10 Forgotten Rock Music Gems From The 80s You Need To Rediscover

For as pop friendly as they were, The Police don't seem to get nearly enough credit for how eclectic they were as a group. Outside of the million and one melodies they would get stuck in your head, Sting actually had a degree before even forming a rock band and had studied the music that he was about to play. He wasn't afraid of sounding like a grown up... especially if it meant going into some jazzy territory.

Being the B-side to Every Breath You Take, Murder By Numbers is one of the single weirdest tracks that the Police ever cut, being based off a handful of jazz chords that Andy Summers had been vamping on in the studio. In a surge of inspiration, the band just decided to cut the song off the floor for the record, complete with a few tiny screwups, like when Sting's bass goes slightly out of tune during the bridge.

There are even a few moments where you can tell that they're just running through the song for the first time, with Stewart Copeland switching his drumming up halfway through just to make sure that he comes back on the correct beat. Even though the actual construction of this song is a bit all over the place, it's a miracle that it all fits together this well. That only happens when you're working with real pros behind their instruments.