Greatest Hits (The Police album)

Greatest Hits is a compilation album of songs by the Police, released in 1992. It is the band's second compilation album following Every Breath You Take: The Singles and the first release after the official split up in 1986. In contrast with its predecessor, it features all the singles released by the band, with the exception of "Fall Out" (the only Police's single not to be released with A&M) and "Bring on the Night" (previously released only for the French, German and American market). The original version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" was used instead of the 1986 version. The album also includes "Tea in the Sahara", which was never released as a single before but was very popular with the band's fans. The cover photograph was by Duane Michals and it was taken at the time of the Synchronicity album. The inner sleeve featured a collage of pictures of the band shot by different photographers during their career, including Miles Copeland, Adrian Boot, Akihiro Takayama, Anton Corbijn, Danny Quatrochi, Gabor Scott, Janette Beckman, Kim Turner, Michael Ross, Watal Asanuma and Andy Summers.

Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by the Police
Released	September 1992
Genre	Rock, Pop
Length	67:46
Label	A&M
The Police chronology
Every Breath You Take: The Singles (1986) Greatest Hits (1992) Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings (1993)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Reception

The album failed to chart in the US but spent 36 weeks in the UK Album Charts top 100, where it peaked at number 10. It also charted at number 1 on Official New Zealand Music Chart and on the French Music Charts.[2] The album came out shortly after Sting's solo album The Soul Cages, prompting David Sinclair to point out in his review in Q Magazine that "Copeland and Summers were far more than a passive vehicle for Sting's songs. As powerful personalities and assertive musicians in their own right, they gingered up Sting's basic ideas while putting the brakes on his tendency to earnest excess."[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Sting.

1. "Roxanne" (1978) – 3:13 from Outlandos d'Amour
2. "Can't Stand Losing You" (1978) – 2:48 from Outlandos d'Amour
3. "So Lonely" (1978) – 4:48 from Outlandos d'Amour
4. "Message in a Bottle" (1979) – 4:49 from Reggatta de Blanc
5. "Walking on the Moon" (1979) – 5:02 from Reggatta de Blanc
6. "The Bed's Too Big Without You" (1979) – 4:24 from Reggatta de Blanc
7. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (1980) – 4:02 from Zenyatta Mondatta
8. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (1980) – 4:08 from Zenyatta Mondatta
9. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (1981) – 4:20 from Ghost in the Machine
10. "Invisible Sun" (1981) – 3:43 from Ghost in the Machine
11. "Spirits in the Material World" (1981) – 2:58 from Ghost in the Machine
12. "Synchronicity II" (1983) – 5:00 from Synchronicity
13. "Every Breath You Take" (1983) – 4:12 from Synchronicity
14. "King of Pain" (1983) – 4:57 from Synchronicity
15. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (1983) – 5:14 from Synchronicity
16. "Tea in the Sahara" (1983) – 4:11 from Synchronicity

Personnel

• Sting – lead and backing vocals, bass, keyboards, harmonica on "So Lonely", saxophone on "Spirits in the Material World", oboe on "Tea in the Sahara"
• Andy Summers – electric guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Stewart Copeland – drums, miscellaneous percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
• Jean Roussel – piano on "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"

Charts

Chart (1993-94)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[4]	16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[5]	99
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[6]	148
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7]	24
French Albums (SNEP)[8]	70
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9]	18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10]	1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11]	4
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[12]	38
UK Albums (OCC)[13]	10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[14]	2× Platinum	120,000^^
Australia (ARIA)[15]	5× Platinum	350,000^^
Belgium (BEA)[16]	Platinum	50,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[17]	Platinum	100,000^^
France (SNEP)[18]	Platinum	300,000^*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[19]	Gold	100,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[20]	Platinum	15,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[21]	Gold	25,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[22]	Platinum	300,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Prato, Greg. Greatest Hits at AllMusic
2. "australian-charts.com - The Police - Greatest Hits". australian-charts.com.
3. "Greatest Hits". The Police.
4. "Australiancharts.com – The Police – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien.
5. "Ultratop.be – The Police – Greatest Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
6. "Ultratop.be – The Police – Greatest Hits" (in French). Hung Medien.
7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1870". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
8. "Lescharts.com – The Police – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Police – Greatest Hits" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
10. "Charts.nz – The Police – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien.
11. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Police – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien.
12. "Portuguesecharts.com – The Police – Greatest Hits". Hung Medien.
13. "The Police | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
14. "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
15. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
16. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2005". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
17. "Canadian album certifications – Greatest Hits – The Police". Music Canada. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
18. "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 13 December 2019. (select "The Police" from drop-down list)
19. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type The Police in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Greatest Hits in the box under TÍTULO
20. {{cite web|url=http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=3611 |title=New Zealand Certification |publisher=Recorded Music NZ
21. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Greatest Hits; 'The Police')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
22. "British album certifications – Greatest Hits – The Police". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 December 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Police in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.