Synchronicity | ||||
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Studio album by The Police | ||||
Released | 17 June 1983 | |||
Recorded | December 1982 – February 1983 | |||
Studio |
AIR Studios, Montserrat Le Studio, Quebec |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 40:15 44:32 (CD and cassette version) |
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Label | A&M | |||
Producer |
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The Police chronology | ||||
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Singles from Synchronicity | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Chicago Tribune | |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Rolling Stone | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Smash Hits | 9/10 |
The Village Voice | B+ |
Synchronicity is the fifth and final studio album by English rock band The Police, released in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1983. The band's most successful release, the album includes the hit singles "Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain", "Wrapped Around Your Finger", and "Synchronicity II". Much of the album's material was inspired by Arthur Koestler's The Roots of Coincidence, which inspired the title and concept of the album. At the 1984 Grammy Awards the album was nominated for a total of five awards including Album of the Year and won three. At the time of its release and following its tour The Police were hailed as the "Biggest Band in the World".
The album was number one on both the UK Albums Chart and the U.S. Billboard 200, and sold over 8 million copies in the U.S. Synchronicity was widely acclaimed by critics. Praise centred on its cohesive merging of disparate genres and sonic experimentation. Rolling Stone described "each cut on Synchronicity [as] not simply a song but a miniature, discrete soundtrack." It has since been included on their lists of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties" and the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
In 2009, Synchronicity was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In the 1983 Rolling Stone readers poll, Synchronicity was voted "Album of the Year". In the U.S., the chart-topping hit "Every Breath You Take" was the best-selling single of 1983 and fourth best-selling single of the decade.