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9 years ago
Classic Rock : Back in the high life againBack to the 80sThe Police - King Of Pain (1983)From the album : Synchronicity"King of Pain" is a song by English rock band The Police, taken from their fifth and final album Synchronicity (1983). Written by band member Sting as a post-separation from his wife, "King of Pain" conjures up symbols of pain and relates them to a man's soul. A&M Records released "King of Pain" as the album's fourth single in the UK, while in the U.S., it was released as the second single.The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended Sting for his writing on the song, as well as the song's melody, while most critics agreed it was a highlight from the album. Reaching number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 1983, and number 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart for five weeks in August 1983, the single is The Police's most successful US single (together with "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic") after "Every Breath You Take" based on chart position. In the UK, it reached number 17 in the charts in January 1984.Multiple artists have covered "King of Pain". Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette covered the track for her MTV Unplugged album (1999) and released it as the second single from the album."King of Pain" was released as the second single in the U.S. and the fourth single in the UK, taken from their fifth and final album, Synchronicity (1983). The song was released after "Every Breath You Take"'s eight-week appearance on top of the charts. Sting's fascination with Carl Jung and, to a greater extent, Arthur Koestler inspired him to write the track. As a Hungarian-born novelist who resided in England, Koestler was enthralled with parapsychology and the unexplained workings of the mind (he wrote the book titled The Ghost in the Machine in the late '60s, which the Police named their fourth album after)."King of Pain" was written by Sting, while production was done by The Police and Hugh Padgham. The song was inspired by his then-recent separation from his first wife. He remarked, "I conjured up symbols of pain and related them to my soul. A black spot on the sun struck me as being a very painful image, and I felt that was my soul up there on there on the sun. It's just projecting your state into the world of symbolism, which is what poetry's all about, really."According to Allmusic's Mike DeGagne, "King of Pain" harbors an odd-sounding rhythmical structure, but it fits in well with the album's philosophical and psychological concepts." DeGagne analyzed that, "With its eerie, semi-shaded introduction that works into a crawling tempo, King of Pain's haunting, isolated appeal is bred by the lone piano in the background and the coldness of the vocals at the front. Just as Stewart Copeland's wispy percussion and the ghost-like vocal backing come into play, the chorus abundantly kicks in, and the song begins to take flight." The song is composed in the key of B minor with a chord progression of Bm-A-Bm-A-Bm-A-Bm-A-G-A-G-A-C#sus-C#m-Gmaj7 The chorus is in D major. The song concludes in D major, the relative major of B minor.Critics were impressed with the song's lyrical meaning. Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone wrote that, "The rejected narrator in 'King of Pain' sees his abandonment as a kind of eternal damnation in which the soul becomes 'a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall/ ... A dead salmon frozen in a waterfall'."Mike DeGagne of Allmusic found out that, "Although the lyrics are a little obscure and metaphoric, Sting's references to 'painful' yet everyday occurrences (a butterfly caught in a spider's web, a seagull with a broken back, etc.) symbolize how the physical world regards death and pain as insignificant and minute in the grand scheme of things, whereas the human perception is dealt with an abundance of sorrow and anguish."The song received acclaim from most music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic picked the song as a highlight from the album, writing that 'King of Pain' and 'Wrapped Around Your Finger', "are devilishly infectious new wave singles." Sputnikmusic website picked it as an "essential track", writing that "King of Pain", "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "rely on gorgeous, understated melodies, embracing the primary sonic overtones encompassing the record." Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound chose the track as "one of his personal favorite Sting-led tracks," pairing it next to his other works like 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You' or 'Fields of Gold.The song was a success in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number-one on the Mainstream Rock chart, while also reaching number 33 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the band's highest charting-single, only losing to their number-one hit "Every Breath You Take". "King of Pain" entered Canada's RPM chart at number 48, on the edition of August 20, 1983. The song climbed to number-one on the edition of October 15, 1983.Elsewhere, the song performed moderately. In the United Kingdom, the song only reached number 17; one of the lowest charting-singles, since their first single, "Fall Out" (1979). In Ireland, the song proved to be more successful, reaching number 7, becoming their third top-ten single. In Belgium (Flanders) and Germany, the song became their lowest charting-single.
9 years ago
Classic Rock : Back in the high life againBack to the 80sThe Police - King Of Pain (1983)From the album : Synchronicity"King of Pain" is a song by English rock band The Police, taken from their fifth and final album Synchronicity (1983). Written by band member Sting as a post-separation from his wife, "King of Pain" conjures up symbols of pain and relates them to a man's soul. A&M Records released "King of Pain" as the album's fourth single in the UK, while in the U.S., it was released as the second single.The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended Sting for his writing on the song, as well as the song's melody, while most critics agreed it was a highlight from the album. Reaching number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 1983, and number 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart for five weeks in August 1983, the single is The Police's most successful US single (together with "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic") after "Every Breath You Take" based on chart position. In the UK, it reached number 17 in the charts in January 1984.Multiple artists have covered "King of Pain". Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette covered the track for her MTV Unplugged album (1999) and released it as the second single from the album."King of Pain" was released as the second single in the U.S. and the fourth single in the UK, taken from their fifth and final album, Synchronicity (1983). The song was released after "Every Breath You Take"'s eight-week appearance on top of the charts. Sting's fascination with Carl Jung and, to a greater extent, Arthur Koestler inspired him to write the track. As a Hungarian-born novelist who resided in England, Koestler was enthralled with parapsychology and the unexplained workings of the mind (he wrote the book titled The Ghost in the Machine in the late '60s, which the Police named their fourth album after)."King of Pain" was written by Sting, while production was done by The Police and Hugh Padgham. The song was inspired by his then-recent separation from his first wife. He remarked, "I conjured up symbols of pain and related them to my soul. A black spot on the sun struck me as being a very painful image, and I felt that was my soul up there on there on the sun. It's just projecting your state into the world of symbolism, which is what poetry's all about, really."According to Allmusic's Mike DeGagne, "King of Pain" harbors an odd-sounding rhythmical structure, but it fits in well with the album's philosophical and psychological concepts." DeGagne analyzed that, "With its eerie, semi-shaded introduction that works into a crawling tempo, King of Pain's haunting, isolated appeal is bred by the lone piano in the background and the coldness of the vocals at the front. Just as Stewart Copeland's wispy percussion and the ghost-like vocal backing come into play, the chorus abundantly kicks in, and the song begins to take flight." The song is composed in the key of B minor with a chord progression of Bm-A-Bm-A-Bm-A-Bm-A-G-A-G-A-C#sus-C#m-Gmaj7 The chorus is in D major. The song concludes in D major, the relative major of B minor.Critics were impressed with the song's lyrical meaning. Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone wrote that, "The rejected narrator in 'King of Pain' sees his abandonment as a kind of eternal damnation in which the soul becomes 'a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall/ ... A dead salmon frozen in a waterfall'."Mike DeGagne of Allmusic found out that, "Although the lyrics are a little obscure and metaphoric, Sting's references to 'painful' yet everyday occurrences (a butterfly caught in a spider's web, a seagull with a broken back, etc.) symbolize how the physical world regards death and pain as insignificant and minute in the grand scheme of things, whereas the human perception is dealt with an abundance of sorrow and anguish."The song received acclaim from most music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic picked the song as a highlight from the album, writing that 'King of Pain' and 'Wrapped Around Your Finger', "are devilishly infectious new wave singles." Sputnikmusic website picked it as an "essential track", writing that "King of Pain", "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "rely on gorgeous, understated melodies, embracing the primary sonic overtones encompassing the record." Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound chose the track as "one of his personal favorite Sting-led tracks," pairing it next to his other works like 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You' or 'Fields of Gold.The song was a success in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number-one on the Mainstream Rock chart, while also reaching number 33 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the band's highest charting-single, only losing to their number-one hit "Every Breath You Take". "King of Pain" entered Canada's RPM chart at number 48, on the edition of August 20, 1983. The song climbed to number-one on the edition of October 15, 1983.Elsewhere, the song performed moderately. In the United Kingdom, the song only reached number 17; one of the lowest charting-singles, since their first single, "Fall Out" (1979). In Ireland, the song proved to be more successful, reaching number 7, becoming their third top-ten single. In Belgium (Flanders) and Germany, the song became their lowest charting-single.
9 years ago
Classic Rock : Back in the high life againBack to the 80sThe Police - King Of Pain (1983)From the album : Synchronicity"King of Pain" is a song by English rock band The Police, taken from their fifth and final album Synchronicity (1983). Written by band member Sting as a post-separation from his wife, "King of Pain" conjures up symbols of pain and relates them to a man's soul. A&M Records released "King of Pain" as the album's fourth single in the UK, while in the U.S., it was released as the second single.The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended Sting for his writing on the song, as well as the song's melody, while most critics agreed it was a highlight from the album. Reaching number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 1983, and number 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart for five weeks in August 1983, the single is The Police's most successful US single (together with "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic") after "Every Breath You Take" based on chart position. In the UK, it reached number 17 in the charts in January 1984.Multiple artists have covered "King of Pain". Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette covered the track for her MTV Unplugged album (1999) and released it as the second single from the album."King of Pain" was released as the second single in the U.S. and the fourth single in the UK, taken from their fifth and final album, Synchronicity (1983). The song was released after "Every Breath You Take"'s eight-week appearance on top of the charts. Sting's fascination with Carl Jung and, to a greater extent, Arthur Koestler inspired him to write the track. As a Hungarian-born novelist who resided in England, Koestler was enthralled with parapsychology and the unexplained workings of the mind (he wrote the book titled The Ghost in the Machine in the late '60s, which the Police named their fourth album after)."King of Pain" was written by Sting, while production was done by The Police and Hugh Padgham. The song was inspired by his then-recent separation from his first wife. He remarked, "I conjured up symbols of pain and related them to my soul. A black spot on the sun struck me as being a very painful image, and I felt that was my soul up there on there on the sun. It's just projecting your state into the world of symbolism, which is what poetry's all about, really."According to Allmusic's Mike DeGagne, "King of Pain" harbors an odd-sounding rhythmical structure, but it fits in well with the album's philosophical and psychological concepts." DeGagne analyzed that, "With its eerie, semi-shaded introduction that works into a crawling tempo, King of Pain's haunting, isolated appeal is bred by the lone piano in the background and the coldness of the vocals at the front. Just as Stewart Copeland's wispy percussion and the ghost-like vocal backing come into play, the chorus abundantly kicks in, and the song begins to take flight." The song is composed in the key of B minor with a chord progression of Bm-A-Bm-A-Bm-A-Bm-A-G-A-G-A-C#sus-C#m-Gmaj7 The chorus is in D major. The song concludes in D major, the relative major of B minor.Critics were impressed with the song's lyrical meaning. Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone wrote that, "The rejected narrator in 'King of Pain' sees his abandonment as a kind of eternal damnation in which the soul becomes 'a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall/ ... A dead salmon frozen in a waterfall'."Mike DeGagne of Allmusic found out that, "Although the lyrics are a little obscure and metaphoric, Sting's references to 'painful' yet everyday occurrences (a butterfly caught in a spider's web, a seagull with a broken back, etc.) symbolize how the physical world regards death and pain as insignificant and minute in the grand scheme of things, whereas the human perception is dealt with an abundance of sorrow and anguish."The song received acclaim from most music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic picked the song as a highlight from the album, writing that 'King of Pain' and 'Wrapped Around Your Finger', "are devilishly infectious new wave singles." Sputnikmusic website picked it as an "essential track", writing that "King of Pain", "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger", "rely on gorgeous, understated melodies, embracing the primary sonic overtones encompassing the record." Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound chose the track as "one of his personal favorite Sting-led tracks," pairing it next to his other works like 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You' or 'Fields of Gold.The song was a success in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number-one on the Mainstream Rock chart, while also reaching number 33 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the band's highest charting-single, only losing to their number-one hit "Every Breath You Take". "King of Pain" entered Canada's RPM chart at number 48, on the edition of August 20, 1983. The song climbed to number-one on the edition of October 15, 1983.Elsewhere, the song performed moderately. In the United Kingdom, the song only reached number 17; one of the lowest charting-singles, since their first single, "Fall Out" (1979). In Ireland, the song proved to be more successful, reaching number 7, becoming their third top-ten single. In Belgium (Flanders) and Germany, the song became their lowest charting-single.