The Police – Synchronicity

Finally scored a copy of this album and it sounds amazingly just as good as it did to me in the 80s.

Favorite track: King of Pain

Listening back to this album after so many years I have a doubt: is it a last album by the Police or the first one by Sting? This latter’s personality is certainly imposing far and wide over the others. It is him hand shaping the most beautiful songs: «Every Breath You Take»; «King Of Pain»; «Tea In The Sahara»; «Wrapped Around Your Finger» and – though one step below the others - «Walking In Your Footsteps». All these have become such popular classics as to ensure on their own a place in the history of rock. At the time SYNCRONICITY, published in 1983, was the most successful album for The Police, but also the prelude to their de facto breakup. Sting was in a period of such strong creativity that the space of the group had become narrow for him and inside he was already maturing that absolute masterpiece that would be his solo debut album. The archives are full of curiosities resulting from the many disputes with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland: the strips of photos on the cover, separated and parallel for each component, are just one quote for all. On the other hand, I am rather surprised by the incongruity between the quality of the songs signed by Sting and the paucity of the two credited to Copeland («Miss Gradenko») and Summers («Mother»: this one particularly horrendous, although someone wants to recognize the value of a punkoid memory). It looks almost as if Summers and Copeland had demanded by dint to be included in the album track list in order to emphasize that The Police were still a three-member band. With such exceptions, the album certainly deserves to be listened to and to be purchased even at 40 years from its release. Overall, a very good album though one star below excellence considering the non-Sting songs.

Anybody know why "Murder by numbers" was omitted on vinyl and why is it added to the digital / CD version?
was it a B SIDE?

I've a spain pressing of Synchronicity.
I can't find it on Discogs.
is it common?

I'm having trouble finding my version. I have the US A&M copy with a BRY front cover (Andy on the phone at top right) and YBR back cover (Andy in water at top right). I went through all the 117 LP versions but I could not find a match
Matrix:
SP-03735-A-RCA-4 MASTERDISK RL I A1C
SP-03735-B-RCA-2 MASTERDISK I A2B

The UK press sounds as good, if not better than the purple press.

mine is UK with
side 1 black label with the 3 colours yellow, red, blue (top to bottom)
etched SP -3735 - A - INT - 4
stamped AMLX 63735 A4

side 2 white label with the 3 colours red, yellow, blue (top to bottom)
etched SP -3735 -B- INT -3
stamped AMLX 63735 B6

The NOTES above are not entirely accurate when describing 36 LP cover art variations of this album in the U.S.A. There were 30 color varieties (combos of red/blue/yellow), 6 released black&white varieties, and was one variety with silver/gold/bronze stripes = 37. Then, Columbia Record Club released a version with a different Pantone color red that looked pink instead, so that is a 38th released variety by some people's s. Where it gets even trickier is that the senior management of A&M made themselves a version with only metallic ink stripes and NO PHOTOS (a 39th variety) which was never for sale and was output in QTY of approximately only 10 copies. AND there was a 7th black&white LP variety which was created in a single copy at the press check in Chicago (when they were testing the printing quality of the sleeves) that makes a total of 40 copies. The last 2 mentioned here were never available for sale. ALL of these varieties, including the last 2 mentioned, are documented on YouTube when you do a search for "Synchronicity variations" and find 2 videos (and initial video and a part 2 video) that explain and show all of this.

This pressing is great, clear and very dynamic, I’ve often used this as one of my HIFI test records.A great album for Police to bow out on.

Side 2 is fantastic.

I need to say, this is one of my favourite albums by far!