In his autobiography One Train Later, former Police guitarist Andy Summers recalls that by 1981’s Ghost In The Machine the band’s success was such that those around them were “[telling] us what we want[ed] to hear”, and by Synchronicity (1983) had escalated to the point that they “could record Mary Had A Little Lamb, and it… would go to Number One”.
While there’s no arguing with Synchronicity’s classic status, Summers’s observations regarding objectivity appear especially pertinent in the light of this new six-CD expanded edition, which adds unreleased, arguably superior, versions of weaker tracks that made the final cut.
