Message in a Box
| Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings |
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| Box set by The Police | ||||
| Released | September 28, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1977–1986 | |||
| Genre | New wave | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | The Police, Nigel Gray, Hugh Padgham | |||
| The Police chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Rolling Stone |  |
Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings is a four-CD box set by The Police, containing all five of their studio albums in chronological order, as well as non-album singles, non-album B-sides, and tracks from various compilation albums and the Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack (1982). The box set also comes with a 68-page booklet.
While the box set does contain every original song released by the band, these are not the complete recordings up to 1986, contrary to the box set's title. The following are not included in the box set:
Disc one 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 three has a live version of "Driven to Tears" which was recorded live at Les Arenes, Frejus, France, 28 August 1980 and is featured on the Urgh! A Music War soundtrack album (1982).
"Shambelle", an instrumental written by Andy Summers, that is a B-side both of the singles "Invisible Sun" (UK) and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (US), was presented incorrectly, missing the hi-hat introduction played by Stewart Copeland. This error has never been corrected, and the original 45's is the only place to get the full-length versions. It should also be noted that the versions of "Shambelle" on the "Invisible Sun" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" singles have different track times, clocking 5:42 on the former and 5:10 on the latter. The version on this box set clocks in just about five minutes.
The U.S. version of the box set also features the version of "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86" that was originally released on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles (1986). This version is shorter than the extended dance mix of "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" included on some international versions of the box set and includes a different guitar solo from Andy Summers. There is no edition of the box set that includes both versions of the song.
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