History

When the Police's debut album came out on Nov. 2, 1978, it sounded like little else on the music landscape at the time. The band was lumped in with punk and burgeoning New Wave groups at the time, but it played a mix of reggae and rock-inspired pop with all the time-shifting complexities found in prog and jazz.

They were floored – literally – when Neil Bogart of Casablanca Records made his pitch.

Sessions actually began a year earlier, when the group was recording their annual Christmas message.

'Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park' debuted as an NBC 'Movie of the Week' on Oct. 28, 1978.

The 2005-06 tour featuring former Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers fronting Queen had been, at best, a head-scratcher. At worst, it was an embarrassing mismatch, since Rodgers' street-wise R&B-laced style was miles away from Queen's super-sized pomp.

It may have been even better except for some last-minute tinkering.

He'd begun just a few months after the last tracks for his second LP wrapped up.

As opposed to the marathon session that produced most most of the Beatles' first album, their follow-up, 'With the Beatles,' was recorded during a series of dates in the summer and fall of 1963. The final day of recording took place on the morning of Oct. 23, 1963 at Studio Two at Abbey Road.

So many of these songs had been shaped and defined through appearances in their legendary live sets.

On Oct. 20, 1978, the Police played their first-ever concert in the United States of America, with two late night sets at New York City's famous (and now closed) CBGB's.

Selling millions of records has helped more than a few artists mellow out, but watching their debut album climb the charts only made Pearl Jam angrier. They took out their aggression on the follow-up, 1993's 'Vs.'

Going into this album, they were still trying to find solid footing and an identity.