The Police: Greatest Hits

This expanded greatest hits collection, spanning from 1978 to 1983, was cut by engineer Miles Showell as part of Abbey Road Studios’ series of half-speed masters. The process, in which the master source and disc-cutting lathe are run at half speed, is designed to produce more open high frequencies and improve stereo imaging. It adds detail and clarity, especially at lower volumes. These audiophile-quality 180-gram LPs, pressed in Germany, contain 16 tracks, 14 of which graced the UK Top 20 and produced five No. 1 hit singles. There’s no chaff here: from 1978’s ska-inflected “Roxanne” and the high-energy “Message in a Bottle” to the mega-hits “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” these songs helped define 80s pop. Hailing from London, bassist and vocalist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland sold 75 million records and garnered six Grammies. The production quality on such tracks as “Tea in the Sahara” is quite high: Original producer and engineer Hugh Padgham shared a Grammy for the band’s 1983 swan song Synchronicity, which spawned “Every Breath You Take,” “King of Pain” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” all included here.