Sting - Before the Police - Non-Album Tracks (1975-1977)

When the Police hit the music scene in 1977, it seemed they came out of nowhere. They looked like a young punky band just getting started, especially due to their short, spiky haircuts. But in fact, all three members had been playing music for years already. Drummer Stuart Copeland had been in the prog rock band Curved Air. Lead guitarist Andy Summers was even briefly a member of the Animals in the 1960s.

As for lead singer and songwriter Sting, real name Gordon Sumner, he was in a jazz fusion band called "Last Exit" from 1974 to 1977. Then, around the time the Police formed in early 1977, Sting also joined a band called "Strontium 90" as kind of a side project. At that point, the Police consisted of Sting, Copeland, and a guitarist named Henry Padovani. Through Stontium 90, Sting and Copeland met Summers. Summers soon replaced Padovani, and the Police went on to great fame and fortune.

This album contains what I consider the best of Sting's music before the Police got big. I selected the songs I liked the most from both Last Exit and Strontium 90. Both bands had two lead vocalists. My job was made easier by only selecting the lead vocals by Sting. He wrote nearly all of the songs as well (with a cover of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" an exception). As a result, this sounds much like a lost Police album, though with more of a jazzy sound than a reggae/ new wave one.

I think the music here is quite good. I was very selective, making a rather short album of only the best songs. A couple of them were reworked in Police songs, and there are bits and pieces of others that got recycled as well. Also, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" was a big hit for the Police in 1981, even reaching Number One in Britain. This includes a version of that all the way back in 1976. It's billed as a Strontium 90 song, since it appeared on an album billed to them, but it really was just a Sting solo demo.

Everything here is officially released, though extremely rare. The Last Exit songs are from albums called "First from Last Exit" and "Savage Beast," and the Strontium 90 songs are from the album "Police Academy." These are all studio versions, with the exception of "3 O'Clock Shot," which is from the sole concert Strontium 90 ever did. The albums generally are compilations put together after the Police got famous.

If you like the Police, I'll bet you'll like this.

This album is 37 minutes long.

01 Carrion Prince [Ye of Little Hope] [Early Version of Bring on the Night] (Sting [Last Exit])
02 I Got It Made (Sting [Last Exit])
03 Oh My God (Sting [Last Exit])
04 Don't Let It Bring You Down (Sting [Last Exit])
05 I Burn For You (Sting [Last Exit])
06 Fool in Love [Early Version of So Lonely] (Sting [Last Exit])
07 I'm on This Train (Sting [Last Exit])
08 Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (Sting [Strontium 90])
09 3 O'Clock Shot (Sting [Strontium 90])
10 Visions of the Night (Sting [Strontium 90])

https://www.imagenetz.de/dzLTY

I couldn't find any good photos of Sting before the Police. I ended up using one from the first few months of the Police's career. This is a rare photo of him before he dyed his hair blond. The photo was black and white, but I colorized it.