THE POLICE : EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC / SHAMBELLE [A&M - ESP 1981] 7'

The Police "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" single 7"

(A&M) 1981 made in Spain

cat. num. AMS 9170

#new wave #pop rock

A.Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 3:49

B.Shambelle 5:42

Funny how such a sex symbol like Sting always portrays himself in pop tunes as a big loser. In “Every Little Thing,” Sting is the hapless romantic, totally enamored, yet totally inept at love. What is even more remarkable is the unstoppable upward trajectory of the Police in the early eighties, furthered by the pop brilliance of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” The choppy reggae guitars are pushed aside by amazing piano and synth arrangements, that trademark reggae beat is there but it’s a bit more transcendent, a bit more pop mainstream (but not in a bad way). Summers’ guitar is still there, but it’s more of a background instrument adding yet another layer to the wall of sound. There are sounds all over the place on “Every Little Thing,” but they never get muddy or obtrusive. Sting, as usual, is in amazing form lyrically (“it’s a big enough umbrella/but it’s always me that ends up getting wet”), as the aforementioned doofus in love, and many of his later tunes would take vocal outros from the words here. But “Every Little Thing’s” key moment comes at about 1:58, when a synth sound rises from nowhere and crescendos the breakdown into the final dash. It is pure pop genius that the Police would exploit to world conquering levels with Synchronicity.