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Track Listings
| 1. Don't Stand So Close To Me |
| 2. Driven To Tears |
| 3. When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around |
| 4. Canary In A Coalmine |
| 5. Voices Inside My Head |
| 6. Bombs Away |
| 7. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da |
| 8. Behind My Camel |
| 9. Man In A Suitcase |
| 10. Shadows In The Rain |
| 11. The Other Way Of Stopping |
| 12. Don't Stand So Close To Me |
Product Description
Review
The cover of the third Police album makes an astounding visual statement with its pyramid sunset, particularly when compared to that of Regatta de Blanc. However, musically, it comes across as almost the complete opposite. In Regatta, the Police punctuated reggae with pop. In Zenyatta, Copeland, Summers and Sting accent pop with reggae. Despite using Nigel Gray to produce, just as he did on the first two albums, Zenyatta reveals a band whose rise to fame has calmed the music.
The album opens with one of the most overplayed Police tracks. ''Don't Stand So Close to Me'''s sinister synthesiser sends shivers down your spine when overlaid with Summers' guitar and Sting's tormented vocals; 'Young teacher the subject of schoolgirl fantasy/she wants him so badly, knows what she wants to be'. The singer's voice ranges from teacher terse to panicky as the chorus of this track about a predatory Lolita fades out. It's a song that makes you want to shake and cough. It's menacing, funky, literary, thoroughly enjoyable and truly catchy. Perhaps not surprisingly it made it to number 1 in the UK charts, and was the biggest selling single of 1980.
Another testimony to pop and the second chart topper off this album is ''De Do Doo Do De Da Da Da''. Sick of criticisms of shallowness, Sting pointed out that chanting inanely along with songs such a ''Doo Wah Diddy'' and ''Da Doo Ron Ron'', isn't always just what it's all about.
Andy Summers' guitar comes in all jangly and scratchy on tunes like ''Driven To Tears'' and the surprisingly optimistic (for the Police) but fairly bland ''The World Is Running Down''.
Familiar Police territory returns with the sense of fragmentation that is "Shadows in the Rain", largely created by Stuart Copeland's precise drumming, and ''Voice Inside my Head'' with the delivery of the lyrics making them almost sound like some sort of indefinable language.
''Behind My Camel", written, unusually, by Summers, branches out into Eastern flavour. It was so unpopular with the rest of the band that Sting is said to have buried the tape in disgust. However, after it was dug up again and dusted down, the track went on to win a Grammy.
More fun upbeat ska-influenced tracks, such as ''Canary in Coalmine'' and ''Man in a Suitcase'' follow, but while, all in all, there are some good moments on this album, Zenyatta Mondatta showed the Police at the end of their first run of luck and straining to fir the pop mould while running to keep up with global success. Not until Synchronicity would they return to classic status. --Susie Goldring
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Product Description
Cd > Popular Music > RockCD > POPULAR MUSIC > ROCK
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Mike
Format:Audio CD
I was just a kid when this album came out. I admit at the time I was disappointed. My head was still very much into Reggatta De Blanc. But as I have grown older I've liked this album more and more. I still listen to this album alot even now. The problem with this album is that it verges on the cheesy pop stuff at times, on tracks such as De Do Do Do... and Man In A Suitcase. But when you listen more closely you start to appreciate the creativty of Sting, Summers and Copeland merging together to create a work of art on songs such as Voices Inside My Head and Shadows In The Rain amazing guitars from Summers. To Driven To Tears and When The World Is Running Down... fantastic driving drums and bass. Don't Stand So Close To Me is the all time classic on this album and who could argue? This is probably the poorest of the Police albums but that doesn't mean it isn't any good, in fact it is still a great album.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. C. Bath
Format:Audio CD
I bought this album because I wanted to finally explore some of the Police's other early songs, having owned only The Police 2CD compilation and the last two albums. It has buckets of the classic Police 'soundscape' which I love so much. Zenyatta Mondatta is I guess anchored by the two songs that most people probably know best and which were singles- 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' and 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da'. Both are classic Police and the latter in particular sends you into that magical Police world of the four elements: Copeland's fabulous drumming, Andy's sublime clean guitar tones and Sting's bass and vocals. 'Driven To Tears'is a competent track with some nice sounds and atmosphere, but the third song 'Voices Inside My Head' is better, a good quasi-instrumental to which Sting adds only two simple lines of lyrics. One of the two forgotten Police classics (for me at least!) on this album which I am delighted to have discovered is 'When The World Is Running Down...', bathed beautifully in Andy Summer's fantastic chorus guitar effects and improved further by an excellent bass line interval in the middle. It ends nicely too with the verse repeating as it fades-out, which I liked a lot. The other great little song is 'Man In A Suitcase', a fairly simple and short ska style song, but its bare sound and upbeat feel makes it really pleasant and for me addictive. This song begins brilliantly with a typically incredible Copeland drum roll to bring the verse in at the beginning- listen out for it! 'Canary in a Coalmine' is a real gem, possibly the third best song after the singles and in my personal top ten Police songs. It's frantic and loopy with great rhyming lyrics.... Read more ›
Format:Audio CD
I had this on cassette as a kid in the 1970s. This Re-Mastered CD is a revelation in sound. The bass and drums come alive and really make the songs stand out. Even the few cheesy songs are given a new life. What I find spectacular with this album is the inspiring duo of songs Driven to tears/When the world is running down you make the best of whats still around. These two tracks alone really make this album for me. The way they segue into one-another is awe inspiring. It also contains other classic songs such as Don't stand so close to me and Shadows in the rain.
This is a great album of inspired songs when The Police were at the top.
This is a great album of inspired songs when The Police were at the top.
By ratmonkey
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Possibly the least best of all of their excellent albums but still a lot of good stuff to enjoy. Coming after the first 2 classic albums this feels like something of a disappointing record and was really the beginning of the band becoming a more thoughtful concern and slowing down the tempo. But even the change of musical direction couldn't stunt the creativity and musical excellence that existed within.
Tracks like the well-known 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' and 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' do their jobs memorably insomuch as they are still played on the radio across the world today. But some of the least known songs are also note-worthy. The frenetic 'Canary in a Coalmine' and the ironically jolly 'Bombs Away' are The Police doing what they do best: writing songs of protest and social criticism and the dark recesses of the human psyche to a catchy beat. They would come full circle a few years later with the unbeatable 'Every Breath You Take' but they were already masters of satire even by this stage.
The other tracks that work are 'Driven to Tears' and 'When the World is Running Down...' . 'Driven...' is a subtle song with a lacklustre feel but a killer tune that only becomes apparent after a few listens. 'When the world...' is cheerier and more purposeful but they are still both very different from any track from the first 2 albums.
'Voices inside my Head' and 'Behind My Camel' are almost instrumentals that serve no great purpose. There is nothing particularly wrong with them but compared to 'Regatta de Blanc' their inferior nature is brought to the surface. And the last 3 tracks are relatively hard to like too. The best of these is 'Man in a Suitcase' which is akin to 'Canary...' but not as catchy. 'Shadows in the Rain' is simply too long and too boring.... Read more ›
Tracks like the well-known 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' and 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' do their jobs memorably insomuch as they are still played on the radio across the world today. But some of the least known songs are also note-worthy. The frenetic 'Canary in a Coalmine' and the ironically jolly 'Bombs Away' are The Police doing what they do best: writing songs of protest and social criticism and the dark recesses of the human psyche to a catchy beat. They would come full circle a few years later with the unbeatable 'Every Breath You Take' but they were already masters of satire even by this stage.
The other tracks that work are 'Driven to Tears' and 'When the World is Running Down...' . 'Driven...' is a subtle song with a lacklustre feel but a killer tune that only becomes apparent after a few listens. 'When the world...' is cheerier and more purposeful but they are still both very different from any track from the first 2 albums.
'Voices inside my Head' and 'Behind My Camel' are almost instrumentals that serve no great purpose. There is nothing particularly wrong with them but compared to 'Regatta de Blanc' their inferior nature is brought to the surface. And the last 3 tracks are relatively hard to like too. The best of these is 'Man in a Suitcase' which is akin to 'Canary...' but not as catchy. 'Shadows in the Rain' is simply too long and too boring.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Time for an arrest
This was the most eagerly awaited album of 1980 and its lead single predictably brushed everything aside on its way to number one. Read more
Published 22 months ago by D. J. H. Thorn
5.0 out of 5 stars
zenyatta mondatta the police
I first bought this album on tape in the 80s. I loved it then and it's just as brilliant now. The Police have written so many monumental songs.This is pure musical genius. Read more
Published on 9 July 2009 by jules
4.0 out of 5 stars
Third time lucky
The third album marked a change for The Police. After 2 albums there was less motivation from all members to create world dominating music. Read more
Published on 21 May 2009 by Matt182
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a spectacular album, buy for side one....
The 3rd (alledgedly) rushed studio album by the Police has its moments but ultimately is not their best effort, although the hit 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' is one... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2006
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Moments, But.....
This is my least favourite Police album - even though it occasionally reaches the heights of its predecessors, it leaves me wondering where the rest of the songs disappeared to. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2005 by Mr. A. J. KNEALE
3.0 out of 5 stars
Silly name, silly album.
I have only got into The Police in the last 6 months or so (admittedly in a big way), so if I said I have been a lifelong fan, I'd be lying. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2005 by Craig Stewart
4.0 out of 5 stars
The band take control and produce the sound they wanted.
Being the third album (of just five), Zenyatta Mondatta is The Police in control of their own sound, with some of the most tightly nit music so far in their very short career. Read more
Published on 15 Dec 1999
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