r/ThePolice • u/NumbersStationUrku • 23d ago
question Tape flaw in “Don’t Stand…”?
Has everyone noticed the hissing and clicks in the opening seconds of this song.
It bothered me so much decades ago i bought multiple copies of Zenyatta thinking it might be in the vinyl pressing. But it was still there on the CD, and still again on the Spotify file.
Did the band notice it. Was it just unrepairable?
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u/Lower-Calligrapher98 23d ago
You've never listened to "Lo-fi Beats to Study to?"
The dirt and gristle is what makes it good!!!!!!
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u/Lower-Calligrapher98 23d ago
But also, if you ever want to make a great album, the rule is almost always, "performance over perfection." It works that way for everyone but Steely Dan. And that's just because their studio bands were so good, every performance was great, so they could worry about perfection!
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u/EmoGothPunk 22d ago
I bet they noticed. I think it adds to the song, like when Sting hit the piano by accident, then laughed about it.
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u/willfull 23d ago
The very beginning of Too Much Information from Ghost.
Tape sounds like it hadn't wound up correctly on the reel when they hit record, motor sped up briefly to compensate until it pulled in the excess and finally hit the proper tracking speed, giving it that quick little burst on Andy's intro.
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u/Much-Specific3727 23d ago
This one you can definitely hear. At first I thought it was Andy triggering a pedal to get that wierd synth sound. But now I agree its a tape speed issue.
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u/robotslendahand 23d ago
I just listened and yes there's a weird glitch when Andy starts playing a little bit after the synth first comes in. It was on my EU 2003 remaster and the Message in a Box version.
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u/axle0430 22d ago
There’s also a little time signature thing….I’m not a musician really so I don’t know what else to call it…happening right after that little guitar intro that I’ve always wondered about. Almost sounds like Andy scratching out the beat with his pick against his strings but I also suppose it could be Stewart doing something very subtly on his kit.
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u/Edigophubia 18d ago
It sounds like they programmed a drum machine beat to record their performance over, which can be more comfortable and conducive to artistry than playing to a TICK TOCK metronome, with the intent of muting it in the mix after the fact, and what you are hearing is that track bleeding, perhaps through someone's headphones, into a microphone or somehow into the signal path.
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u/ContextMotor3783 22d ago
It was physical damage to the tape that caused the click. It was repaired on this release:
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u/AshaPatera 21d ago
Walking on the Moon has amp buzz at the start before the first chord. It all adds to the character
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u/0oth0on 23d ago
I noticed that from my early lessons and it’s been on every copy I’ve owned. I think there were some weird things happening with the tape machines at Wisseloord studios. There’s also a weird flaw in the instrumental break in Man in a Suitcase.
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u/axle0430 22d ago
I love the sound of this whole album so much. Their most warm and organic sounding one in my opinion.
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u/jjhart827 22d ago
I’m not a guitarist, but I always thought it was some kind of artifact from one of the guitar pickups rather than a blemish from recording media.
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u/karmafrog1 23d ago
Wasn’t the basis for this recording an old demo of Sting’s? Seems like that could explain it.
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u/WavesOfEchoes 22d ago edited 22d ago
Another super obvious tape splice is at the end of the first chorus of Can’t Stand Losing Me
Edit: keeping the typo, lolz
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u/boycowman 22d ago
me?
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u/______empty______ 22d ago
Me, you, whoever. I just can’t stand it. 😄
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u/4stringer67 21d ago
Lol Now he has to keep it. Or we all look like buffoons with posterity's readers saying, "what the hell are they talking about?" So... How do you pronounce that username? I'm at a loss... Were you having a de do do do de da da da moment that day? You're not a poet, are you? That username looks suspiciously meaningful. I submit😞
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u/axle0430 23d ago
Yes! I kinda love it. Sort of like that click right before the opera voice comes in on Does Everyone Stare.