Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open - 105

have this fantastic, colored guitar sound
that was different for every song. So, I used
the Echoplex, then a chorus, and a few other
pedals... envelope filters. As we went on, I
acquired more stuff and got a Pete Cornish
board. But what was driving it was to invade
and push the edge of what the guitar was
supposed to sound like, and make it really
interesting over a show. So, it wasn't just one
straight sound all the time. I could move
it around. And it was appreciated by many
millions of people (laughs). Of course, it's
very tired and a bit "retro" now; I'm not
very keen on it anymore. But in those days
it was new, fresh, and exciting.
Is it true that your guitar part on "Every Breath You Take" was added at the
last minute?

On the surface, it seemed like a simple,
straightforward song - I, IV, V, backward
and forward, with an interesting section
where it goes to the flat 5th from A to
F in the middle. But there just was no
agreement on how. These were the days
when things were getting a little tough,
personally, and in the interaction between
members of the band. We couldn't agree
on how the song was going until we had
lunch one day and Sting said, "Go in there,

Maybe Reggatta de Blanc. Because the
first album (Outlandos d'Amour) was great,
but by the second one we were starting to
take off. We made Reggatta in 10 days and
at that point we had a musical identity;
we were full of fire and couldn't wait to
prove it. It's the one with "Message in a
Bottle." We were flying. Everything was
going so well.
Is it true that much of the material
for the third album, Zenyatta Mondatta
was thrown together quickly?

make it your own." And of course, I had
this whole "Police guitar thing" down
because we hadn't stopped playing for
years on end. So I kind of knew what to
do with it; I put the arpeggios down and
they all stood in the control room and
looked out the window as I went in, pretty
much played it in one take, and everybody
applauded. That was it - "the guitar riff
heard 'round the world," and it became
our first #1 in the U.S.
Which Police album is your favorite?

Well, but we were supposed to have a
month to make it, and we went to Holland
to record. Then, in the middle of it we were
told, "You've got to go to England now for a
week, to do this giant gig at Milton Keynes
Festival. It's a big deal." So, in the middle of
the album, we stopped and went to London
for a few days, did this big show, then came
back to finish. But when we listened to it,
we didn't like the mixes. So, we remixed
the whole album in one night, then left
for tour the next morning! And that's the
album that broke us in the States.
Would you consider performing again
with Sting and Stewart?

Well, I'd have to have the most money...
and they'd have to beg.

Some Vintage Goodies!!!!

Fender 1954 Bandmaster 1 x 15

Fender 1965 Deluxe, Blackface

Fender 1975 Custom Telecaster

Gretsch 1963 Model 6120

Golden Age also carries these fine lines: Suhr Guitars and Amps, K-Line,
LsL, Comins, Larrivee, Bourgeois, Yen, Gitane, R.S. Muth, Custom Audio,
Tom Anderson Guitarworks, Henriksen Amps, Raezer's Edge Speaker Cabinets, Jim Kelley Amps, Louis Electric Amps, Tyler Amps, Magnatone Amps

See us on the Internet at

MyGenerationGuitars.com
or call us at 516-993-9893

September 2017

www.goldenageguitars.com Tel (908) 301-0001 Fax (908) 301-1199
309 South Avenue West, Westfield, NJ 07090

105

VINTAGE GUITAR

Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open