Stewart Copeland, “Police Deranged for Orchestra.”

One weird thing about living under late capitalism is that everything has to be “reimagined.” For whatever reason (corporate profit) we need a live action “The Little Mermaid” and a Spielberg-ian “West Side Story” (which is, of course, a reimagined “Romeo and Juliet”). On Police Deranged for Orchestra, drummer Stewart Copeland reimagines a slew of hits from his former band with full orchestra, multiple vocalists and every flavor of ear candy available in the modern studio. The result is what Sigmund Freud described as “uncanny:” a strange mixture of the mysterious and familiar that’s a little unsettling.

You’ve heard The Police’s 1980 hit “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” but not with a full horn section and powerful female vocals. Much of the song’s melodic content in this new version is recapitulated by lush orchestral strings. I’m tempted to say it’s a little pretentious, but the lyrics in the original mention Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov, so perhaps the pretension is in keeping with that spirit. The Police themselves remixed this song for a 1986 greatest hits collection with heavy drum machines and synths. The results here are similarly disorienting.

Copeland distinguished himself as one of the best drummers in rock music with his intricate hi-hat work and the incorporation of reggae beats and accents. In the years since The Police went their separate ways, Copeland has become well known as a composer for films like 1983’s “Rumble Fish” and 1987’s “Wall Street.” So a reworking of his old band’s music using the compositional skills he’s honed over four decades makes sense.

Just like it makes sense for big acts to take their show to the Las Vegas for lucrative residencies. And that’s a good way to think of this. Just as Elvis added lots of bells and whistles to his fairly minimalist rock and roll when he got to Vegas, Copeland has taken the pop songs from his old power trio and really fleshed them out.

“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” gets much the same treatment with strings and synths. Imagine a big-budget production number to introduce Oprah at the Oscars. The completely new sound of the song offers some opportunities to appreciate the nuance of the songwriting. The “But my silent fears have gripped me” part is really cool, and Sting’s “E-yo-oh’s” fit right in.

Besides the jaunty flute music and water noises at its onset, “Message in a Bottle” is closer to the original than some of the others. The same is true for mega-hit “Every Breath You Take.” But “Roxanne” and the lesser-known “Demolition Man” are unrecognizable in places.

The album grew out of a series of live performances with a full orchestra that continue this summer with dates in Europe. Copeland is also releasing a book of journal notes from his days with The Police this year, as well as a reissue of his self-titled album as Klark Kent, his musical alter ego during his time with the band, which came out in April.

The Police were some of the best musicians in rock and roll. As a power trio, the band used minimalism to its advantage. “Roxanne” is one of the sparsest rock songs out there. Police Deranged for Orchestra employs all the ear candy sound engineers have at their disposal to salvage songs that don’t have the benefit of master songwriters like the Police. These bells and whistles aren’t necessarily needed. The originals were fine without them. But these re-imaginings allow the listener to hear the songs again for the first time and, there’s a lot to appreciate.

Follow writer David Gill at Twitter.com/saxum_paternus.