For the first time in more than a dozen years, veteran rock band The Police officially released a new live recording this week in the form of Around the World: Restored & Expanded. Released Friday through Mercury Studios, the recording is the band’s first new live recording since the release of its then latest live recording, Certifiable: Live in Buenos Aires in 2008. That recording was released through A&M Records. This latest presentation is such that it will appeal to a wide range of audiences, from the band’s most devoted audiences to even more causal audiences. That is due in large part to its featured set list, which will be discussed shortly. The audio’s companion tour documentary that is featured in the set’s DVD and Blu-ray platforms adds its own share of interest. It will be discussed a little later. The liner notes penned by The Police guitarist Andy Summers are a welcome companion to the tour documentary and round out the presentation’s most notable elements. They will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the recording. All things considered they make Around the World: Restored & Expanded a presentation that most fans of The Police will find enjoyable.
Around the World: Restored & Expanded, the new live recording from The Police, is a presentation that most of the band’s audiences will find appealing. That is due in large part to its featured set list. Totaling 11 songs, the set list is pulled from performances that the band held on its then debut global tour in 1980. The songs presented here were pulled from the band’s first two albums, Outlandos d’Amour (1978) and Reggatta de Blanc (1979). That 1978 record is the most heavily represented here, with six total songs. The latter received four nods. As an added bonus, the rare b-side, ‘Visions of the Night’ is also featured here. The song was a b-side to the band’s hit single, ‘Walking on the Moon’. Simply put, what audiences get in this collection of songs is a presentation of The Police from what was at the time still its infancy. To that end, it is a welcome representation of the band’s catalog at the time. Keeping that in mind, this aspect is certain to appeal to plenty of audiences. The only downside to the set list is that it is only made available on the recording’s CD platform. Given, there are live performances of four of the songs featured in the audio side, but it still would have been great having the entire collection, considering that the tour documentary presented on the DVD and Blu-ray runs only an hour and 23 minutes. Beggars can’t be choosers, though. To that end, it is still good to even have this presentation of The Police’s early days both in studio and on the road.
The songs that make up the main body of Around the World: Restored & Expanded are just part of the presentation’s appeal for the band’s noted audiences. The tour documentary that is featured in the collection’s DVD and Blu-ray presentation will appeal just as much to the noted audiences. Audiences see the band make its way around the world, from Asia to Australia, to Africa (more specifically Egypt) to South America and to America, audiences are taken along for the band’s ride in its debut world tour. Along the way, audiences get to see the noted live performances that are also separated as bonus content on the DVD and BD platforms. While the band is in Asia, audiences get to see Summers take on a sumo wrestler, though some might not really want to see him in the glorified diaper that sumo wrestlers wear. Yes, that was meant to be a lighthearted statement. Audiences also get to see the band on board a boat in the waters of what looks like possibly Thailand. When the band reaches Egypt things get a bit tense. At first audiences think that a certain discussion had between a group of individuals was acted out, but as Summers points out in his notes, it apparently was not set up. This will be discussed a little later. Over in Australia, audiences see the band in the countryside as well as on stage. Overall, the documentary builds on the foundation formed by the recording’s audio side and enhances the concert experience that much more for the noted audiences.
Building on the presentation that is the documentary are the liner notes penned by Summers. As already pointed out, Summers explains that the band’s stay in Egypt was anything but good. Summers explains that a comment made by Sting to an Egyptian official and his initial refusal to take back what he said almost caused an international incident. Another incident was narrowly avoided in one South American country when Summers apparently had a physical altercation of sorts with a law enforcement official at a concert. These two items will be left for audiences to discover for themselves, but they definitely build on the experience even more. That is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg that is the liner notes. Summers also writes in his notes that the band had yet another close call in New Zealand, yet again involving law enforcement. This is yet another intriguing anecdote that will be left for audiences to read about for themselves. Between this story, the others pointed out here and everything else that Summers recalls in his notes, the overall content in the recording’s companion booklet puts the finishing touch to the presentation and ensures that much more that the band’s established audiences and casual fans alike will appreciate the presentation. When this content, the audio, and video are all considered, they leave no doubt that the noted audiences will find plenty to appreciate about the recording.
Around the World: Restored and Expanded is a presentation that most fans of The Police will find enjoyable. That is due in large part to the recording’s featured songs. They are in themselves a strong representation of the band in its infancy. That is because the songs that make up the main body of the recording are all pulled from the band’s first two albums. There is even a rare b-side included in the mix for good measure. The tour documentary that accompanies the performances makes for its own interest. That is because it takes audiences along for the ride with the band on its first-ever world tour. Audiences get to see firsthand, much of what the band experienced, including the high and occasional not so high points. The liner notes penned by The Police guitarist Andy Summers work directly with the documentary to enhance the viewing experience therein. That is because they are those firsthand notes. They take audiences even deeper into the band’s tour and finish off the overall presentation. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the recording. All things considered, they make Around the World: Restored & Expanded a presentation that most fans of The Police will find a welcome new offering from the band and from Mercury Studios.
Around the World: Restored & Expanded is available now. More information on the recording is available along with all of the latest news from The Police at:
Website: https://thepolice.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepolice
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepoliceband
More information on this and other titles from Mercury Studios is available at:
Website: https://mercurystudios.co
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MercuryStudiosCo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mercurystudios
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