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ARTS
Page 10 Thursday, July 21, 1983 The Michigan Daily
Police produce powerful sounds
By Larry Dean
It's been a mere five years and as.
many albums since the Police's debut
LP, outlandos d'Amour, came out in
1978. "Roxanne" was an immediate
radio hit, and that, coupled with a
grueling tour schedule by the then
fledgling trio, pushed them into the
limelight and - viola!- a sensation is
fullblown-arrived.
Even now, with their fifth and best
LP, Synchronicity, the Police haven't
changed their style drastically enough
to notice it. Instead, they rework - not
re-do, or re-hash - their ideas and riffs
and incorporate them into a
sociological and political framework
that is simply stunning.
The implications of a strong social
consciousness began to emerge on
Zenyatta Mondatta, their third album,
and carried over onto Ghost in the
The Police
8 p.m. Wednesday, July 27
Joe Louis Arena
Presented by Brass Ring
Machine, whose title refers to Ryle's
philosophical meanderings, the kind
that Sting is sofond of incorporating in-
to his tunes these days. Synchronicity
comes from Carl Jung's (and if you
didn't know it, catch Sting casually
scanning the pages of said author's
work on the reverse of the album
INDIVIDUAL THEATRE
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1:00 3:00 5:007:00 9:00
A PROVOCATIVE NEW
FILM FROM THE
DIRECTORS OF "RETURN
OF THE SECAUSUS
SEVEN" AND "BABY
IT'S YOU"
-JOHN SAYLES
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jacket) theory involving simultaneous,
circular history, the idea of all events
happening at once and not in the
traditional, linear way we are used to
thinking of it in. Thus, the Police set
themselves up for an LP of vignettes of
varying degrees of seriousness and
personal involvement.
Being one of the first bands to tour
India extensively, the Police have
proven their desire: to bring music and
'the word' to all areas, and not just the
tried-and-true markets that most per-
formers traipse. Such exploration also
makes some swell tunes. "0 My God"
talks about, amongst other things,
starvation and world hunger; drummer
Stewart Copeland's "Miss Gradenko"
illustrates the plight of a suppressed
Soviet official, but in the end, the
message doesn't remain regional but
rather, becomes universal; and in
"King of Pain," the cruelty and
depression are removed from places
and traced to their ultimate origin -
the soul.
Synchronicity is a difficult and pain-
ful album to listen to. Not one song
passes by without digging its claws
deep into the psych of the listener. Even
guitarist Andy Summers' contribution,
"Mother," with its dissonant, Robert
Fripp-inspired music and Summers'
whiny vocals, ends on a dire note of
cannibalism, albeit symbolic.
It is Sting, however, who emotes the
most passionately on Synchronicity.
While the single, "Every Breath You
Take," appears at first to be merely an
ode to voyeurism lilting along on a
typical Police rhythm, it becomes more
hurtful once one realizes that it is
probably a reaction to his recent divor-
ce from his wife of many years. Given
The Police come to Joe Louis Arena Wednesday night on their Synchronicity
tour.
this information, many of the songs on
Synchronicity turn about-face and hit
with nearly the same emotional force
as the compositions on Jackson
Browne's The Pretender album, recor-
ded immediately after his wife's
suicide. "King of Pain" is a litany to
hurt and despair, "0 My God" begins
with the line, Everyone I know is
lonely, and "Synchronicity II" spells
out the futility and utter wastefulness of
a suburban family's existence with a
framework involving the Loch Ness
Monster.
Pretty heavy, huh? Synchronicity
isn't just a gut-level LP, but one rich
with literary references - W.B. Yeats,
Jung, Paul Bowles; beasties - the
missing link, Nessie, the Devil. One
Bars and Clubs
The Blind Pig (208 S. First; 996-8555)
RH Factor, a local band with a New
York sound will perform this Friday
and Saturday.
Joe's Star Lounge (109 N. Main; 665-
JOES)
The Urbations offer a varied mix of
musi iom naru coe wotmu ms
soul this Friday and Saturday. Last
Ann Arbor appearance of lead singer
Dan Mulholland.
Mr. Flood's Party (120 W. Liberty;
995-2132)
Chicago Pete and the Detroiters
f
BOB DASCOLA
and staff
South U & East U
are now at
DASCOLA STYLISTS
668-9329
opposite Jacobsons
bring their soul-styled R&B to the
stage this Friday and Saturday.
Second Chance (516 E. Liberty; 994-
5350)
Steve King and the Dittilies will
rock the weekend away '60s style this
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Rick's American Cafe (611 Church;
996-2747)
SLK, a ska band that ventures far.
into the unknown realms of modern
pop, will play this Friday and Satur-
day.
The Big Beat (215 N. Main-above
Heidleburg Restaurant)
Friday night D.J. Lori Bizer plays
your favorite dance hits. So come join
in on the newest and best music in
town.
Canterbury Loft
The Bombs is a musical comedy
that concerns two citizens who.come
to the unusual conclusion that if a
nuclear holocaust is to be avoided,
they must stop the bombs themselves.
Can they possibly succeed? Find out
on Friday evening at the art fair on
the corner of South Forest and
Washtenaw at 7 p.m. Call 665-0606.
Free.
The Performance Network
The award winning musical
Cabaret opens Friday at the Perfor-
mance Network. The Network staff
will attend to the tiniest details in
presenting a historically accurate
doesn't have to catch all this stuff to
appreciate the music, though. The
Police and co-producer Hugh Padgham
have chugged out the best sound yet
(and, as usual, all "noises" are by the
bandmembers) on Synchronicity, with
everyone underplaying their parts and
the gaps in between being fiUed by our
own inhaled breaths. Never let it be
said that this music is too "heady" -
while it is underscored by some preten-
tious ideas, they never reach the level
of pretentious banality displayed
regularly by heavies like Styx or the
Alan Parsons Project. Synchronicity is
one from the heart, and though that
heart appears to be broken, its messages
are carried through the music loud and
clear.
production as they turn the theater
space into an actual cabaret with
tables and dancing girls. The perfor-
mance begins at 8 p.m. (408 W.
Washington). Call 663-0681 forticket
information.
Exhibits
The University Artists and Craftsmen
Guild
The 13th Annual Arts Festival con-
tinues today through Saturday. Six
hundred Guild artists from across the
United States will be present this year
on the State and Main Street
locations. Exciting live jazz enter-
tainment scheduled through Eclipse
Jazz will be located in front of the
Michigan Union on State Street. Fair
hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on
Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 6
p.m. on Saturday. Two other fairs will
be held simultaneously on South
University and State Street. Call 763-
4430 for information on the Guild Fair.
Free.
University Museum of Art
"Jean-Louis Forain: Artist,
Realist, Humanist" will close this
Sunday. The exhibition includes
drawings, paintings and prints which
reflect the artistic output of Forain's
career as a chronicle of the events of
the late 19th and early 20th centuries.,
The Museum is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesdays through Fridays and 1-5
p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Call 763-
1231. Free.
- compiled by Katie Brewer
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