It hit me without warning, and the force of guitar geekism smacked me so hard that I found myself fighting back those tears of bliss that often plague Italians, soap-opera divas, and unrepentant sissies. I was drifting around Andy Summers' Venice Beach, California, office/ photo studio/rehearsal space when the Police guitarist casually plugged into his Bradshaw rig and launched into the thrilling, mesmerizing arpeggios of 'Message in a Bottle'. Even naked, without support from Sting's swooping bass line and Stewart Copeland's propulsive drums, the sheer beauty of Summers' tone, phrasing, and chord movement is extremely moving. It's also somewhat astonishing that the part still sounds modern and fresh 28 years after it first blasted from phonographs and car radios...