Nothing Like The Sun: 1987/88

Ring-a-ding Sting - English rocker's how could do with a little more substance and a little less style...

Sting is one of the most gifted, talented and intelligent rock stars. But he doesn't always trust this intelligence. The sophisticated English rocker admits to making calculated career moves, such as writing thin pop songs he knows will sell and shamelessly trading on his good looks. But you can usually overlook such excesses because he's a growing, challenging figure who has written a lot of good songs, on his own and with the Police.

Last night at the Coliseum, however, he went too far. Although the 2? hour show had some good moments - especially the Police songs and a rousing cover of Jimi Hendrix' 'Little Wing' - overall it was too cool and smug, like something you'd get from Frank Sinatra or some other show-biz legend. Worse yet, the concert sometimes resorted to gimmicks and pandering.

Sting is too good an artist to have to resort to tricks. There is no need for him to do cute dances, shake his behind at the crowd like Tom Jones in Las Vegas, try to goose the girl back-up singer or play to the TV camera (the show was projected onto a big screen above the stage). His show does not have to have sing-alongs or bright lights shined onto the audience - the most offensive new rock-show gimmick - or fake endings designed to milk applause.

And he doesn't have to take his shirt off (of course it got the desired response - screams of delight from women). All Sting needs to do is sing his songs and be real. And that's all his fans expect of him.

The few times that he straightforwardly delivered a song last night were among the most enjoyable parts of the show, such as the brooding, enigmatic 'Fortress Around Your Heart' and the moving song about the mothers of the missing persons in Chile 'They Dance Alone' (which included a sobering film of some of the women as they joined Sting on stage recently in Buenos Aires).

The Police songs got the most response from the capacity audience - the crowd lustily sang along on every one, from 'Bring On The Night'/'When The World Is Running Down' to 'King Of Pain'. 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', and 'Message In A Bottle'.

Of the songs he has written since going solo, among the best last night were 'Sister Moon' and 'Be Still My Beating Heart', because both were oases of calm, with slow, jazzy music and fine singing, and 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free', because it's such a good love song.

The Hendrix bit was the centrepiece of the show, with lots of action by Sting and his seven-piece band. The long, outstanding guitar solo by Jeff Campbell was a show-stopper, although the 'Star Spangled Banner' ending, ala Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, was predictable.

Sting started the song with a riff from Hendrix's 'Voodoo Chile', played on acoustic guitar. The song featured his most sensitive singing of the night. He added a quote from the Beatles' 'From Me To You' to the lyrics and it worked perfectly. It would have been nice if he had said something about this being Hendrix's hometown.

Of the other band members, Branford Marsalis was outstanding, as usual, on sax - although he looked uncomfortable in some of the dance stretches, especially the twist. Keyboardist Kenny Kirkland was funky and eclectic, weaving soul, jazz and blues licks into his fine playing. The percussion work of Minu Cinelu was excellent throughout, but especially on 'Fragile', a chilling song about terrorism, which he and Sting performed as a duo. The band also included female bassist Tracy Wormworth (formerly of the Waitresses), keyboardist Delmar Brown and a new drummer Jean-Paul Ceccarelli.

A couple of TV cameramen seemed like band members, because they roamed the stage at will and were as a much a presence as the musicians. TV cameras have become a regular part of such shows, but seldom has an artists allowed them to invade the stage so brazenly. It made for some tight close-ups - you could see Sting's pupils, his fingernails as they plucked the guitar strings and even the brand name inside the hole of his acoustic guitar (it was a Gibson, Chet Atkins model).

The TV system was a snazzy one, with lots of visual effects such as slowing and freezing images, breaking up the picture, dividing the screen into four parts and altering the colour. But who cares? You don't go to a rock concert to watch TV, you go to hear music. The projection system should be secondary, not the star of the show. It was another disappointment in a disappointing night.

(c) The Seattle Times by Patrick MacDonald

Sting takes fans on a powerful musical romp...

No fans were loitering on the concourse or hanging out at the souvenir tables during Sting's concert last night at the Coliseum.

Nobody wanted to miss this concert, a powerful, three-hour showcase of songs from Sting's two recent solo albums, 'The Dream Of The Blue Turtles' and 'Nothing Like The Sun'.

With the help of a strong, star-studded band that included saxophonist Branford Marsalis, percussionist Mino Cinelu and keyboardist Delmar Brown, Sting took the capacity crowd on a musical adventure through the familiar and not-so-familiar landscapes of contemporary pop, rock'n'roll, jazz, reggae and Brazilian samba.

From a purely pop perspective the concert was a great success.

Though his recent musical experiments have been called pretentious by serious jazz fans, Sting is leading his primarily rock-orientated audience in interesting new directions. Who knows where this may lead in future.

Last night it led to a great time.

Here was an audience consisting primarily of high school and college-age fans - with as number of older fans who have followed Sting since his early days with The Police - celebrating a fusion of musical styles rarely heard in today's concert arena.

When Sting took the stage shortly after 8pm, the audience greeted him with an explosive ovation and stayed on its feet through the entire show, which was divided into two separate but similar sets. Most of the show focused on songs from his most recent album '...Nothing Like The Sun'.

Adding a dramatic touch was a giant video screen that captured each exciting moment, including a playful pat on the rump he gave his female vocalist (it was oddly inappropriate considering Sting's socially conscious lyrics). Slow motion and freeze-action effects made the show look like a live MTV video.

The show opened with 'Lazarus Heart', a poetic tune dedicated to his mother, who died while he was working on the album. It was a moving piece, sharply punctuated by the spirited work of his eight-piece group.

'Englishman In New York', a song about author Quentin Crisp, a courageous and flamboyant homosexual whom Sting regards as a heroic figure, including exciting work by Marsalis, who nevertheless employed only a fraction of his talent during the show.

The generous selection of songs included 'Rock Steady', 'Straight To My Heart' and 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free', his most successful song from 'The Dream Of The Blue Turtles'.

At one point, Sting poked fun at fallen TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who once claimed a Police tune had been written by the devil.

''It's not my nature to kick a man while he'd down.'' He said. ''But it dawned on: I write that f****** tune.''

Throughout the concert, Sting was very much in control. He also conveyed a good deal more warmth than he is known for. He appears to be enjoying himself these days, very much satisfied with the freedom his recent musical experiments have afforded him.

The concert concluded at about 11pm with such songs as 'Message In A Bottle' (he skipped 'Roxanne', one of his former group's biggest hits). A lesser musician would have done half as much, leaving the rest to an opening act.

(c) The Seattle Post Intelligencer by Gene Stout

Fans rock steady to Sting's blend of glamour, good music...

Sting started it.

Midway through his three-hour concert Monday, in front of a full crowd at Seattle Center Coliseum, rock's reigning pretty boy introduced keyboard player Delmar Brown as "a sort of male Whoopi Goldberg." Ouch.

As long as we're comparing rock stars to movie stars, it's only fair to tell you who Sting looks like now that he's let his blond hair grow long again. 

Eva Marie Saint. Before she ever made a Hitchcock film.

Sting is more than a magazine cover or a brimstone-and-travesty film star. as his generous, inspired Coliseum show demonstrated. It's just that he sets himself up for superficial judgments.

Wearing what looked like black silk pants and matching jacket, Sting might have been headed for a post-concert party at the Playboy West mansion for all we knew. He made a point of the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Under the blond chest hair, how- ever, is something of a serious musician. Unlike most rock stars. Sting reads books like 'Beneath the Sheltering Sky' for inspiration. (Before intermission, he joked that the band was going backstage to read poetry by Longfellow and Whitman.) 'Nothing Like the Sun', his second album since leaving The Police, takes its title from a line of Shakespeare: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun As the story goes, Sting used it to tranquilize a belligerent drunk.

Shakespeare is always useful I've found for calming down violent drunks if only because it gives them the impression that you're crazier than they are," the ex-schoolteacher wrote on the liner notes to the al- bum.

Sting also writes smart. if some- times overindulgent, songs. Conceptual material on The Police's 'Ghost in the Machine' (a title borrowed from social postulating of the late Arthur Koestler) and 'Synchronicity' albums might wear thin, but there's staying power in the dance tunes that fill 'Nothing Like the Sun' and The 'Dream of the Blue Turtles', Sting's first record after The Police split.

His Coliseum concert proved that. A capacity crowd was on its feet for the better part of three hours, bobbing heads, shaking hips and shuffling feet. On stage, Sting and his eight-member band set an example with their own dancing and long-line aerobics. Sting even resorted to the Twist between fills on his Roland D-50 keyboard. It looked silly but it played right to the crowd, most of whom looked to be seniors in high school or freshmen in college.

There were nine varieties of Sting T-shirts on sale at souvenir stands along the Coliseum concourse, but nobody was buying during the concert. Sting diehards even paid to sit behind the stage and watch him twist and shout.

The band, which included three fine jazz players saxophonist Branford Marsalis, pianist Kenny Kirkland and percussionist Mino Cinelu opened in a wash of black lights and an undercurrent of rich percussion with 'The Lazarus Heart'.

The band rode a vamp until Sting walked on stage. The Coliseum crowd went bonkers and stayed that way until 11pm.

In the cavern of the Coliseum. 'We'll Be Together' was missing the big, funky bottom of the album recording, but the rhythm was defined enough to be infectious. Marsalis played hip little obbligato phrases behind Sting's vocals, bringing regular squeals of delight from the crowd.

'Englishman in New York', a song Sting wrote for the unabashed Quentin Crisp, was sensitivity wrought except for the stage theatrics that accompanied it. It's disheartening to see musicians as accomplished and otherwise serious as Marsalis and Kirkland running through little song-and-dance routines in the middle of a performance.

If you closed your eyes, you could tell they were serious. Kirkland wove wonderful quotes from 'It Ain't Necessarily So' into his solo on 'Sister Moon'. Brown introduced and accented 'Consider Me Gone' with scat singing. Marsalis, too often relegated to background riffing, enjoyed some searing solo moments on soprano saxophone.

As with any rock show, Sting' concert came with perfunctory clowning and storytelling. At one point. Sting tried to imitate Jimmy Swaggart's reaction to a Police tune the TV evangelist said had been written by Mephistopheles himself. Another time, he pretended to play his own invisible saxophone during a Marsalis solo. Cute.

Silly displays aside, the band's music went straight to the heart of Sting disciples. From 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' to 'Message in a Bottle' at the end of the marathon show. Sting's message was fairly infectious: Give the people dance music and they will find their groove.

Even if half the crowd couldn't see their romantic hero in the flesh, they could find him on a huge video screen above the stage.

Meanwhile, the dance music played on. It wasn't just pretty, it was "Rock Steady.

(c) The News Tribune Keith Raether

Sting gets into swing with mesmerising mix of pop, rhythm, jazz...

It would be easy to write Sting off as just another rocker with an imaginative approach to his career.

It would be easy but not very fashioned in his solo career and smart.

board rhythm. It was sweet precision, a harmonious blend of instruments that had a thunderous overall effect.

Sting, as he proved once again before a capacity crowd at the Seattle Center Coliseum Monday night, is one of the shrewdest musicians around. This time through he has recruited a top-flight eight-person backup group that includes jazz stars Branford Marsalis on saxophone and Kenny Kirkland on keyboards.

That doesn't mean everything went swell, however. The whole concert threatened to collapse during the finale, an overblown arrangement of 'Roxanne' that strained the guitar player's chops as well as his credibility.

Other than that, though, it was an amazingly entertaining two and a half hours. Sting was in good voice and, for him (he's normally aloof), an expansive mood. He warmed to the audience right away and he sold each tune with powerful enthusiasm.

What really made everything click. on the other hand, was the large ensemble's mesmerising sound. With two keyboardists, a drummer and a percussionist playing off Marsalis' soaring saxophone fills, they created a kind of super-syncopated checker-board rhythm. It was sweet precision, a harmonious blend of instruments that had a thunderous overall effect.

Sting's songs (both those he has fashioned in his solo career and previously with the Police) likewise had a melodious ring to them. His version of 'Nothing Like the Sun' was particularly memorable in part to Marsalis' sterling sax work. 'Rock Steady', 'Consider Me Gone' and 'Be Still My Heart' all came off well.

As befits his image as a maverick movie actor and international pop superstar, Sting himself was stylishly underdressed for the occasion. He had on a tony sports coat and slacks. No shirt.

Still, there was little posturing involved. Sting made his music and got out of there.

The truth is that most of his songs don't lend themselves to much analysis. 'Be Still My Heart', for example, hardly sounds in print like the ironic wall it is when he sings it.

It is a tribute to his powers of invention and a measure of his talent that he has put together one of the most original touring shows going. With him as leader, the Police became one of the most influential groups of the past decade, presaging the Talking Heads, among others, in the consolidation of exotic rhythm.

That he is still experimenting (now by making his rhythms even more complex and adding elements of jazz) constitutes one of the glories of contemporary pop.

While others backslide into rhythm-and-blues mush, Sting presses on confidently, registering one triumph after another just as if he were breaking trail, which, of course. things being as conservative as they are, he probably is.

(c) The Daily Herald by Jim Kelton