This is perhaps one of Sting\u2019s most brooding albums \u2013 and that\u2019s saying a lot for the man who gave us The Dream of The Blue Turtles <\/i>and The Soul Cages<\/i>. Interesting it is that this disc appears between those two. But \u2026Nothing Like The Sun <\/i>is redeemed by the artist\u2019s total investment in the music. <\/p>\n
Gone is much of the art-jazz pretentiousness of Blue Turtles <\/i>and the dour and sullen tone of Soul Cages<\/i>, Sting\u2019s \u201cdeath\u201d album. What\u2019s left are some of the most intelligent lyrics he\u2019s ever written and the most emotionally satisfying music he\u2019s ever composed. <\/p>\n
From the lilting sweep of Branford Marsalis\u2019 saxophone that levitates the opening song, \u201cThe Lazarus Heart,\u201d to Ken Helman\u2019s understated piano on the closer, \u201cThe Secret Marriage,\u201d \u2026Nothing Like The Sun <\/i>never is less than listenable. <\/p>\n
As a man trying not to fall in love, the narrator of \u201cBe Still My Beating Heart\u201d urges caution based on his past failed love affairs \u2013 even as he moves step by step closer to giving his heart again. He acknowledges the futility of running from love: \u201cI sink like a stone that\u2019s been thrown in the ocean \/ My logic has drowned in a sea of emotion.\u201d <\/p>\n
When I initially heard \u201cEnglishman In New York,\u201d I dismissed it as a nice little trifle \u2013 and it is constructed to feel that way. But underneath the veneer of the song is an important message about being \u201cyourself no matter what they say.\u201d <\/p>\n
Before settling in at the album\u2019s emotional and musical highlight, the exquisitely realized \u201cFragile,\u201d Sting makes us slog through the irredeemable \u201cHistory Will Teach Us Nothing\u201d and the beautiful and emotional, but overlong, \u201cThey Dance Alone (Gueca Solo).\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFragile\u201d has always been my favorite song from this album. It is one of those songs that feeds the soul, as well as the ears. But it seared itself into my brain after 9\/11. The live version, recorded on the disc All This Time <\/i>(2001), was recorded after the Twin Towers fell and while the entire country was still in shock. The lyrics took on mythic life at that point. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf blood will flow when flesh and steel are one \/ Drying in the colour of the evening sun \/ Tomorrow\u2019s rain will wash the stain away \/ But something in our minds will always stay \/ On and on the rain will fall \/ \u2026 How fragile we are.\u201d <\/p>\n
From that midpoint, the disc falters here and there but largely finishes strong. The big single, and the only really up-tempo song, \u201cWe\u2019ll Be Together,\u201d starts the second half off well, but \u201cRock Steady\u201d and an odd cover of Jimi Hendrix\u2019 \u201cLittle Wing\u201d are throwaways. Sting wouldn\u2019t make another disc this good until Ten Summoner\u2019s Tales <\/i>(1993) \u2013 and it\u2019s been largely downhill since then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":28837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6137],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-40336","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-sting","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40336"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}