Joan Osborne, Cyril Neville & Many Reggae Artists Record Tribute Album To The Police

The Police reunion last year seems to inspired some nostalgia among fans. One such fan is the general manager of Shanachie Records who was inspired to organize a tribute CD with an all-star cast. Joan Osborne, Ali Campbell of UB40, Cyril Neville of The Neville Brothers, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jr. Reid, Toots & the Maytals, Horace Andy and more have created "overtly reggae versions" of favorite Police songs and recorded with legendary Inner Circle. The album is called Spirits in the Material World: A Reggae Tribute to the Police and will be released February 19th. According to an article from the Jamaica Observer:

Spirits in the Material World: A Reggae Tribute to the Police features a number of surprisingly interesting interpretations of Police songs. UB40's Ali Campbell specifically requested a "bogle" dance-hall beat for his version of Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. Junior Reid's version of Synchronicity sounds like the latest hard Jamaican-style dancehall smash more than a Police tune. Of course Toots transforms Da Dee Dee Dee Da Doo Doo Doo into his trademark old-school reggae groove and newcomer Tarrus Riley, son of noted seventies reggae singer, Jimmy Riley, who has been hot with his She's Royal smash, gives a warm, soulful reading of King of Pain.

The article also gets Cyril Neville's take on The Police's music:

"Reggae became for me the musical canvas that I could freely paint, in words, what I witnessed in my life and times; the good, the bad and the ugly," shares Cyril Neville of The Neville Brothers. "The Police are one of my favourite groups and I like their song writing the most. Their arrangements have elements of different genres and that appealed to my New Orleans second-line senses. Their lyrics show a broad, realistic, and well-read view of the world we all share. The Beatles meets the Meters, maybe?"

As for the recording process, they picked the perfect studio to work with: Inner Circle produced the album at their Miami studio which is a hot spot for reggae recordings as well as pop, RnB, and hip hop. The Jamaica Observer lays it out:

Grass placed a call to Inner Circle, whose roots go deep from their time backing Bob Marley and making classic recordings with the late great Jacob Miller up through their huge crossover hit Bad Boys, the theme of the Cops television show. Inner Circle's Miami studio has become a favourite venue for such R&B and rap stars as Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, . Diddy, Pit-bull, Mariah Carey and others so they were perfectly placed to oversee an album that bridges the worlds of pop and reggae.

Read the article in the Jamaica Observer for the full story. You can probably hear some audio samples on Amazon.comThis is not to be confused with an earlier reggae tribute to The Police. That one featured Pato Banton and Sting on "Spirits In The Material World" but unfortunately I don't think Pato is on this new compilation...