I was a big Police fan and thought Sting was hit-or-miss as a solo act, but his albums trended downward after 1993's fantastic Ten Summoner's Tales (I blame Kipper, whatever that is). Metacritic has the album rated at 66 and that's generous. My favorite description of this CD comes from an E! Online review:
"Rife with hyper-marketable flamenco guitars and jazz pianos, it's world music for people whose idea of adventure is a trip to Banana Republic."I bought this CD upon its release, listened to it once, didn't care for it, and haven't listened to it again until today. Here we go.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #3 (Oct 18, 2003)
Tracks: Bleh. I can't believe this is the songwriting we get from the man who wrote If I Ever Lose My Faith In You and Roxanne. This CD is all about the sound, not the songs. For a minute, I thought the collaboration with Mary J. Blige, Whenever I Say Your Name, was pretty good, then I realized the song's pseudo-R&B vibe is good only when compared to the other bad songs on this release. For the most part, the songs are just boring. I guess the best parts would be the piano solo on Never Coming Home and, if you ignore the lyrics, the title track. Sting is a smart guy (just ask him), it looks like he was smart enough to know he couldn't write good music anymore; as of this writing, he hasn't released any original songs since this release.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember buying this CD upon its release, listening to it once, not caring for it, and not listening to it again until today.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Roxanne 97 (Puff Daddy Remix) (1997)
Mercury Falling (1996)
Ten Summoner's Tales (1993)
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