10 Bands That Ended Their Careers On A High Note

For most of the '70s, you couldn't really pin down where the Police were going to go next. Outside of the kind of reggae grooves that they adopted on their earlier work, albums like Ghost in the Machine were going for something a lot more structured than typical pop music, bringing in interesting textures like on Every Little Thing She Does is Magic or Invisible Sun. The '80s had arrived though, and the band could still deliver their signature magic even when going into the world of pop.

Going through Synchronicity, this is one of the more sophisticated pop albums that you will ever hear come out of a rock band, as every single song has an outlandish approach to your verse chorus structure. Sting already had experience as a music teacher before this, and you can really hear it come out in his playing, from the weird mood changes happening in part 2 of the title track to creating strange synth sequences like on the opener or the chord structure of the B-side Murder by Numbers.

Then again, Sting also knew when to keep things simple, and the most celebrated songs of this era are where he strips it back like on Every Breath You Take. This was definitely a high, but it wasn't something that the band was interested in repeating, having already conquered the world and moved on to venues that filled stadiums. If you look at their career, this might have been the smartest decision a rock band has ever made. You've reached the height of your success, so it's best to stop now before the business catches up with you.