Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings is a four-CD boxed set by The Police

The Police

The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...

, containing all of their studio albums in chronological order, as well as singles, B-sides, and tracks from various compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s and the Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack.

Disc 1 includes live renditions of "Landlord" and "Next to You" which were recorded at the Bottom Line, New York on 4 April 1979 and originally broadcast on WNEW-FM, New York).

Disc 3 has a live version of "Driven to Tears" which was recorded live at Les Arenes, Frejus, France, 28 August 1980 and featured in Urgh! A Music War

Urgh! A Music War

Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Magazine, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead...

.

Contrary to its title, these are not the complete recordings to 1986. "Truth Hits Everybody '83" appeared on a limited edition gatefold single of "Every Breath You Take". Two new versions of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" were released in 1980 as a double A-side 7", one with Sting singing Japanese lyrics, the other with Spanish lyrics (AM-25000). Also released was a 12" single for "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" which featured both an additional remix and live version of the song. Live recordings of "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" had also been released. None of these are included on the boxed set.

Reception

Allmusic gave resounding approval to the set, going so far as to claim that all 78 songs are "timeless classics", making it the ideal purchase for the casual listener. They also praised the booklet included, especially the Police biography, and asserted that the digital remastering is so superior to the sound quality of the original releases that they would recommend the purchase even those who already have all the recordings on the boxed set.

Disc 1

1. "Fall Out
   Fall Out
   "Fall Out" was the first single released by The Police. It was originally released in May 1977 and then re-released in 1979. "Fall Out" was a 7" single with "Nothing Achieving" on its B-side...
   
   " (Stewart Copeland
   Stewart Copeland
   Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
   
   )* – 2:04
2. "Nothing Achieving" (Copeland)* – 1:56
   • Tracks 1-2 originally released as a single (UK only) in 1977.
3. "Dead End Job" (Sting, Copeland, Andy Summers
   Andy Summers
   Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
   
   )* – 3:35
   • B-side of the singles "Can't Stand Losing You" (UK), and "Roxanne
     Roxanne (song)
     "Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.- History :...
     
     " (U.S.).
4. "Next to You" (Sting) – 2:50
5. "So Lonely
   So Lonely
   "So Lonely" is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey and producer Rodney Jerkins. It is a duet between rapper Twista and Carey, featured on his album The Day After and Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi . Officially released in 2006 as the third single from The Day After...
   
   " (Sting) – 4:49
6. "Roxanne
   Roxanne (song)
   "Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.- History :...
   
   " (Sting) – 3:12
7. "Hole in My Life" (Sting) – 4:52
8. "Peanuts" (Copeland, Sting) – 3:58
9. "Can't Stand Losing You
   Can't Stand Losing You
   "Can't Stand Losing You" is a song by rock band The Police, first released as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour, both in 1978. The original single was banned by the BBC because of the controversial cover...
   
   " (Sting) – 2:58
10. "Truth Hits Everybody" (Sting) – 2:53
11. "Born in the 50's" (Sting) – 3:40
12. "Be My Girl - Sally" (Sting, Summers) – 3:22
13. "Masoko Tanga" (Sting) – 5:40
    • Tracks 4-13 originally released on the album Outlandos d'Amour
      Outlandos d'Amour
      The LP initially flopped, due to low exposure and an unfavourable reaction from the BBC to its first two singles, "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Roxanne" . As Sting describes:...
      
      .
14. "Landlord" (Live) (Sting, Copeland) * – 2:36
15. "Next to You" (Live) (Sting)* – 3:11
    • Tracks 14-15 originally released on the A&M compilation album Propaganda - No Wave II in 1980 (AMLE 64786).
16. "Landlord" (Sting, Copeland) * – 3:09
    • B-side of the single "Message in a Bottle
      Message in a Bottle (song)
      "Message in a Bottle" is a 1979 song by The Police, from their second album, Reggatta de Blanc.The song is ostensibly about a story of a castaway on an island, who sends out a message in a bottle to seek love. A year later, he has not received any sort of response, and despairs, thinking he is...
      
      ".
17. "Message in a Bottle
    Message in a Bottle (song)
    "Message in a Bottle" is a 1979 song by The Police, from their second album, Reggatta de Blanc.The song is ostensibly about a story of a castaway on an island, who sends out a message in a bottle to seek love. A year later, he has not received any sort of response, and despairs, thinking he is...
    
    " (Sting) – 4:51
18. "Reggatta de Blanc
    Reggatta de Blanc (song)
    "Reggatta de Blanc" is a 1979 musical composition by The Police, and the title track on their second album. The instrumental evolved from improvisational stage jams during early Police performances of the song "Can't Stand Losing You"...
    
    " (Copeland, Sting, Summers) – 3:06
19. "It's Alright for You" (Copeland, Sting) – 3:13
20. "Bring on the Night" (Sting) – 4:16
21. "Deathwish" (Copeland, Sting, Summers) – 4:13
    • Tracks 17-21 originally released on the album Reggatta de Blanc
      Reggatta de Blanc
      Reggatta de Blanc is the second album by The Police, released in 1979. It features the band's first two number 1 hits, "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon".-Background:...
      
      .

Disc 2

1. "Walking on the Moon
   Walking on the Moon
   "Walking on the Moon" is a 1979 song by The Police, from their second album, Reggatta de Blanc. The song was The Police's second number-one hit single in the United Kingdom. It reached number nine in Australia but did not chart in the United States...
   
   " (Sting) – 5:02
2. "On Any Other Day" (Copeland) – 2:57
3. "The Bed's too Big Without You" (Sting) – 4:26
4. "Contact" (Copeland) – 2:38
5. "Does Everyone Stare" (Copeland) – 3:52
6. "No Time This Time" (Sting) – 3:17
   • Tracks 1-6 originally released on the album Reggatta de Blanc
     Reggatta de Blanc
     Reggatta de Blanc is the second album by The Police, released in 1979. It features the band's first two number 1 hits, "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon".-Background:...
     
     .
7. "Visions of the Night" (Sting)* – 3:05
   • B-side of the singles "Walking on the Moon" (U.K), and "Bring on the Night" (U.S.).
8. "The Bed's too Big Without You" (Mono) (Sting) * – 3:29
9. "Truth Hits Everybody" (Live) (Sting) * – 2:26
   • Tracks 8-9 originally released on Six Pack (UK only) in 1980.
10. "Friends" (Summers)* – 3:36
    • B-side of the singles "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (UK), and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (U.S.).
11. "Don't Stand So Close to Me
    Don't Stand So Close to Me
    "Don't Stand So Close to Me" is a 1980 song and hit single by the British rock band The Police. It concerns a schoolgirl's crush on her young teacher and the teacher's nervousness about the situation. The Police won the 1982 "Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal"...
    
    " (Sting) – 4:04
12. "Driven to Tears" (Sting) – 3:20
13. "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" (Sting) – 3:38
14. "Canary in a Coalmine" (Sting) – 2:26
15. "Voices Inside My Head" (Sting) – 3:53
16. "Bombs Away" (Copeland) – 3:09
17. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
    De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
    "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is a song by The Police, released as a single in December 1980. It was the second single from the album Zenyattà Mondatta and a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the Billboard Hot...
    
    " (Sting) – 4:09
18. "Behind My Camel
    Behind My Camel
    "Behind My Camel" is the eighth track from the 1980 album, Zenyattà Mondatta, by the British rock band, The Police. The song was composed by guitarist Andy Summers and was the first one to be composed solely by him during his career in The Police...
    
    " (Summers) – 2:54
19. "Man in a Suitcase" (Sting) – 2:19
20. "Shadows in the Rain" (Sting) – 5:02
21. "The Other Way of Stopping" (Copeland) – 3:22
    • Tracks 11-21 originally released on the album Zenyatta Mondatta
      Zenyatta Mondatta
      Zenyattà Mondatta went to #5 in the U.S. and #1 in the UK and Australia, spurred by the success of the Sting-penned singles "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"...
      
      .

Disc 3

1. "A Sermon" (Copeland) * – 2:33
   • B-side of the singles "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (UK), and "Don't Stand So Close To Me" (U.S.).
2. "Driven to Tears" (Live)(Sting) * – 3:29
   • Originally released on the compilation album Urgh! A Music War in 1981.
3. "Shambelle" (Summers) * – 5:00
   • B-side of the singles "Invisible Sun" (UK), and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (U.S.).
4. "Spirits in the Material World
   Spirits in the Material World
   "Spirits in the Material World" is a song by new wave trio The Police, written by Sting. It is the opening track for their 1981 album Ghost in the Machine. The song features bass, guitar, synthesizer, drums, saxophone, and vocals. It has a Jamaican Ska beat which changes to a swaggering rock beat...
   
   " (Sting) – 2:59
5. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
   Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
   "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by British rock group The Police from their album Ghost in the Machine. It was also a hit single that reached the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in November 1981 and hit number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart that same...
   
   " (Sting) – 4:22
6. "Invisible Sun
   Invisible Sun
   "Invisible Sun" is a hit single by rock group The Police, released in September 1981. The song's lyrics stem from songwriter Sting's pondering how people living in war-torn and/or impoverished countries find the will to go on living, and despite the dark music and often morbid lyrical statements,...
   
   " (Sting) – 3:44
7. "Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)" (Sting) – 2:53
8. "Demolition Man" (Sting) – 5:57
9. "Too Much Information" (Sting) – 3:43
10. "Rehumanize Yourself" (Copeland, Sting) – 3:10
11. "One World (Not Three)" (Sting) – 4:47
12. "Omegaman" (Summers) – 2:48
13. "Secret Journey
    Secret Journey
    "Secret Journey" is a song released as a single by The Police on May 1982 only in the United States, as an alternative to the single "Invisible Sun" which was only released in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
    
    " (Sting) – 3:34
14. "Darkness" (Copeland) – 3:14
    • Tracks 4-14 originally released on the album Ghost in the Machine.
15. "Flexible Strategies" (Sting, Summers, Copeland) * – 3:43
    • B-side of the singles "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", (UK), and "Spirits in the Material World" (U.S.).
16. "Low Life" * (Sting) – 3:45
    • B-side of the UK single "Spirits in the Material World".
17. "How Stupid Mr. Bates" (Sting, Summers, Copeland) * – 2:41
18. "A Kind of Loving" (Sting, Summers, Copeland) * – 2:03
    • Tracks 17-18 originally released on the soundtrack album Brimstone & Treacle in 1982.

Disc 4

1. "Synchronicity I" (Sting) – 3:23
2. "Walking in Your Footsteps" (Sting) – 3:36
3. "O My God" (Sting) – 4:02
4. "Mother" (Summers) – 3:05
5. "Miss Gradenko" (Copeland) – 1:59
6. "Synchronicity II
   Synchronicity II
   "Synchronicity II" is a song by The Police, described by People Weekly as "aggressive" and "steely." It was recorded in 1983 and was included on the album Synchronicity. It was released as a single in the UK and the U.S. by A&M Records. The third single from the album, it reached number 17 in the...
   
   " (Sting) – 5:02
7. "Every Breath You Take
   Every Breath You Take
   "Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...
   
   " (Sting) – 4:13
8. "King of Pain
   King of Pain
   "King of Pain" is a song by The Police, originally released on their 1983 album Synchronicity.It was released as a worldwide single by A&M Records...
   
   " (Sting) – 4:59
9. "Wrapped Around Your Finger
   Wrapped Around Your Finger
   "Wrapped Around Your Finger" is the second UK single from The Police's 1983 album Synchronicity. It was released worldwide by A&M Records and featured non-album track "Someone To Talk To" as a b-side....
   
   " (Sting) – 5:13
10. "Tea in the Sahara" (Sting) – 4:19
    • Tracks 1-10 originally released on the album Synchronicity.
11. "Murder by Numbers" (Sting, Summers) – 4:36
    • Not included on original LP release of the album Synchronicity.
    • B-side of the single "Every Breath You Take".
12. "Man in a Suitcase" (Live) (Sting) * – 2:17
    • originally released on the maxi-single "Every Breath You Take" (UK only).
13. "Someone to Talk To" (Summers) * – 3:08
    • B-side of the singles "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK), and "King of Pain" (U.S.).
14. "Message in a Bottle" (Live) (Sting) * – 4:51
    • Originally released on the maxi-single "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK only).
15. "I Burn for You" (Sting) * – 4:49
    • Originally released on the soundtrack album Brimstone & Treacle in 1982.
    • Also included on the maxi-single "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (UK only) which contributes to its ordering in this collection.
16. "Once Upon a Daydream" (Sting, Summers) * – 3:31
    • B-side of the single "Synchronicity II".
17. "Tea in the Sahara" (Live) (Sting)* – 5:06
    • B-side of the singles "King of Pain" (UK), and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (U.S.).
18. "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (Sting)* – 4:51
    • Originally released on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles
      Every Breath You Take: The Singles
      Every Breath You Take: The Singles is the debut compilation album by The Police, released in 1986. In 1990, the album was repackaged in New Zealand, Australia and Spain as Their Greatest Hits with a different cover.-Track listing:...
      
      .

NOTE: The German & Australian pressings have a different version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" on this disc (matrix number: 540 154-2 01 & 540 150-2). The mix clocks at 6:24, has an extended intro, a different ending, no playground sound effects, and a radically different guitar solo.