Suggestions for a Police cover song...

[gtone]

... a track or two that goes over well live in a club or summer festival setting. What works for you?

[G Man]

Walking on the moon

Message in a bottle

both classics

[Turdus]

Unless you can recreate "perfectly" one of the most powerful song openings ever, do not attempt "Message In a Bottle". Nothing pisses me off more than a lame attempt at that... I would add that when I saw the Police play it live '82, or '83 Sting was playing an upright bass on that one, and I was thinking WTF ?

I'd take a hard look for cuts from Zenyatta Mondatta.

[zenmindbeginner]

Synchronicity Part II

[gtone]

Wonder how "So Lonely" would work - uptempo reggae rocker, but a little off the beaten path from their more popular material. Think our rhythym section could handle that one.

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a band cover a Police tune - maybe 20 yrs ago??

[Turdus]

Wonder how "So Lonely" would work - uptempo reggae rocker, but a little off the beaten path from their more popular material.

I can answer that for you. It's not one of my faves, but... I sat in with some guys (on bass) a few months ago, and we played it. It went over great. I'm not sure that is was because it was the Police, but more for the reason you stated... "uptempo reggae rocker". Some girl kept shouting out "reggae", and this was what we delivered. At least she dug it. If Reggae is what you're looking for, then this would be a good choice.

[RichRS6]

I'll have to suggest Roxanne.

Reasonably easy to play, nice bass line, killer up-tempo section and a classic to boot.

[cynic]

What's your rhythm section composed of?

[gtone]

What's your rhythm section composed of?

Bass/drums.

[cynic]

Without keyboards, I like ZMB's suggestion of Syncronicity II. I also like So Lonely, Don't Stand..., and Can't Stand Losing You.

[burningyen]

All good suggestions so far. If you can have a mellower tune, I'd also consider Tea In the Sahara.

[Willie G. Moseley]

"Roxanne"-the Police's signature song, and it has a sing-along facet that some others don't

"Can't Stand Losing You" and "So Lonely"-last two songs of the band's early '80s Atlanta concert (in a huge venue that doesn't exist anymore). The audience reactions indicated there was a reason why those songs were placed in the finale and encore spot.

[zenmindbeginner]

The problem of covering The Police is that Copeland is one of the most bad ass cats to ever sit behind a drum kit... he thwacks that snare so friggin' hard with his traditional grip that the snare stand wavers a bit with each hit. His hi hat work is almost impossible to recreate... he is truly an elusive and slippery drummer like Alex Acuna.

Stings bass playing = adequate and quite good

Summers' playing - ranges from straight forward rock and reggae to the truly bizarre and esoteric... weird guitar player fo shizzle. I mean, he's no Larry Lalonde or Thorn, but he's out there.

[Scottcrud]

Can't Stand Losing You

Driven To Tears

Secret Journey

Beds too big without you

Spirits in the Material World

Don't stand so close to me

If you want the Ladies to slow dance....

Wrapped around your finger

[mathman]

Way back when, we covered "Truth hits Everybody" Pretty easy and bit rocking. We had a lot of fun with it cause we couldn't figure out the lyrics.

First line: "you make me happy like a broken oyster"

[MCChris]

club or summer festival setting

Avoid deep cuts and stick to the hits (and we all know what those are).

[hamerhead]

None of the above.

[Frank]

We've done "Message in a Bottle" for years and it always goes over well.

[jwhitcomb3]

Over the years I've played:

Next To You

Message in a Bottle

Synchronicity II

Roxanne

Every Breath You Take

Next to you is a great, high energy song, but not many can sing it. My favorite to play is Synchronicity II, as it is a brilliant rhythm guitar part and can be a great display of band dynamics.

[tommy p]

I was in a band that did Next To You and it went over well. I f'n LOVED playing it!

[cmatthes]

_{"Next To You" and "So Lonely" are great, upbeat suggestions - I think one of them also been in some movie in the last year or so, because I've been hearing it a lot lately and don't listen to radio.}

_{I always enjoyed playing "Driven To Tears", and was surprised that it actually gets a decent crowd response. That one may be a bit obscure. The Police are a bit like Rush - a lot of people know the secondary songs that weren't chart hits as well, and those are cool to drop every now and then.}

_{Otherwise, go with the Muse's recommendation.}

[JimHalinda]

My vote is for Driven To Tears. We did that one once at an open stage and it was well received.

[serial]

We did this last year as a one-off (my band doesn't play it nor ever rehearsed it), but BroChris was in town and asked if we knew it. I said "no, but that won't stop us from trying it!".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTgAWE1xoD0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[crunchee]

My vote's for 'Can't Stand Losing You', you can even substitute 'CD's' for 'records' in the lyrics. The Police used to blend it together live with their instrumental 'Regatta De Blanc', if you've got the old VHS tape of 'The Police Around The World' live stuff, it seriously ROCKS.

[Willie G. Moseley]

Is that 'Around the World' video out on DVD? It's classic. I haven't seen it in a number of years, but methinks the tune Crunchee refers to was recorded in Bombay, and the audience was ecstatic (eyes rolling back into some of the attendees' heads, etc.). I also seem to recall "Born in the Fifties" from Hong Kong (correct me if I'm wrong), and of course, Sting being spat upon in France, and he responds at the end of "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" by hocking a flying oyster of his own.