Even his bass playing has always sounded uninspired, to me.
Russ
I have to disagree Russ. When you listen to his bass lines they are very much more syncopated than most rock bass lines but still propel the music he is playing. Most rock bass lines are very much plain 4 on the floor style. In The Police the rhythm section was never standard rhythm. Sting and Stuart Copeland played very interesting rhythms that were very difficult to cover. It was always quite complex.