex-colleagues, who also play the old hits and play another tour, as Stewart Copeland jokingly but clearly states: “We both agree that it’s more fun to play the music without the other two assholes.”
(S E R V I C E – www.stewartcopeland.net)
1687272122
#Copeland #celebrates #Police #orchestra #choir
