Spirits in the Material World: A Reggae Tribute to the Police

Artist	Various Artists
Producer	Roger Lewis, Touter Harvey
Label Name	Shanachie
Song List	1: Synchronicity, Pt. 1 (3:40) 2: One World (Not Three) (3:54) 3: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (3:23) 4: Every Breath You Take (4:14) 5: De Do Do Do De Da Da Da (4:14) 6: Invisible Sun (3:52) 7: Inivisible Dub (4:05) 8: Bed's Too Big Without You (3:48) 9: Can't Stand Losing You (3:47) 10: Wrapped Around Your Finger (3:51) 11: So Lonely (3:39) 12: Spirits in the Material World (4:12) 13: King of Pain (3:42)
Format	CD
Release Date	2008 02 19
Genre	Reggae
Style.Categories	Smooth Reggae, Roots Reggae, Reggae-Pop, Dub, Lovers Rock

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In a way, a reggae-themed Police tribute seems like kind of a strange idea -- many of these songs were either reggae numbers to begin with, or were so close to being reggae that straight-up reggae arrangements run the risk of just sounding like cover versions sung by artists with more convincing Jamaican accents than Sting's. That said, though, this really is quite an impressive roster of artists: legends like Junior Reid, Toots & the Maytals, Gregory Isaacs, and Horace Andy all make appearances, as do a few rather dubious characters (Joan Osborne? Big Chief Monk Boudreaux?). And for the most part, the collection is plenty of fun. Toots & the Maytals give "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" an energetically skanking rocksteady interpretation (though Hibbert might have taken the trouble to learn the words), Horace Andy delivers a heartfelt and beautifully sung rendition of "Invisible Sun," and Isaacs makes "So Lonely" (the obvious choice) completely his own. On the less-compelling side are Pepper's scrappy ska arrangement of "Can't Stand Losing You" (on which the singer tries much too hard to sound like Sting), and Osborne's pedestrian version of "Every Breath You Take," a song that really doesn't make much sense as a reggae tune. This is a perfectly fine novelty record, and select cuts from it will liven up any iPod play list. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide