Andy and Alex Lifeson were both masters of texture and chord voicing. Both masters of creating very interesting ways of filling space in songs. Stewart Copeland said he and Sting were really nothing together until they got Andy. He said Andy was the true musical genius behind the Police and they would not have been who they were without him. Although I feel that to be true of all of them. In great bands everyone is as important as everyone else. The chemistry and what each member brings to the table is an important ingredient in the final product. Especially true in great trios, The Police and RUSH are both great examples.
Can't believe he was already 45 in 1987. He was a month shy of his 36th birthday when The Police put out their first album, Outlandos d'Amour, in 1977. It explains how advanced his technique and playing style were with the band.
You do get better technically with guitar , but the Melodies and writing seem to be a youth game, Maybe you do everything and put it on the first couple albums and it dries up. The new ideas come early. Cause you have fresh eyes to see the landscape of music
@@frankjamesbonarrigo7162 I feel like you can stay writing vital music well into your later life as long as you don't fall into never growing once you're not young anymore
Summers is a phenomenal guitarist and songwriter. He didn't write many songs but when he did they were standouts. His song Omega Man off Ghost in the Machine would've been released as a single and topped the charts had it not been for Sting's ego. He wrote all those riffs for Police songs but Sting took all the credit. Visions of the Night is another one we used to cover in my band. The man is so versatile he can play any style. People dont realize he had a career before The Police in the 60s. He was in keyboardist Zoot Money's band Dantalian's Chariot, Soft Machine and The Animals and was a session musician who graduated from California Northridge University where he studied classical music. After Hendrix, Andy Summers is the man!
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017Sting probably has narcissistic personality disorder yes, but he was an amazing songwriter. Andy Summers himself would tell you that he couldn't write songs as good as Sting, megalomania or not.
The chord that changed non-metal rock guitar, in a way... The chorus, flange, echo + jazzy rock chord sounds that a lot of guys took off with during the 80's, and even after that. Every time I hear Walking On The Moon it still hits me just as much as it did when I first heard it being played in some clothing store years ago. That chord seemed so difficult to play -- now I see in video, it really wasn't a difficult chord. But so cool.
Andy was an innovator when he came up with that chord picking method. The dude was born in 1942 and this clip being 1987 makes him 45 here, yet he looks almost in his 20s..he also lent Eric Clapton his 1960 les Paul which prompted Eric to go to the same shop and buy the one that he used on the Beano album..
@@metaphoria3 #metoo I have that same syndrom as Andy, I actually grew until I was about 38, with the pains and all that, like when I was 10..now I'm 50 and look 30 they say
It's really not that hard with average hands like Andy's. I'm the same height as Andy and my hands are 3.5 inches in width and 7.5 inches in length and can play this riff with ease. You WILL start to feel it in your hand though if you're actually playing the full barre chord instead of just moving your index to the proper string like he does.
I read an article on Bob Bradshaw, the guy who built that effects system. He said Andy's guitar tones on the early Police records were part of what got him into building guitar rigs. He said that Andy came into his shop in LA, and said that he had been impressed with the rig Bradshaw had built for Peter Frampton, which Andy had seen when the two of them performed together on a David Letterman prime time special! So Andy didn't have a specific idea of what he wanted, so Bob shows Andy his own personal system, and Andy likes it so much, he tells Bob "OK, give me a system with ALL of this, exactly like your rack". Bob wasn't sure if that was a good idea, because, at least in theory, every guitarist needs something tailored to their own playing, tailored to the sound they're chasing after, etc. But Andy was adamant, he just said "Give me everything you've got here". Bob said he even sold his Tri-Chorus rack unit (a very rare chorus unit that was only built for a short time) to Andy because he couldnt' find another. And I guess Andy continued to use it for quite a few years afterwards, including this little demonstration we see here.
One of the masters along Michael Landau of those shimmery beautiful 80's clean tones,I remember listening Police with my mother when she was alive,love this band forever
I find it's harder to play chill than it is to shred. To play at a slower tempo and to play it perfectly is not easy. When you play fast you get into a groove and it's actually fairly easy. Andy could play intricate chord progressions in a slow tempo with perfect accuracy. He never rushed ahead, he was always solid.
@@fenderfetish It wasn't just a protocol. MIDI in the 1980s was hardware too. A 20 mA current loop with a standardized baudrate and 5 pin DIN-connector.
the best time for guitars and guitar tech is {insert current year}. Seriously, in 2021 we have so many extremely powerful guitar processors, like the QuadCortex, that produce sounds ready to be recorded or come out of stadium speakers.
Very true. I recently saw an interview with Andy in 2008 during their Réunion. He wished he had that technology when doing stadium gigs back in the 80s. Alot easier.
Lmao this was before song set lists were added to the Midi switching controllers. This was just the effects control, later complete songs were picked from the foot switches which setup the entire fx chains. This was still hardcore to use here as you still had to foot switch all the effects the song needed.
It’s a Bob Bradshaw switching system. Bobs systems had presets in 1984 you could program a set in order 5 presets per song with 20 banks of 5 presets. So 20 songs with 5 different sounds/presets. As Steve Lukather said in his 1985 Star Licks video “I can hit one button and radically change the sound.
@@jaycareaga9929 Yes the audio switcher was using midi to trigger audio relay switches back at the racks to switch inputs with outputs. Even in 2023 these switchers are very expensive and outside of even seasoned players budgets. Music industry has changed so these systems are being phased out and are only used by a few players these days. Instrumental live players used these systems to layer sounds from guitar fx units, that's how they got those monster sounds back then. With audio interfaces now down to the lowest latency we are now doing this in the box for audio effects, amp sims etc. Daw's can even send midi signals to the audio racks to trigger the sound banks so the player does not even have to use their feet. Still it was a revolution back then and many bands could not have their signature sounds without these switching systems.
It sounds a lot like the solo stuff he was releasing at the time, fusion style. Check out his "world gone strange" record , you'll find some great songs with chord shapes that sounds similar to this
Actually this is "Charis", which would be later released on his album "Charming Snakes" in 1990. Probably one of my favourite tracks from said album :D
Don Harrold Yeah but at least he isn't giving lip service. A program like that now would be some dumb blonde news reporter that doesn't know how to shut the fuck up.
I like summers but i think when people say "the most undersastimate guityar player"are wrong. The police is like reggae,every single member has to play its part to be working,you take just the base,guitar or drum in a reggae rithm and it will not work. Alone in the other band before the police everysingle one of them played different and more difficult chord,even sting during last exit was not so succesfull. Listen to the first track of "sting last exit" video on youtube,thats basically bring on the night. Copeland brought the reggae rithm,giving a bob marley album to sting to inspirate such "easy" and "complex" rythm. Summers,with his huge knowledge of chords,ispired sting to write even better,and andy has always been the key of the police.He was the one who discovered flanger,used delay trying to fill the space with easy and effective chord to mix the sound to perfection. Listen walking on the moon,that may not be their best song but for me its THE song.Look how simple and effective it is and now listen again one of their previous song with the other band...cant compare that
what does higher purchase mean? Does it mean its expensive? Andy said he got his phase 90 on higher purchase but the narrator says "this is not higher purchase" and they talk about his seemingly super expensive guitar rig...I don't get it.
It's actually "hire purchase", a credit arrangement in the UK where you get the goods upfront and pay off the cost in instalments. During the paying off period, you are technically hiring the goods and they only become legally yours and purchased by you upon payment of the final instalment.
@@BT-Bopper Thanks so much for sharing that with me man I had no idea (from Canada) I watch these clips often so Im glad I finally understand. Cheers!!
@@NathanHassall You're welcome. In case you're unfamiliar with the term, Brits often refer to buying things on credit as buying it "on tick" so that's another one to listen out for.
I'd compare him more to a Landau or Eric Johnson. Especially here there are lots of Johnson vibes, even though Andy is quite a bit older than all of them.
perfect exemple of a guy who where a very good guitarist because he was in a great band , with a Genius, Sting, but later when the Genius was away ...he became rich i suppose lol but i try to listen to his own album ...theres no songs ! its a little boring i mean hes not mike stern ! but yes wth the police he been an innovative and influent !
Andy Summers was successful long before the Police. He was the only one of the three that had any kind of musical career before the Police. His chord voicings, use of effects, and style changed the way the guitar was approached forever. Sting probably would have become famous without the Police but not like he is now. Sting wrote Roxanne as a bassa nova. Without Andy and Stewart changing the song, no one would have ever heard of Roxanne.
Andy and Alex Lifeson were both masters of texture and chord voicing. Both masters of creating very interesting ways of filling space in songs.
Stewart Copeland said he and Sting were really nothing together until they got Andy. He said Andy was the true musical genius behind the Police and they would not have been who they were without him. Although I feel that to be true of all of them. In great bands everyone is as important as everyone else. The chemistry and what each member brings to the table is an important ingredient in the final product. Especially true in great trios, The Police and RUSH are both great examples.
Can't believe he was already 45 in 1987. He was a month shy of his 36th birthday when The Police put out their first album, Outlandos d'Amour, in 1977. It explains how advanced his technique and playing style were with the band.
You do get better technically with guitar , but the Melodies and writing seem to be a youth game, Maybe you do everything and put it on the first couple albums and it dries up. The new ideas come early. Cause you have fresh eyes to see the landscape of music
He reinvented his his self and started looking for a different sound
@@frankjamesbonarrigo7162 I feel like you can stay writing vital music well into your later life as long as you don't fall into never growing once you're not young anymore
He looks good there for his age..
@@paulconnolly3189 - Jesus...does that mean he's 83?
Love Andy Summers. Wizard with intricate chord-shapes. Great guitarist.
Hhhyyyytutytyty
betytytytyytytyttyyttytyyhhbbbbbbpà
Summers is a phenomenal guitarist and songwriter. He didn't write many songs but when he did they were standouts. His song Omega Man off Ghost in the Machine would've been released as a single and topped the charts had it not been for Sting's ego. He wrote all those riffs for Police songs but Sting took all the credit. Visions of the Night is another one we used to cover in my band. The man is so versatile he can play any style. People dont realize he had a career before The Police in the 60s. He was in keyboardist Zoot Money's band Dantalian's Chariot, Soft Machine and The Animals and was a session musician who graduated from California Northridge University where he studied classical music. After Hendrix, Andy Summers is the man!
I love Andy but watch what you say about sting, or else.
@@anthonymaniacimusic2336Sting is an egomaniac. There's no disputing it.
I still can’t get over the fact that he wasn’t to CSUN. I went to CSUN! Little ole me!!! Went to the same college as Andy Summers!!!
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017Sting probably has narcissistic personality disorder yes, but he was an amazing songwriter. Andy Summers himself would tell you that he couldn't write songs as good as Sting, megalomania or not.
The playing of Andy Summers has always been my favorite component of The Police.
that walking on the moon riff is still one of my fave riffs lol
The chord that changed non-metal rock guitar, in a way... The chorus, flange, echo + jazzy rock chord sounds that a lot of guys took off with during the 80's, and even after that. Every time I hear Walking On The Moon it still hits me just as much as it did when I first heard it being played in some clothing store years ago. That chord seemed so difficult to play -- now I see in video, it really wasn't a difficult chord. But so cool.
Mine too!
Surely that was stings bass riff???
@@undisputed1291 definitely Sting's bass riff
Andy was an innovator when he came up with that chord picking method. The dude was born in 1942 and this clip being 1987 makes him 45 here, yet he looks almost in his 20s..he also lent Eric Clapton his 1960 les Paul which prompted Eric to go to the same shop and buy the one that he used on the Beano album..
no clapton actually used summers les paul,the one you see during that period was actually sold to him by andy,he wrote that in the book
So he's 9 years older than Sting!
he was just the best guitarist or creative guitarist ever!
They’re vamps
@@metaphoria3 #metoo I have that same syndrom as Andy, I actually grew until I was about 38, with the pains and all that, like when I was 10..now I'm 50 and look 30 they say
That "Every Breath You Take" riff is fucking hard to play correctly. He makes it look easy.
I know. He just like Oh casually play a F#mAdd9 no problem
It's really not that hard with average hands like Andy's. I'm the same height as Andy and my hands are 3.5 inches in width and 7.5 inches in length and can play this riff with ease. You WILL start to feel it in your hand though if you're actually playing the full barre chord instead of just moving your index to the proper string like he does.
@@brainsploder4841 Agreed - moving the index finger is the key... My left hand wishes I'd learnt that years ago...
nah its easy😂
Very hard at first. But i can say that Message In A Bottle is harder than Every Breath.
I read an article on Bob Bradshaw, the guy who built that effects system. He said Andy's guitar tones on the early Police records were part of what got him into building guitar rigs. He said that Andy came into his shop in LA, and said that he had been impressed with the rig Bradshaw had built for Peter Frampton, which Andy had seen when the two of them performed together on a David Letterman prime time special! So Andy didn't have a specific idea of what he wanted, so Bob shows Andy his own personal system, and Andy likes it so much, he tells Bob "OK, give me a system with ALL of this, exactly like your rack". Bob wasn't sure if that was a good idea, because, at least in theory, every guitarist needs something tailored to their own playing, tailored to the sound they're chasing after, etc. But Andy was adamant, he just said "Give me everything you've got here". Bob said he even sold his Tri-Chorus rack unit (a very rare chorus unit that was only built for a short time) to Andy because he couldnt' find another. And I guess Andy continued to use it for quite a few years afterwards, including this little demonstration we see here.
great@ what amplifier and speaker did Andy Summer use to record Message in a Bottle in the studio?
@@gs7788that allegedly was a Fender Twin
One of the masters along Michael Landau of those shimmery beautiful 80's clean tones,I remember listening Police with my mother when she was alive,love this band forever
One of the most influential guitarists of all time, top ten.
Andy Summers, one of my favorite guitarists! So melodic, versatile, with interesting chord structures.
Classy compact and economic in his abilities when needed. Brought back a specific kinda of spare yet spacey sound. Perfect for the time yet timeless
He is my inspiration on guitar. i dont have two many police records but i like his chorus, delay tones
Andy uses flange not chorus
@@NathanHassall He uses chorus too haha
One of my all time favourite guitar players.
Absolutely a genius song writer and very accomplished guitar 🎸 player. 😎👍 thanks for sharing this.
Legend! Enough said.
saw them play at the US Festival - Andy shredded such an incredible guitar player
I find it's harder to play chill than it is to shred. To play at a slower tempo and to play it perfectly is not easy. When you play fast you get into a groove and it's actually fairly easy. Andy could play intricate chord progressions in a slow tempo with perfect accuracy. He never rushed ahead, he was always solid.
I remember seeing this on PBS when TV had quality stuff for smart folk. 😉
ANDY SUMMERS RULES
🎸♥️
Love it...chord shapes galore
Can’t play any better than the Andy!
He always looked good for his age he would've been mid 40s here.
Every breath you take is brilliant!
"A small computer, known in the industry as MIDI" ... sure, random Monty Python narrator. Sure.
Johannes Labusch - Ha, for a moment there Midi was like ‘fuck yeah, I’m a computer’, then it returned to its banal series of messages
When a protocol unwittingly becomes hardware....
@@fenderfetish It wasn't just a protocol. MIDI in the 1980s was hardware too. A 20 mA current loop with a standardized baudrate and 5 pin DIN-connector.
@@herrbonk3635 5 pins, 3 working...it's still like that. On stage XLR cables with buffers are used for long MIDI stretches
Any device with MIDI is using a computer to "speak" with the protocol.
6:00 put a fuzz in front and its borderline shoegaze
what a cool rack, didnt realise they were that advanced back then
Andys been pro since mid 60s with Zoot!
Lindo !
...known in the industry as MIDI
He was old enough to be in The Beatles , pity it never happened
This is from a great doc on Guitar that also featured Steve Howe. I remember it.
Nobody mentioned yet the solos on "Miss Gradenko" and "Mother".
the best time for guitars and guitar tech is {insert current year}. Seriously, in 2021 we have so many extremely powerful guitar processors, like the QuadCortex, that produce sounds ready to be recorded or come out of stadium speakers.
Very true. I recently saw an interview with Andy in 2008 during their Réunion. He wished he had that technology when doing stadium gigs back in the 80s. Alot easier.
Great rhythm musician.🪘🔅〽️🌃
Great musician.
"This is NOT on hire purchase"
YO TENGO UNA PÚA D ANDY😌
🎸♥️🇦🇷🙋🏻♀️
Traigame la noche gang
what scale is Mr. Summers noodling around on at 5:56 ? I ask because I want to practice it.
Sounds like he’s playing Dorian Mode ideas.
‘This is NOT on higher purchase’ lol
lmao
Hire-purchase.
And 30 years later it is now lmao
message and every breath arent easy to play. its a stretch for your fingers but its a great way to learn guitar
Good one buddy! +1
Spot on fella
Too many got chronic tendonitis or carpal tunnel from that very song!
What's that small pre-amp on top of the Marshall power amp!? @ 3:35 Looks like a solid state Marshall from a combo.
He's 44 years old in this video and looks 20 years younger.
No. He looks 25.
@@Twirlyhead 20 years younger is 24. Thanks for the correcting my mistake, I should have said 19 years younger.
This is so funny...Is that David Attenborough interviewing??? lol
Great!
Lmao this was before song set lists were added to the Midi switching controllers. This was just the effects control, later complete songs were picked from the foot switches which setup the entire fx chains. This was still hardcore to use here as you still had to foot switch all the effects the song needed.
It’s a Bob Bradshaw switching system.
Bobs systems had presets in 1984 you could program a set in order 5 presets per song with 20 banks of 5 presets.
So 20 songs with 5 different sounds/presets.
As Steve Lukather said in his 1985 Star Licks video “I can hit one button and radically change the sound.
@@jaycareaga9929 Yes the audio switcher was using midi to trigger audio relay switches back at the racks to switch inputs with outputs. Even in 2023 these switchers are very expensive and outside of even seasoned players budgets. Music industry has changed so these systems are being phased out and are only used by a few players these days. Instrumental live players used these systems to layer sounds from guitar fx units, that's how they got those monster sounds back then. With audio interfaces now down to the lowest latency we are now doing this in the box for audio effects, amp sims etc. Daw's can even send midi signals to the audio racks to trigger the sound banks so the player does not even have to use their feet. Still it was a revolution back then and many bands could not have their signature sounds without these switching systems.
I think he's tired of playing "every breath you take"
@@dystopia2386 not at all
Sure, the most boring song of the Police.
What is he playing from 1:44 on? That sounds sooo good!
Probably just improving
It sounds a lot like the solo stuff he was releasing at the time, fusion style. Check out his "world gone strange" record , you'll find some great songs with chord shapes that sounds similar to this
Actually this is "Charis", which would be later released on his album "Charming Snakes" in 1990. Probably one of my favourite tracks from said album :D
Nice guy
3:14 "A small computer known as MIDI..."
MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface
05:21 i think he means bowed instead of pizzicato.
*staccato
"Bowed" isn't a musical term. If anything, you meant "arco" which means bowed. But in the video, Andy meant staccato
Who else misses big effects racks?
With Kemper or Axe FX who needs it?
The Edge still uses them.
#guitarriggang
Why does this video make me think of rainy days and 'Raggy Dolls'?
The wah-wah wasn't invented by Jimi Hendrix. R'n'b musicians were taking the "expression pedal" from home organs, especially Thomas, for stage use.
me ha parecido escuchar Amazing Journey, from the Who y también soon, from Yes
Every Breath You Take has the riff of Billie Jean but played backwards. Two of the greatest pop songs of all time. What a coincidence.
nope. it’s completely different.
He played with Hendrix
@5:28 , wouldn’t this be the opposite of pizzicato.
The volume on this video is extremely low. You have should have increased it beofre uploading.
@4:36 pure bliss
please tell me what equipment Andy uses to get such a sound (I liked this sound very much)
Chorus flange and delay. Cheese in other words
@@freepadz6241 chilled cheese instead of rock pop poop.
Great rig
Quelle est ce solo qui joue à partir de 5 minutes
Andy Great THE POLICE THE BEST GREAT STEWART COPELAND
I amk always shocked he never used semi acoustic guitars. Would have really suited his sound with the Roland amp
The narrator sounds robotic, like he’s giving an Open University lecture or delivering some plant safety video
Don Harrold Yeah but at least he isn't giving lip service. A program like that now would be some dumb blonde news reporter that doesn't know how to shut the fuck up.
Nah. It's totally per fe ct. Very English.
I like summers but i think when people say "the most undersastimate guityar player"are wrong.
The police is like reggae,every single member has to play its part to be working,you take just the base,guitar or drum in a reggae rithm and it will not work.
Alone in the other band before the police everysingle one of them played different and more difficult chord,even sting during last exit was not so succesfull. Listen to the first track of "sting last exit" video on youtube,thats basically bring on the night.
Copeland brought the reggae rithm,giving a bob marley album to sting to inspirate such "easy" and "complex" rythm. Summers,with his huge knowledge of chords,ispired sting to write even better,and andy has always been the key of the police.He was the one who discovered flanger,used delay trying to fill the space with easy and effective chord to mix the sound to perfection.
Listen walking on the moon,that may not be their best song but for me its THE song.Look how simple and effective it is and now listen again one of their previous song with the other band...cant compare that
what does higher purchase mean? Does it mean its expensive? Andy said he got his phase 90 on higher purchase but the narrator says "this is not higher purchase" and they talk about his seemingly super expensive guitar rig...I don't get it.
It's actually "hire purchase", a credit arrangement in the UK where you get the goods upfront and pay off the cost in instalments. During the paying off period, you are technically hiring the goods and they only become legally yours and purchased by you upon payment of the final instalment.
@@BT-Bopper Thanks so much for sharing that with me man I had no idea (from Canada) I watch these clips often so Im glad I finally understand. Cheers!!
@@NathanHassall You're welcome. In case you're unfamiliar with the term, Brits often refer to buying things on credit as buying it "on tick" so that's another one to listen out for.
'This is not on higher purchase'
The Police: The Lost Years: 1985-1995
he sounds so much like Nigel...
Long skinny fingers help with those stretch cords
Where could a download of this equinox be found??
th-cam.com/video/RKxyibNOtAs/w-d-xo.html
What are those?!👞👈🏻👀
The narrator is awesome....reminds me of the voice in the sex ed videos from school
Sold his Les Paul to Clapton in 1966!
Would you say Andy Summers is the same skill level as a Steve vai or Guthrie Govan?
I'd compare him more to a Landau or Eric Johnson. Especially here there are lots of Johnson vibes, even though Andy is quite a bit older than all of them.
At that time he was fed up with sting and his ego..
4:20
Andy had the personality of yeast , the other two must have driven him mad with their antics
Andy Summers is fantastic, but Sting knew he could do it cheaper.
All that money and it sounds like some shitty Digitech multi-effects unit from the early 2000s lollll
perfect exemple of a guy who where a very good guitarist because he was in a great band , with a Genius, Sting, but later when the Genius was away ...he became rich i suppose lol but i try to listen to his own album ...theres no songs ! its a little boring i mean hes not mike stern ! but yes wth the police he been an innovative and influent !
He did write Omega Man...
Andy Summers was successful long before the Police. He was the only one of the three that had any kind of musical career before the Police. His chord voicings, use of effects, and style changed the way the guitar was approached forever. Sting probably would have become famous without the Police but not like he is now. Sting wrote Roxanne as a bassa nova. Without Andy and Stewart changing the song, no one would have ever heard of Roxanne.
Great guitarist, but ah the crap effects of the 80’s.
Fuck off the 80s were great better then the 90s and today
@@stevesavage3289 spot on
Alot of those "crap" effects are collectors items now.
lol, ok