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Ghost in the Machine is the fourth studio album by English rock band the Police. The album was released on 2 October 1981 by A&M Records. The songs were recorded between January and September 1981 during sessions that took place at AIR Studios in Montserrat and Le Studio in Quebec, assisted by record producer Hugh Padgham.
Ghost in the Machine topped the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200. The album produced the highly successful singles "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Invisible Sun", and "Spirits in the Material World", with a fourth single, "Secret Journey", also being released in the US. Ghost in the Machine was listed at number 322 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
After having produced the previous album Zenyatta Mondatta within a tight deadline of four weeks under pressure from the record company to deliver an album to the market, the band had decided to loosen up more for a change when it came around to recording Ghost in the Machine. This time they spent six weeks recording at AIR Studios in Montserrat, which was, according to drummer Stewart Copeland, "a 12 hour flight from the nearest record company".
This album marked a change in engineer/co-producer, from Nigel Gray—who did the band's first three albums up to that point—to Hugh Padgham, best known for the drum sound he achieved on records by Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. In fact, for this album, Padgham initiated a technique in which the band were recording together in separate rooms of the AIR Studios facility: Andy Summers in the main studio with all his guitars and amplifiers, Sting in the control room with his bass directly plugged into the desk and Copeland in the dining room with his drums to get a "live" feel. This method would be repeated for the next album.
Ghost in the Machine was the first Police album to feature heavy use of keyboards and horns. Besides keyboards, the twenty minute section comprising “Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)" through "One World (Not Three)" includes many saxophone harmonies, while the opening to "Secret Journey" showcases the Roland GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer.
The band's frontman Sting brought in Jean Roussel to record the piano parts on the demo of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". However, the group could not better it with the equipment available at AIR Studios; they ended up using the demo as the backing track for the official recording, with drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers dubbing their parts on. Sting also played all the saxophone parts on the album. Summers recollected:
I have to say I was getting disappointed with the musical direction around the time of Ghost in the Machine. With the horns and synth coming in, the fantastic raw-trio feel—all the really creative and dynamic stuff—was being lost. We were ending up backing a singer doing his pop songs.
The album opens with "Spirits in the Material World", featuring keyboards dubbed over Summers' reggae-inspired guitar licks.
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" features piano, a strong Caribbean vibe, and an extended non-verbal vocal solo at the end. "Invisible Sun" is a mixture of slow, steady verses, a bombastic chorus, and several guitar solos.
"Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)" is sung mostly in French, with the bass and horns both repeating a single 8-note melody for the length of the song, while the guitar maintains a steady beat. "Demolition Man", the band's longest song—almost six minutes in length—features a strong bass line and saxophone, and was written by Sting while staying at Peter O'Toole's Irish mansion.
The song was originally given to Jamaican singer Grace Jones, who released her rendition on Nightclubbing earlier in 1981; the Police then recorded a hard rock version for Ghost in the Machine due to their dissatisfaction with Jones' performance.
A solo recording by Sting became a belated hit in 1993 as the theme song for the action film of the same title, starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Manfred Mann's Earth Band also recorded a version—rearranged and with extensive use of synthesizers—in 1982 for their Somewhere in Afrika album.
"Too Much Information", "Rehumanize Yourself", and "One World (Not Three)" feature heavy use of horns. As with "Landlord" and "Dead End Job", Copeland had written both music and lyrics for "Rehumanize Yourself", but Sting rejected the lyrics and replaced them with ones he wrote himself.
"Too Much Information", "Rehumanize Yourself", and "One World (Not Three)" feature heavy use of horns. As with "Landlord" and "Dead End Job", Copeland had written both music and lyrics for "Rehumanize Yourself", but Sting rejected the lyrics and replaced them with ones he wrote himself.
The final three songs, "Omegaman", "Secret Journey", and "Darkness", return to the darker sound which opens the album.
Side A
A1. Spirits in the Material World - 2:59
A2. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - 4:22
A3. Invisible Sun - 3:44
A4. Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi) - 2:52
A5. Demolition Man - 5:57
Side B
B1. Too Much Information - 3:43
B2. Rehumanize Yourself - 3:10
B3. One World (Not Three) - 4:47
B4. Omegaman (stylised as "Ωmegaman") - 2:48
B5. Secret Journey - 3:34
B6. Darkness - 3:14
The Police (all instrumentation uncredited)
- Sting – lead and backing vocals, bass (all but 5), keyboards, saxophone
- Andy Summers – guitars, guitar synthesizer, keyboards
- Stewart Copeland – drums, keyboards, percussion
Additional musicians
- Jean Roussel – keyboards (2)
- Danny Quatrochi – bass (5), additional bass (uncredited)
Production
- Hugh Padgham – production, engineering
- The Police – production
- Nick Blagona – engineering(uncredited)
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Jeff Ayeroff – art direction
- Mick Haggerty – art direction, artwork, design
Notes
Released: 1981
Format: LP, Vinyl
Genre: Pop
Length: 40:45
Label: A&M Records
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