Nothing Like The Sun [Gold Disc CD] - Sting (CD 1991)

Continuing the jazz theme of his patchy solo debut'The Dream of the blue turtles' this album excels it in every way.I own all of Stings albums and 'Nothing like the sun' has remained a firm favourite of mine
here is an overview of each track


Lazarus heart -the album begins with chirpy african drums and a wonderful flute sound.The instruments here, including the guitars are very subtle, yet very uplifting, stings voice is faultless even if it is a challenge to understand him at times.Beautiful!


Be still my beating heart- calm,thought provoking and quite sad in terms of lyrical content.this time,the music is delicate and slowtempo, quite different to the opening track which brimmed with positivity,beautiful in a shaded way.

Englishman in new york- ah, the big hit of this album, a great mid-tempo track with Sting sounding very confident and cool about himself, and all the better for it.The highlight is the surprisingly loud drum solo which seems to appear out of nowhere,then it disappears and the mood returns to calm and collected.A musical and lyrical treasure.


History will teach us nothing-Stings liking towards reggae hasnt completely vanished.This track contains a funky reggae beat, witty ,thought provoking lyrics which you can't help smile at, and a catchy little chant as the song ends "know your human rights" be what you come here for".My personal favourite.Like nothing else on the album


They dance alone- Continuing the previous tracks theme on human rights,in a more serious fashion,the song appears quite depressing at first, but after a few listens the beauty of the music and lyrics shine through, especially the passionate spanish vocals.Another catchy chant here, "one day we'll dance on their graves, one day we'll sing our freedom".A deeply emotional, unforgettable song about black slavery


Fragile- Another song that evolves around the unspeakable behaviour of human beings, on the previous track it was slavery, whilst on 'Fragile' Sting is more concerned with war and blood shed.Very moving with a meloncolic spanish guitar.Very relaxing, and if you listen carefully you can hear those same african drums from 'Lazarus heart'


We'll be together - This Did quite well in the music charts. Not a bad song by any means, it is uplifting and poppy, giving the listener a break from the rather depressing mood of the last few tracks.Sounds near identical to 'Set them free' ( a chart topping hit from his Dream of the blue turtles LP)but that can only be a good thing.refreshing jazz/pop!


Straight to my heart - musically quite bizarre.Beginning with a hurried caribbean drum, then a strange sounding instrument comes in ( i think its a percussion) anyway, a great song with some nice handclaps, a cheery flute and Sting doing his best bob marley impression.This one takes a few listens



Rock steady- i love this one,an instantly likeable song, telling a Noah's ark kind of tale.The lyrics are very engaging and evoke magical pictures in your mind.In terms of imagination, the strongest track on the album.Rocksteady is a welcome return to the cool mid-tempo jazz of 'Englishman in new york'



Sister moon- Beautiful with a dark edge to it, rather like 'Be still my beating heart'.The song is about the fascination that the moon holds for the insane.Ambient and quite haunting, not the best track on here, still it doesnt fail to impress.


Little wing- An intriguing cover version of the Jimmi hendrix classic.I havent heard the original to make a comparison, but i cant imagine it being much better than Stings adaption.Miles davis's arranger Gil evans, makes a worthy appearence on this track.Smooth talking jazz at its best


Secret marriage- Another slow tempo affair,i found this track hard to enjoy,it took quite a few listens.But it is rewarding if you have the patience.