Mercury Falling - Sting (CD 1996)

Mercury Falling is a short, sweet piece of work, Sting's silver plate on the dinner table of the endless mid-90's array of pop, rock, punk and ska hybrids. It was almost as much of a relief then as it is now to see that a guy like Sting remained oblivious to all that crap and continued to go on doing what he does best.

This is not anywhere near my favorite CD of Sting's, but that has more to do with the fact that it's only ten songs than with the music itself. Take the depressingly slow and somber tone of the homestretch, throw in a "half song" and royally screw up the mood at the end, and you have the closest thing to a "con" I have with Mercury Falling. Oh yeah, and then there's that abonimable pop hornball "You Still Touch Me". I have no problems with the rest of it though.

"Hounds of Winter" kicks it off with a flurry of drums and a quietly uneasy melody which transforms with haunting radiance. Sting's voice frosts over the proverbial snowbank of darkness with a story that's tragic, or so it seems. "I can't believe she won't be here anymore," he says, and there's no telling if "she" is a dog or a person, let alone if the hounds have anything to do with it (though that's what I gather). Later, he goes out, either to face the same death ("The hounds of winter, they got me in their sights") or to finish every last one of them off. There's a lot of empty story to fill in, much like the emptiness that "fills" a forest in the dead of January.

Another of Sting's classic "funny tragedies", "I Hung My Head", follows. One day, he's practicing his aim on a distant horse rider, and accidentally shoots the guy. The story goes all the way through guilt and shame, to the day of his execution. Then, the rider makes a last appearance so Sting can ride off into the sunset with him. Again, this could be before or after the execution. Hey, anything is possible. The 9/8 beat might throw off a less-seasoned Stinghead, but the mostly assured feel of the melody makes it a comforting song to listen to.

The first single, "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot", is a more straightforward number. Gospel singers sing behind the most plain beat you can imagine. The spinning camera in this video looks pretty shoddy compared to the similar effect that would be used three years later in The Matrix. But Sting more or less "did it" first, unbeknownst to many. And probably, unbeknownst to me, it was done before then...

"I Was Brought To My Senses" is a real highlight, opening much in the same vein as a Nothing Like The Sun track with only Sting and a distant cello. Then, it morphs into a cheery ditty with another irregular beat and the sound of a pure epiphany. "The wounds that she gave me were the wounds that would heal me." Yeah, buddy, I hear ya.

There was actually a time that I liked "You Still Touch Me", even after it became a single. Now it has suffered unfathomable overplay at the Pick N Save, and whenever I hear that "Soul Man" intro, I just crap my pants. Fortunately, Sting's shot at country brings things back to more bearable levels. "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" was good enough as a country song that Toby Keith would go on to record a version and invite Sting to sing with him. This opened it up for Dad and me to sing the song together at Karaoke many a time. Great little song for all those who have witnessed or been victim of the tragedy of divorce, especially when kids were involved.

Sting fills in the slow jazz quota with "All Four Seasons", a song about his "baby" and her ever-present multiple personality order. This song is not all that slow, though, and does unravel Sting's rockier side at a moment. Leave it to Sting to compare a woman to a thoroughbred horse and make it sound flattering. I still think it's pretty funny when I hear it.

Things get slower with "La Belle Dame Sans Regrets", in which Sting sings entirely in French (duh). You probably won't grasp much more than that the chick has no regrets, and the beat itself wouldn't be so tiring if Dido didn't have to steal it for "Thank You". Otherwise, I haven't much feeling one way or the other. The use of a different language does encourage you to pay more attention to the coarse, earthy texture of Sting's voice which can be tantalizing when the mood is right.

"Valparaiso" is better, but to this day I've yet to successfully find a really good interpretation (not that I've tried all that much). I think it's like the point-of-view of the missing boyfriend from "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)". The bridge of this song is really nice, though, as is the closing minute of instrumental soup. Reminds me of the way "They Dance Alone" ends.

I mentioned earlier that the mood swing is abrupt here, and it is. Basically that's only because we're at the end of the album, and Sting had a great idea to do a song about a lithium sunset. Lithium is more commonly known as a drug, but rumor has it that a sunset also puts off lithium, so that would explain why people love to watch sunsets. ("Heal my soul, oh lithium sunset") "Lithium Sunset" is basically a short countryish tune, and ends the album the same way it started, with "mercury falling". Kind of makes me want to start it over and hear "Hounds of Winter" again, but life beckons.

And so does mine. I'd say Mercury Falling is worth a listen for anyone just 'cause of the first half. But if you're in it for the long haul, it's a good idea to "enlist with the Stingheads" first. Interviews start Monday.