OK so rock and pop is littered with plonkers, but surely that can't always have been so? 'Picture Book' was a storming album, Genesis were once an inventive British band and U2's Zoo TV was so far ahead of the curve it almost caught itself up.
The Police, for their part, produced a string of hit singles that graced that charts for several years accompanied by some great albums. So what happens to these icons of pop? What causes them to become....well....embarrassments to their former selves? Is it only down to money and fame? I'm not so sure - if it was then there would be many more examples and some multi-millionaire musicians have managed to keep their career on the right side of decency. I suspect in the case of Gordon Summer et al that there was a latent plonkerness hidden in them to start off with.
'Synchronicity' though is a rather good pop album. A bit theatrical in some places but it does hold some great tracks from the creepy and claustrophobic 'Every Breath You Take' to the laid back 'Wrapped Around Your Finger'. Classic singles and, in the case of the former, surely one of the most misunderstood songs in pop history. This is not a love song.
The Police disbanded after this album and Sting went on to establish a solo career; not all of it bad but the path was laid - Plonkerdom was just a short ride away.
No comments:
Post a Comment