"Spirits in the Material World" was written by Sting on a Casio keyboard while in a truck. It was his first experience using a synthesizer. Andy Summers' presence on the studio track is considerably less pronounced than on the vast majority of Police songs, and in fact, Sting wanted to record it without him entirely. Having written the song on a synthesizer, he wanted for it to use synthesizer instead of guitar, and to play the synthesizer part himself. Summers thought the synthesizer part should be replaced by guitar, and after considerable argument, they compromised by recording the part on both instruments, with a mix such that the synthesizer drowned out much of Summers's guitar. In live performances this part was played on guitar only, with synthesizer used only for background chords. The bass part for the song is distinctively complex, with music producer and cognitive psychologist Daniel Levitin writing that it "takes this rhythmic play to such an extreme that it can be hard to tell where the downbeat even is." The track was recorded at Air Studios Montserrat. The lyrics comment on the nature of man's existence and the failure of his earthly institutions. "Spirits in the Material World" eventually saw single release in 1981 as the follow-up to "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," making it the third single from Ghost in the Machine in Britain and the second in America. The single, while not as successful as its predecessors, peaked at No. 12 in Britain and No. 11 in America. It was followed up by "Secret Journey" in America. The UK B-side of "Spirits in the Material World," "Low Life," was written by Sting around 1977 in the back of a German tour bus. Although the band's drummer Stewart Copeland claimed to have "always loved the song," guitarist Andy Summers claimed that "Neither Stewart or I liked 'Low Life.' I thought the lyric was snobby and it had a kind of corny jazziness to it." The American B-Side, an instrumental song titled "Flexible Strategies", was recorded in Canada while the band jammed for ten minutes while working on Ghost in the Machine, when word came for them to create a B-Side. According to Stewart Copeland, recording this particular song was a disgrace.
Live performances
The band performed the song live during the Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity tours and it was also included on their first North American setlist during their reunion tour. Since the break-up of the Police, Sting has often performed the song on solo tours. In all live performances, the song is played in a different key from the studio version. In most live versions of the song, Sting starts playing the original bassline, then switches to a more simplified one to play while singing.
Personnel
Sting – bass guitar, synthesizer, saxophone, lead and backing vocals
Andy Summers – guitar
Stewart Copeland – drums
Olaf Kubler – saxophone on "Low Life"
Track listing
7": A&M / AMS 8194 (UK)
"Spirits in the Material World" – 2:59
"Low Life" – 3:45
7": A&M / AM 2390 (US)
"Spirits in the Material World" – 3:01
"Flexible Strategies" – 3:44
Charts
Cover versions
In 1991, Michael Manring did an instrumental version of the song on his album Drastic Measures.
In 1995, reggae artist Pato Banton covered the song for the soundtrack to . Sting is featured in the song. The song entered the UK charts at number 36 in January 1996 and stayed there for two weeks. Banton later rerecorded the song for his greatest hits album in 2008.
The Puerto Rican metal bandPuya did a Spanish-language version called "Almas" for the Police tribute albumOutlandos d'Americas.
