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Are Copeland stalkers? They are when they cover The Police.

The Police formed back in 1977 when drummer Stewart Copeland wanted to break into the British punk scene.  In 1983, they released one of their best albums, Synchronicity.  The album featured four top ten songs and won three Grammys.  “Every Breath You Take” won two Grammys: "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" and "Song of the Year."

The song was written by Sting, and was originally thought that the song was about the government or angels.  By reading the lyrics, it would be easy to assume that either of these is the case.  However, the song is a bit more ominous in nature.  It was written during the collapse of Sting’s marriage to his first wife and the words are those of a controlling character or stalker that is watching, “Every breath you take.”  In a 1993 interview, Sting said, “I woke up in the middle of the night with that line in my head, sat down at the piano and had written it in half an hour. The tune itself is generic, an aggregate of hundreds of others, but the words are interesting. It sounds like a comforting love song. I didn't realise at the time how sinister it is. I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance and control.”

For the police tribute album, Policia!, indie rock band Copeland covered “Every Breath You Take”.  The original version features a different variety of instruments than the Copeland version.  Rather than an even mix of guitar, bass and vocals, Copeland chose to go with a recording dominated primarily by piano and vocals.  The track still features guitar and bass, but the most prominent instrument is the piano.  The reverb effect on singer Aaron Marsh’s voice does add a bit of the same baleful quality that Sting’s vocals had in the original, but Sting’s vocals were quite a bit more haunting than Marsh’s.  All in all, the change in style doesn’t ruin the mood of the song, but helps to give it some renewed life.

Copeland - Every Breath You Take

Posted by Cory Roop on Apr 15, 2008 @ 12:00 am