Historical musical document, not the best sound quality

The sound quality of these live renditions by the legendary British band The Police are not top notch, which is why I take off one star off of them. However, the material is all top of the line and a very nice display of the band's live performances in their early days (disc 1) and their final tour (disc 2), as well as a fairly comprehensive compilation of their music. On this end, I'd probably recommend their "Message in a Box", which sums up their entire production and a few B-sides and live tracks in a very nice 4-disc box with a colorful and insightful booklet.

One star down for disc 2...

I love disc one. It is fantastic. It actually got me back into simple rock n roll after years of listening mainly to more complex jam rock and jazz. I put it on my stereo one night when I was just sitting around my apartment a few years back, and I was bouncin round the room (to quote Phish). Since that time I have gotten back into this kind of music (elvis costello, the clash, etc.) while still listening to the other stuff. The Police were a punk band, I don't care what anyone says, and they wrote some clever, catchy tunes.

Now disc two is another matter. It sounds nice, well-done, but doesn't have that spirit the earlier music had. Alone it gets 2 stars from me, but disc one gets six so it averages out somewhere in the middle, I go with four. Disc one is more than enough to justify the price, however. I urge you to buy it, and wear out that first disc!!

Good, could have been great.

It's hard to complain when you get two cd's of live "Police", but I'll do it anyway. Both the performance and sound are good, but for your only live album, it should be excellent. The song choices are fine, but two cd's of two shows is too much. Unless you're a fanatic, one disc of live hits and fan favorites would be better. Actually, I usually just listen to disc 2 for that very reason. Of course if I was more of an optomist, I'd say it's two cd's, of two shows, full of all the hits and more. What else could you want in a live "Police" album?