Sting and the Police - (Tempo: A Rowman & Littlefield Music Rock, Pop, and Culture) by Aaron J West (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this critical study, Aaron West, a music critic and professional musician, explores the cultural and musical impact of Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers, and Sting--the band known as The Police. West details the distinctive hybrid character of The Police's musical output, and he shows how the band were pioneers in music video, modern label marketing, global activism, and the internationalization of pop music.--From publisher description.

Book Synopsis

During the 1980s, when pop icons like Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, and U2 reigned supreme, many regarded The Police as the biggest band in the world. Yet after only five albums--and at the peak of their popularity--The Police disbanded and Sting began a solo career that made him a global pop star. Today, artists from Puff Daddy to Gwen Stefani credit The Police and Sting as major influences on their own work, reflecting that The Police were not only a popular, polished rock act, but a powerfully influential one as well.

In Sting and The Police: Walking in Their Footsteps, Aaron J. West explores the cultural and musical impact of Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers, and Sting. West details the distinctive hybrid character of The Police's musical output, which would also characterize Sting's post-Police career. Sting's long-lived solo career embodies the power of the artful appropriation of musical styles, while capitalizing on the modern realities of pop music consumption. The Police--and Sting in particular--were pioneers in music video, modern label marketing, global activism, and the internationalization of pop music.

Sting and The Police: Walking in Their Footsteps will interest more than just fans. By placing the band within its various musical, cultural, commercial, and historic contexts, Sting and The Police: Walking in Their Footsteps will appeal to anyone interested in global popular music culture.

Review Quotes

"Historian and musician West's book is an excellent look at how the Police accomplished success by synthesizing disparate influences into 'marketable, mainstream music, which has remained viable for generations.' The band combined Stewart Copeland's reggae-influenced drumming, Andy Summer's progressive rock-style rhythm guitar, and the punk-inspired bass and literary pretensions of primary songwriter Sting. West's musical biography consists of a series of essays that examine Sting and the Police within larger cultural and musical contexts, from early songs such as 'Bring on the Night' ('a colorful mosaic of musical styles like dub, classical guitar, ska, and even psychedelic rock') to Sting's later solo work. West is especially good at examining how the band used the nascent MTV to define themselves through videos filmed at exotic locations around the world: 'The image of the Police as international travelers certainly reinforced their equally multicultural music.' He also insightfully analyses how Sting's musical mission to have a global appeal dovetailed perfectly with various activist movements, observing that 'the cultural gravitas of Band Aid set the stage for his more mature persona.'" --Publishers Weekly

"Aaron J. West's Sting and The Police: Walking in Their Footsteps isn't concerned with how often Sting bickered and brawled with drummer Stewart Copeland, or what choice insults guitarist Andy Summers had for the Police bassist. Instead, West worries over the trio's aesthetic impetus, stylistic genesis, and enduring cultural influence some thirty decades removed from their disintegration as a creative unit. . . .So who were The Police, and where did they get their sound? Which band members wrote what songs? Why did the band pack it in at the height of success rather than ride celebrity's lucrative wave? Was 'Roxanne' a real person? What did Sting mean by being 'Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis?' Who was 'the old man in that book by Nabokov?' Was there a real 'Englishman in New York?' A fan since procuring Every Breath You Take: The Singles on cassette in the mid '80s, West sifts his Police survey into seven easy-to-digest theses, with each musing over a different topic." --Examiner.com

"[Sting and The Police: Walking in Their Footsteps] is the perfect book for you . . . if you want to know how their music grew up, as author West thoroughly delves into how the band's songs were constructed from style mosaics." --antiMusic

"If you're looking for thoughtful analysis of the band's music and career Sting and the Police: Walking in Their Footsteps delivers." --My Big Honkin Blog

About the Author

Aaron J. West has written numerous articles on jazz and popular music. He is currently professor of music history at Collin College. A professional musician, he has performed with jazz and pop legends Arturo Sandoval, Brian Wilson, Norah Jones, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.