Brand New Day: 1999/01

Mr Swing Sting... Sting returned to jazz at the concert in the Forum...

The speakers in the Forum let The Beatles and Abbey Road fade out in the middle of 'Here Comes The Sun King', and a few moments later Sting stood on stage. And Sting is probably the sun king of pop music. A musician anointed by the grace of the talent god and high above the changing inclinations of the times. At times, the guarantee of good taste and instrumental quality has resulted in sleep-inducing gourmet food, but on Wednesday night in the Forum, Sting seemed like an artist with a rekindled spark.

Surrounded by his team of permanent sensitive supermen - drummer Manu Katche, guitarist Dominic Miller and keyboardist Jason Rebello - bassist and singer Sting revealed from the start where he has found his new golden mean. With jazz inspiration as the link that connects then and now for the pop star, whose first group, Last Exit, was a jazz group. A self-confident artist like Sting must of course focus on his new album. With Branford Marsalis back on board, 'Brand New Day' picks up the 15-year-old jazz thread from Sting's solo debut, 'Dream Of The Blue Turtles', but it is also an album that stylistically wanders in exhaustingly many directions. But on stage, Sting returned with greater consistency to the Blue Turtles' stylish dream jazz. With trumpeter Chris Botti in a role that was at times as crucial as guitarist Dominic Miller's, Sting created a flexible and coherent universe with an elegant jazz infusion as the connecting element. A coherence Sting immediately marked by having the new song 'A Thousand Years' follow 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' from the 'Blue Turtles' album.

It was a long-sold-out Forum. Already in the second number Forum stood up and sang along, even though the music was in no way arranged according to any solid sing-along formula. The perception of Sting as a tradition from ancient times seemed like a myth when you saw the age composition of the audience. It was very mixed, and the young guys in smart, baggy trousers, who stood and twisted to the rhythms, were not a day over 18. But if you are 18, it is of course not so strange if you dream of becoming Mr. Tantric Sex with the title of pop star and super bassist on your business card! 'Perfect Love Gone Wrong' - a love story and a dog's life - was presented by Manu Katche in the role of a French-speaking rapper, but otherwise it was a bit of a game for the gallery. With Dominic Miller's crystalline, fluid guitar playing as his instrumental bow, Sting and the band crossed back and forth in a relaxed and intense style between the songs from 'Brand New Day' and Sting standards like 'Mad About You' and 'Fields Of Gold'. Never overexerted, never unambitious, Sting fired off almost the entire new album without any pain, even if some of the new songs seem more contrived than they really are.

'An Englishman In New York' with the call 'Be yourself / no matter what they say' seemed like the evening's motto for an evening of what can best be described as credible stadium jazz. The music functioned as a flexible unit, but was open and unobtrusive in a way that made it both possible and obvious to enjoy Sting's relaxed phrasing, the musicians' discreet charm and the precision of Sting's best songs. 'Put away your make-up/ my mind is made up', Sting sang when the band first got their full arm with the Police hit 'Roxanne'. She completely toppled Forum from the front row to the back, as planned. The extra tracks initially took the form of a more predictable and straightforward hit parade, including a stripped-down version of 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You', but then Sting let himself slip into a fine acoustic solo version of 'Message In A Bottle' before a sensitive and subdued 'Fragile' emphasised that Sting had not come to bathe in the crowd's praise, but to emphasise that he is still a loner with a vision. An Englishman in New York, a jazzman in Forum, an alien in the pop music thrift store.

(c) Politiken by Kim Skotte

There is something inhuman about Sting...

How does he get away with being so down to earth normal and at the same time a permanent resident in the Champions League of pop-stars? The concert this evening didn't give us an answer, but showed us that this is still the case. After two hours and 22 songs it would have been easier to find baby seals in the rainforest then discontent faces among the thousands of spectators at the show.

Even though he was relaxed and for years has had his stuff together, it was by no means a bored singer that played for a sold-out concert hall in Copenhagen's Forum. He very eloquently stopped at all the stations in his long career. Even the five albums he recorded with the Police were represented with a song each.

With no hurry Sting started of with 'A Thousand Years'. But the audience quickly got out of their seats when the first tones of 'If You Love Somebody' were struck. Then the tempo slowed down, and it was time to sit down again. This pattern repeated itself throughout the concert. Police songs like 'Roxanne' and 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' harvested some of the biggest applause and brought the audience to their feet. The drummer Manu Katche presented the only surprise, when during 'Perfect Love Gone Wrong' he suddenly came to the front of the stage and rapped in French.

The five man band were natural equilibrists to their fingertips. Naturally, for Sting has always set the highest standards for musicians in his attempt to fuse jazz and world music with a broad appeal. As a songwriter he has always been ambitious and sophisticated, but unfortunately his eagerness to be a man of the world is threatening to take over. At times we found ourselves in a world music fusion hell. But only a few moments later the band turned around, and for instance 'When The World Is Running Down' had a nasty swing to it.

And so everything was forgiven. Other highlights were a nightly stroll through the streets of New Orleans in 'Moon Over Bourbon Street', where Sting incorporated a successful imitation of Louis Armstrong. The trumpet player Chris Botti should be congratulated for his contributions to the especially quiet numbers.

With an acoustic guitar Sting single-handedly delivered 'Message In A Bottle' as the first encore. Here, the distinguished Englishman had to hide a smile as the audience couldn't sing the backup to his improvisations. The whole band ended the concert with a beautiful unplugged rendition of 'Fragile'. These two songs got me wondering about whether a complete acoustic solo concert or an unplugged performance wouldn't have been a more satisfying way to experience Sting.

During the concert Sting frequently put his hands behind his back and erected his spine in the way that shows you have performed a satisfying piece of work. And that was also the impression the concert gave. Well done, but without risking anything. It was distinctly not an evening of surprises, but if everyone could deliver their goods in the same fashion, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs would be out of business in the morning.

(c) BT Online by Lars Henrik Moller/translated by Carl Gjerdrum