Stealing From The Police

Don’t get me wrong. It’s nice Bruno Mars is doing something with The Police’s sound, because God knows The Police haven’t, for coming on thirty years now.

27 Comments on “Stealing From The Police”

  1. Mein Gott but you have a wide range of stuff you toss up here! this is not a direction I would have pictured you going. Thats a compliment even if it doesn’t sound like it.

  2. The Police is just the most obvious influence. He borrows pretty much all of New Wave somewhere in that tune.

  3. MrProven3, yeah it’s mostly in the bass and guitar, and in Bruno Mars’s vocal register (which is still a little lower than Sting). The drummer is playing a rock rhythm, whereas Stewart Copeland is pretty much the king of white ska.

  4. I heard this Goyte song when it was half way done and thought it was Sting or a Police song I never heard before
    go to 1:50

  5. Eh. I think I’ll stick to the original. Something about Mr. Mars just feels kinda flat to me in comparison.

  6. And those two women who pop up intermittently clearly spent a lot of time studying Wendy and Lisa’s moves in the videos from the 1999 album.

  7. I have to admit, I never cared for the Police AT ALL. I do see a similarity here, though, which probably explains why this song also does little for me. Ah well.

  8. There are worse groups to steal from than the Police. At least Bruno has got a real band backing him, these days that is saying something. Catchy tune, works for me.

  9. Wow, I was expecting something subtle and prepared myself to listen carefully for a Police-inspired sound, but it just slaps you right out of the gate. Not that it’s badly filched, mind you. It’s obnoxiously repetitive, though, and I think I could listen to that for maybe three or four times before never wanting to hear it again. I like a bit more variation in a track edging four minutes. Basically, it’s got potential, but leaves me unsatisfied.

    The Police at least had some progressive complexity, even though, like most bands, they were a one-theme pony.

  10. The Dream Concert Series: 1) Led Zeppelin reunion; 2) The Police reunion (for real); 3) The Doors (not just Manzarak and Kreiger who totally rock BTW, but with John Dinsmore too because that timekeeper could really syncopate the hell out of a beat).

  11. It might be worth noting that the Police were actually white English ska/reggae (a musical form imported to the UK from Jamaica), and that from the sounds of things, Bruno Mars is actually just going back to a more updated version of the reggae sound in the verse mixed in with a bit of new wave guitar fiddling (sounding almost Duran Duran) in the chorus and the middle eight.

    I will agree that Gotye does sound as though his vocal range overlaps with Sting’s though.

  12. Tis a shallow and vapid cloning of the sound, but with none of the Police’s poignancy. Pop music is good at doing artistic zombies, but something new and fresh…

    I’ll go get my walking frame now. And go back to listening to the Ramones.

  13. Doc RocketScience, MrProven3: You’re definitely right about the style of drumming not being up to the standard of The Police. But I think the thing worth comparing here is the “sound” of the percussion. I think there was a concerted effort to use equipment and recording techniques that replicated the tighter snare and high-hat sound from Copeland’s signature setup.

  14. This is the 1st time I’ve seen/heard Mr. Mars, and the image he seems to project on the video reminds me of Michael Jackson. Is he cultivating that image, and pulling a pop sound to go with it do you think?

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