Like his frenetic drumming style, Stewart Copeland can’t stay anywhere too long. Professionally, he straddles musical worlds. A rebellious rocker one moment and an opera composer the next, Copeland leaps from genre to genre as quickly and deftly as the rhythm takes him.
His most indelible mark comes from his tenure as stick man for The Police, a rocking alternative trio with priceless pop sensibilities that helped define the soundtrack of the 1980s. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers disbanded in 1984, ending the often tumultuous collaboration between Copeland, guitarist Andy Summers and frontman and bassist Sting. The only exception has been the rare onstage reunion, including an ultra-successful 2007-2008 tour.
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
In the following decades, Copeland’s exploratory jones found him becoming an acclaimed film and TV composer, and orchestra and opera scribe, injecting his own style and approach into each.
Today those worlds converge with “Police Deranged for Orchestra,” a tour featuring reimagined Police cuts from the mind of Copeland, performed live with a core band and a full symphonic orchestra. From “Roxanne” to “Every Breath You Take,” the music sees new life through an orchestrated filter.
The seed of the concept dates back to 2006 when Copeland was scoring his documentary “Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out,” culled from footage he shot himself during the band’s heyday. Realizing the existing songs couldn’t be instantly dropped into the movie, he pulled out “the scalpel” and went to work rearranging them to best serve as the film’s soundtrack. He scoured multi-track studio and live recordings, plucking gems he never knew existed.
“That’s where the frenzy of cutting up Police songs came from,” Copeland said recently over the phone from his Los Angeles home. “This show here is something kind of special, because it has this emotional impact of these very popular songs. And there’s a synergy between memory, music, and emotion. And that’s why I’m doing these songs. I’m taking the inspiration I had from The Police and the expertise that I’ve had thrust upon me as a film composer, and bringing it to the stage. It really does work.”
It’s well documented that all three members of The Police tangled over the group’s musical choices. This time Copeland is chief, playing in the sandbox solo. When asked if it’s a liberating experience, he laughed and replied, “Revenge! Let’s call it by it’s true name.”
In reality, Copeland is relishing the beauty found in these songs and the invaluable contributions from his former bandmates. “I’ve had a good relationship with Sting about all of this,” Copeland explained. “He loves to have people cover his songs. It makes him feel like one of the great songwriters, which is one of the things he’s most proud of. He’s a heck of a bass player and an unbelievable singer, but I think in his heart of hearts he really feels like his songwriting is his main contribution to humanity. And boy, it sure is a contribution to me, personally. He’s threatening to come to a show in L.A., and I just can’t wait to show him.”
Credit: Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP
Credit: Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP
While Copeland refers to Sting’s compositions as “perfect,” he cites the harmonic sophistication of guitarist Andy Summers and the soundscapes he painted with his instrument as the muse for the orchestration.
Copeland ranks “Roxanne,” the reggae-tinted, tango rocker from the band’s 1978 debut album “Outlandos d’Amour,” as one of the most enjoyable songs to “derange,” as he calls it. The Police would often take “Roxanne” into unchartered territory by improvising onstage. Copeland found those live recorded moments inspiring when orchestrating the song.
“Now, you still get your ‘Roxanne,’” he said, “but you also get these strange diversions and textures and weird places that we went to onstage. And now the orchestra has to go there.”
Songs such as “Message in a Bottle” remain virtually untouched with the exception of a new intro and some textural additions from Copeland. “It’s just such a well constructed song that there was nothing I could do to ruin it,” he said.
These interpretations are presented by a different acclaimed orchestra in each city. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra does the duty locally alongside a handful of musicians handpicked by Copeland himself. A trio of three powerful female vocalists, a nod to Copeland’s love for 1960s girl groups, are the only suitable replacement for Sting, Copeland said. Ashley Tamar, Carmel Helene and Amy Keys remain some of the most sought-after background singers in L.A., and this time Copeland puts them in the lead.
The rest of the band is made up of a pair of all-star sidemen: Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney) on guitar and bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco (Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel). The pair happen to be two of Copeland’s closest friends and Sunday bike-riding buddies.
Touring conductor Edwin Outwater, having collaborated with Metallica, is no stranger to the rock world. Under his guidance, Copeland has the ability to go off script behind the kit.
“He’s got to hold it all together,” Copeland said. “And the reason the drummer can go off on that diversion is because I know the charts. I made them. I can take a left, go shopping, have a wild adventure, and come back and rejoin them at bar 132, because I know where that is.”
In between tour stops, Copeland is putting the finishing touches on the second of two operas he wrote during the pandemic. “Electric Saint” recently premiered in Germany, while “The Witches Seed” will debut next summer in Italy. In April of 2022, Copeland returns to Atlanta, playing Sweetwater 420 Fest as part of jam band supergroup Oysterhead, which also features bassist Les Claypool and guitarist Trey Anastasio. Add to that a flurry of other projects, one of which may be a recording based on “Police Deranged for Orchestra,” but Copeland remains cautiously mum on the details.
Meanwhile, he’s preparing for his upcoming Atlanta stop. The ASO has the charts and has been examining them. When Copeland and crew arrive the day of the show, all of the musicians meet before digging into a two-hour rehearsal prior to showtime. Copeland, impressed with the artistry of orchestra players, has no doubt the ASO will “nail it.”
“Rock artists work with orchestras for one reason or another,” he said, “but they don’t interact. I do. I’m in there with the viola section. I’m hanging out with the brass guys discussing mutes. And I go over and harass the percussionists. My intention is when we get on the stage, we’re a band. You can call it an orchestra, but in my world it’s a band.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Stewart Copeland: “Police Deranged for Orchestra”
8 p.m. Nov. 7. $49.50-$149.50. Atlanta Symphony Hall, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4900, aso.org.
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