Mercury Falling - Sting (CD 1996)

Song List
(the links will take you to my reviews of the CD Single for each song)
The Hounds Of Winter
I Hung My Head
Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot
I Was Brought To My Senses
You Still Touch Me
I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying
All Four Seasons
La Belle Dame Sans Regrets
Valparaiso
Lithium Sunset

Mercury Falling (all quotes throughout can be found at sting.com)

"There are so many references attached to mercury. I mean, it's a metal, it's a liquid, it's an element, it's a god, it's a planet. It's an idea - 'mercurial,' I think, is a valuable description. I use the phrase initially very literally. You know, it's getting cold, the thermometer's falling. And then I use it symbolically at the end. I love the phrase. It's very resonant, full of so many things."

The Passing Seasons

Sting's fifth solo (studio) album Mercury Falling, flowering in the spring of 1996, was recorded at Sting's home, Lake House, in Wiltshire, England. Sting cultivated this recording in the landscapes and seasons found outside his doorstep - the meadows that were once Fields Of Gold, now frozen in winter, providing the stage for several songs. Much of the album draws on the transformation that occurs moving from winter into spring, the idea that what seems lost or dead can be reborn again plays heavily throughout Mercury Falling. The album produced three successful radio hits, with much better results in Great Britain where they've learned to tolerate Sting's more eclectic songs. I've reviewed these three songs as CD singles; click on the links in the song list above to read more about these songs.

Mercurial At Best

"There are songs on this record about accepting things you can't change. And there are songs about romantic situations that don't have a happy ending. It's not the standard fare of pop music at all. But if pop music is just about being in a gang or dancing or frivolous youth stuff, then I'm in the wrong business. If it's fuddy duddy music so be it. But this is what I am and I'm proud of it."

By the time of the writing of this album, Sting had explored a lot of musical territory, venturing into many genres, tweaking convention in some of them, creating new combinations in others. For Mercury Falling, Sting drew upon his nostalgia for the sounds of the music he enjoyed as a young man - the Stax sounds of the Memphis Horns. But of course, being Sting, he had to change it up a bit. The signature Stax sound is there, punctuated with trumpet hits and laid upon a solid foundation of the organ and a simple rhythm guitar (best examples - All Four Seasons and Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot), but Sting mixes in some interesting rhythms and jazz chords to firmly claim the sound as his own. (Even if he does keep stealing riffs from other people - see my explanation in You Still Touch Me) Sting seems very comfortable throughout this record; producing the album from it's conception to it's birth entirely from his home obviously had a profound effect on the entire project. Sting sounds relaxed and confident in his craft, and the songs benefit greatly from the strength he finds in the comforts of his country home.

Because He Can

Sting's confidence went so far as to include a song sung entirely in French, the tropically tinged La Belle Dame Sans Regrets, a quiet madrigal Valparaisothat transforms into a jazz invention, and a song that explores at least three interpretations of the phrase I Hung My Head - not many songs out there tell the story of an "accidental" shooting and it's outcome, not to mention doing it in the oddest rhythm you've ever heard. For you music majors out there, I Hung My Head is written in 9/8 time which should be straightforward enough - three sets of three eighths - count out the following numbers with the beat on the emphasized number:

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But does Sting take the easy road? Of course not - he plays it as if it's in 4/4 time with an extra note. Sting could play this song entirely in 4/4 if he wanted to and it would still work - the extra note stamps it as a true Sting song (though some just ask "WHY?" hanging their heads in frustration) If you want to follow the beat on this song, you have to count thus:

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Give it a try - just don't sprain your ankle trying to tap your foot with this song...

Hot or Cold?

Though the title and thematic setting of Mercury Falling and it's songs are set firmly in a frozen winter, the collection does not come up cold. The hopeful lyrics speak of the spring to come, and Sting's confidence proves a warming influence throughout. By comparison to his earlier material, Mercury Falling combines the more intellectual lyrics of The Soul Cages with some of the fun that was evident in Ten Summoner's Tales. However, Mercury Falling seems to be the Sting record that I return to more often than others - I say, grab a warm coat, and then take a walk with Sting through the frozen meadows, soon to be fields of gold...

My Sting Reviews

Singles, Maxi Singles and other Song Collections
All This Time [Single]
You Still Touch Me [Maxi Single]
I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying [Maxi Single]
Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot [Maxi Single]

Albums
The Dream Of The Blue Turtles
Nothing Like The Sun
The Soul Cages
Ten Summoner's Tales
Mercury Falling
Brand New Day
All This Time
Sacred Love

Concert Videos
The Soul Cages Concert Tour

Great Music to Play While Wishing You Had A Backyard Like Sting's