Sacred Love - Sting (CD 2003)

Some cd's I take to right away, happily bebopping along and enjoying. Others I dislike intensely on the first listen, and they get flung into the depths, never to be listened to again.

And then, there's this one.

Sting's first collection of original music since Brand New Day was quite a surprise to me. As with most cds, there's some things I like and dislike about this one. But one thing I noted was that while Sting's basic style is still there, there's a new level of maturity to his music, and in several of the tracks, he approaches the sublime.

Working with the same team of musicians that he used with BND and the live album, All This Time, the mood varies from a very polished, clean sound to the chaos found in a jam session. While I can apprieciate the creative energy found in cutting loose and seeing what happens, on this cd, it fails and spectacularly so.

Using the same blend of technopop and mideastern blends, it's when Sting sings about what he knows best -- namely, love and emotional ties -- that the music works.

Inside
I confess, I really like this song. The lyrics are gutsy and strong, and while you think it's a love song, this is the sort of love that drives you crazy, and you wonder how you got mixed up in it in the first place. The pace is frenetic, and breathless, and sets the mood for the rest.

Send Your Love
The opening flamenco beat soon slips into a mideastern drumline that really works well. The beat is fast, and works really well for dancing.

Whenever I Say Your Name
Mary J. Blige steps in to make this a rather lovely duet. The mideastern drums and riffs are used to open, before slipping into a very cool, rather styled ballad. Blige gives it plenty of funk and soul, and if you listen carefully enough, you'll hear Sting blending in lyrics from his earlier songs, which makes it rather fun to listen to.

Dead Man's Rope
Cowboy blues, full of regrets of a life wasted and over. It's a damn depressing song, despite the use of acoustic guitar, and light instrumentation. Some of the song reaches back into the time of the Police, including "Walking in your Footsteps" from Synchronicity.

Never Coming Home
What a man might be thinking when he wakes up and finds that his wife has left for good. It's interesting, but the vocals get muddy in spots, and get drowned out partway through.

Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing
Rather polished, very smooth and jazzy, this one is interesting to listen to for the lyrics alone. You'll find yourself going back and giving it another try, despite the banal lyrics about a young car thief daydreaming.

Let's Forget About the Future
Someone got cute with the keyboard and did some programmed voices. It's ok once, but after the tenth or twentieth time, it's annoying. Still, I rather liked it, and found it one of those tunes that get you up and moving.

This War
I hated this track. It's loud, noisy, and nearly unbearable to pick out any sort of lyrics amidst the racket. You too might find yourself lunging for the fast forward button.

The Book of My Life
Next to the opening track, this is my favorite song off this cd. Where the previous track was raucous noise, this one is full of magic, and sublime. The lyrics are haunting, and stay with you. In fact, I'll go so far and state that this track made buying the cd worth it. It's a reflective song about being an adult, and the violin solos by Anoushka Shankar are simply beautiful.

Sacred Love
This one brings it all to a nice conclusion, echoing the earlier tracks, and we get more mature sound.

Send Your Love Listen (remix)
Rehashing an earlier track into an overly loud dance mix, this is one track that I've already programmed the player into skipping. After about thirty seconds you might be finding yourself doing the same.

This cd isn't going to appeal to everyone. The musical style wanders from the love-ballads that Sting is so famous for, to a raging guitar mish-mash on one cut that was impossible to listen to. But when you are one of the musical giants in the pop world, you have the freedom to make what you want to, rather than what the producers think will sell.