Stewart Copeland's 6 career-shaping records

Still recovering from The Police's 2007-2008 mammoth worldwide reunion tour, Stewart Copeland is back to the grind. This time he's writing a concerto for a gamelan and orchestra, a task which even Copeland admits to making him sound rather "pompous," and "even worse than Sting".

Regardless, the inimitable sticksman recently took time out of his 34-year-strong drumming career to talk to our friends over at Rhythm magazine. They've got the skinny on all Copeland's latest projects, life after touring and the six records that helped shaped that long and illustrious career…

6 defining Stewart Copeland moments

1. Curved Air - Midnight Wire (1975)

The first album Stewart Copeland ever made. This was the rejected version - not the LP that was released.

2. The Police - Reggatta de Blanc (1979)

Second album from The Police, this one boasted two number one UK hits (Message In A Bottle and Walking On The Moon). Copeland contributed to songwriting, too.

3. Stewart Copeland - Rumble Fish: OST (1983)

Copeland composed this score for Francis Ford Coppola because he was inspired by the "absolute miserable hell" of recording The Police's Synchronicity album. Nice.

4. Oysterhead - The Grand Pecking Order (2001)

A project born when Copeland played with Primus bassist Les Claypool and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio at the 2000 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

5. Stewart Copeland - La Notte Della Taranta (2007)

This title translates to Night Of The Tarantula. It makes the list because it's a live album: the only type Copeland is interested in recording these days, apparently.

6. The Police - Certifiable (2008)

The album that captures the band live on their aforementioned reunion tour - after a 23 year hiatus.

You can read, in Stewart Copeland's own words, why these particular records mattered so much in the current issue of Rhythm magazine, available now.