It's hard to quantify fully the influence Stewart Copeland has had on drums writ large, and on me personally. The first album I was allowed to call my own when I was a kid was a copy of Regatta de Blanc, which I nearly wore out playing Message in a Bottle and Walking on The Moon. Fast forward 13 years and I went off to college and discovered jazz - first drummers like Philly Joe Jones and Art Blakey, then modern drummers like Eric Harland and Kendrick Scott. Long-story-short, it had been a minute since I gave Stewart a concerted listen. Then a few months ago I discovered some clinic videos on YouTube, and before I knew it I was down a rabbit-hole, rediscovering songs I hadn't thought about in ages.
Here's the thing - Stewart still sounds like he was recording those songs in 2008. Put the police back together, get Eric Harland to sub for Stewart and my guess is he'd sound an awful lot like...Stewart. That's how deep the influence runs, and that's how ahead-of-his-time Stewart was.
Anyway, you're probably here for the transcription!
Have a favorite Police song? Tell me what it is in the comments below!