a b Hepworth, David (2–15 October 1980). "The Police: Zenyatta Mondatta". Smash Hits. Vol.2, no.20. p.29.

a b Welch, Chris (October 1980). "There's nobody between us and the Beatles now!". Musicians Only. Archived from the original on 15 February 2003 . Retrieved 18 November 2020. Sting the literate crusader and social crusader emerges on Zenyatta Mondatta. The references to Vladimir Nabokov ( Don’t Stand So Close to Me), global suffering as theater ( Driven to Tears) and the brutality of thought ( De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da) were not the province of the average pop band. Add to that the increasingly sophisticated playing of The Police and you had what might have been the most perfect pop group since The Beatles. The rest are instrumentals, or mostly instrumental, as is the case with "Voices in My Head" and "Shadows in the Rain". The first has standout Copeland drumming while the second is driven by another great Sting bassline. "Behind My Camel" and the closing "The Other Way of Stopping" are completely instrumental however. "Behind My Camel" has a hypnotic feel to it, the sound of the Arabic influenced guitar just drills into your brain. "The Other Way of Stopping" has another great Copeland performance, and the ending with the interesting guitar effects finishes the album on a high note. I thought the trio’s first album, Outlandos d’Amour, was an instant classic, but they seemed to be running out of steam on Reggatta de Blanc. The group’s third album, however, might be the best thing they’ve ever done. It’s one of the few albums I consistently listen to from beginning to end, savoring every song along the way. Beyond the big hits, Canary in a Coalmine, Man in a Suitcase, Bombs Away and When the World Is Running Down… remain personal favorites of mine.

The vinyl replica mini-LP CDs have the usual high quality presentation complete with OBI strips (replicating original design), inner sleeve recreation, and booklet with Japanese notes and normally English lyrics. A second OBI-type strip actually wraps around the entire rear of the outer box and enthuses (in Japanese) about the benefits of SHM/SACD/DSD. Outer box contains lavish mini-LP CD Austriancharts.at – The Police – Zenyatta Mondatta" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 November 2020. Much greater success was around the corner. The follow-up to Zenyatta Mondatta, 1981’s Ghost In The Machine, went triple platinum in 2001. Their final studio set, 1983’s Synchronicity, broke all their previous records with a 17-week run at No.1 in America. It reached quadruple platinum status in 1984 and went eight-times platinum in 2001.

There’s a strong political message in the lyrics that has held up through the years, and it’s a fun song to play.Stewart Copeland said that the group arrived at the album's title after deciding it should roll off the tongue. Zenyatta and Mondatta are invented words, hinting at Zen, at Jomo Kenyatta, at the French for 'the world' ( le monde), and at reggatta, from the title of the previous Police album, Reggatta de Blanc. As Copeland explained: I said: “How about doing this, then?” And Sting said: “I’m not playing on that!” I actually believe he did bury the tape in the garden [laughs]. Stewart was actually up for working on it, so I just played the bass. The whole thing is kind of miraculous, because we never thought: “How can we make a hit?” All we had to do was be The Police. When Sting showed you and Stewart his songs for Zenyatta, and you two added your own parts, did he ever say something like: “Hey, that wasn’t how I envisioned this song. Why are you messing with it?” No, no. He would get it immediately. He’d say: “Now it’s sounding like something.” Zenyatta Mondatta was a worldwide hit, landing near the top of nearly a dozen national charts. More importantly, it launched The Police into the furious second half of their career which saw even more success in the near future. You’ve said that Zenyatta Mondatta was a critically important album, and then these time and travel impediments dropped into your lap. Did those pressures affect everyone’s temperament and creativity, or did you take it in stride and get to work?