Time lapse judgment

by Paul Burmeister

When Police released Ghost in the Machine in 1981 I was excited to review it for the college newspaper. My memory is I was cool to it, or cooler to it than Police's preceding album, Zenyatta Mondatta. Later Synchronicity became my favorite release by this group, and I forgot about Ghost.
But almost 40 years have passed, and I'm listening to Ghost (remastered) again, not having returned to it until now. I'm not sure what has changed during that time; me certainly, but what about me in relation to changes of judgment? I'm can't find a reason not to like anything about the serious fun that is Ghost in the Machine. The music has aged as well as the great cover art. I know a little about the group's dynamics and its move away from the raw trio sound, but I can put all of that out of mind and listen to this, from start to finish, and over and over.
Favorite cuts for a playlist: the first and the last—"Spirits in the Material World" and "Darkness."