Description
The Police – Ghost In The Machine – Picture Disc Vinyl Record
“Limited Edition Picture Disc Featuring the alternate, ‘original’ track-listing and sequence – Includes three additional tracks – I Burn For You, Once Upon A Daydream & Shambelle”
This alternate track listing was apparently genuinely considered for release (a production master was created) and the sequencing features three additional tracks: ‘I Burn For You’ (the single mix from the ‘Brimstone and Treacle’ soundtrack), ‘Once Upon A Daydream’ (eventually released on Side B of the 1983 single ‘Synchronicity II’) and ‘Shambelle’ (which ended up as Side B for ‘Invisible Sun’ single).
The songs ‘Spirits In The Material World’, ‘Rehumanise Yourself’, ‘One World (Not Three)’ and ‘Hungry For You’ all feature Stewart Copeland counting in the tracks. This audio does not feature on the 1981 release.
The Police’s Ghost in the Machine, released in 1981, represents a bold artistic evolution for the band, and the picture disc edition adds a visual flair to one of their most ambitious and stylistically diverse albums. As their fourth studio album, Ghost in the Machine signaled a shift away from the lean, reggae-inflected new wave of their earlier work toward a more layered, textured sound that embraced synthesizers, horns, and darker philosophical themes. The title itself suggests a tension between human emotion and technology — a concept reflected both lyrically and sonically throughout the record.
Visually, the picture disc release is especially striking, featuring the now-iconic digital-style cover artwork: an LED-style display depicting the band members in stylized, alien-like headshots using red bars and dots — a minimalist but haunting visual that underscores the album’s themes of dehumanization and modern disconnect. As a collector’s item, the picture disc format enhances the futuristic feel of the music and serves as a distinctive piece of rock memorabilia.
Ghost in the Machine marks a clear departure from the sparse trio arrangements of albums like Outlandos d’Amour and Zenyatta Mondatta. Here, Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland embrace a more expansive sonic palette. Tracks like “Spirits in the Material World” and “Invisible Sun” layer brooding synth lines with political lyrics that explore existential questions and global unrest. Meanwhile, the hit single “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” offers one of the band’s most upbeat and melodic moments — a bright, piano-driven pop song that contrasts sharply with the album’s more introspective corners.
Other standouts like “Demolition Man” and “Too Much Information” lean into funk, jazz, and post-punk, with Sting’s prominent bass lines and socially conscious lyrics pushing The Police into more experimental territory. The addition of saxophone parts — a new element for the band — gives the album a jazz-tinged edge and deepens its atmospheric mood. There’s a tension running through the record between personal alienation and societal critique, all wrapped in tightly crafted, rhythmically intricate arrangements.
Ghost in the Machine was both a commercial and critical success, cementing The Police’s place as one of the most innovative and commercially viable rock bands of the early ’80s. It paved the way for their final studio album, Synchronicity, and reflected a band willing to evolve both musically and thematically.
In picture disc format, Ghost in the Machine becomes more than just a listening experience — it’s a visual statement that mirrors the album’s futuristic concerns. For fans and collectors alike, it’s a unique way to engage with an album that challenged genre boundaries and captured the anxieties and hopes of its era.
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic slip sleeve
Track Listing
Invisible Sun
Demolition Man
Secret Journey
Darkness
Spirits In The Material World
Too Much Information
Omegaman
One World (Not Three)
Rehumanize Yourself
I Burn For You
Hungry For You (J’Aurais Toujours Faim De Toi)
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Once Upon A Daydream
Shambelle
