Soul Cages: 1991/92

Ideas bloom despite an unsubtle wall of sound...

To anyone used to listening to Sting in the peace and quiet of their personal stereo, the wall of sound approach of his NEC gig came as a shock to the system.

It is doubtful whether there is any venue with acoustics to take this volume.

It does terrible things to the bass frequencies, not allowing them to breathe properly and creating a muddy sound.

But if the punters wanted a sound to break their bones so they could jig up and down like marionettes, then this very electric Sting is what they got.

But it's a pity the band didn't put away the electrics for a while and play acoustic as they did in Newcastle when of all bands this is the one that can do it.

So no subtleties, but still no shortage of ideas, reworking the old songs with changing formats and harmonies, exotic flowers of folk and jazz from rock roots.

It's an approach that gives ample space to Sting's fellow musicians. Space for Dave Sancious to improvise on keyboards and even blow up some real heavy stuff on guitar in some Purple Haze numbers.

Space for Vinnie Colaiuta, too. Most drummers haven't got enough imagination even to dream of playing like him. No sitting in the background for him, but an up-front soloist in his own right.

There's no false pretences, no flashiness, no greasiness, no big show, just the music and the musicians speaking for themselves.

(c) Leamington Evening Telegraph by Helene Barratt

Sting's fans go wild at NEC...

The crowd at the NEC went wild as they spotted their hero - the man who left "The Police' to go solo, as he started to sing, the unique voice could only belong to Sting.

Hurling straight into his programme with 'All This Time' the composer extraordinaire delighted his fans with a selection of "The Police' hit singles including 'King of Pain', 'Can't Stand Losing You' and the one that got everyone on their feet 'Roxanne'.

A selection from Sting's latest album 'Soul Cages' followed with some excellent guitar playing and key- boards from his band.

I have been a Sting fan for many years, I have every album and know all the songs so it was with bated breath I waited to hear my hero perform live.

I was not disappointed. Sting is a powerful singer, his voice has strength but an emotional quality that suits anything from rock to the sad, slow melodies in tunes such as 'Fragile'. With an ease that arrives from many years of performing live music on stage, Sting sang, played and 'head bashed' to his compositions, with few spoken words to the crowd in the hour and a half he played.

A light-heartedness followed his self indulgent tracks taken from the 'Soul Cages' album, when he performed 'Message in the Bottle' in reggae fashion with the help of some black singers who joined the stage towards the end of the performance.

After three encores, Sting disappeared, the NEC had been rocked with one of it's best performers to date, a man who can compose, write meaningful lyrics, sing, play the guitar and leave his fans inspired by his music.

The songs he wrote more than ten years ago are still going strong and now being played by the next generation - the sign of a true musician.

(c) The Daventry Express by Amanda Bellham

Caged by hits of the past...

It must be very depressing for someone like Sting.

You bare your soul, in the shape of most of the tracks from your latest album, 'Soul Cages', to the adoring throng at the NEC Arena, desperately seeking approval.

Response? Polite applause.

Then you bash out the first few chords of a zippy little 12-year-old pop ditty. The place erupts.

Admittedly, the ditty in question is the Police megahit 'Roxanne', but even so, it must be galling to be for ever judged in the present by your work from the distant past.

Part of the problem is the material. Clearly, most of the audience had as much knowledge of the intelligent and creative 'Soul Cages' album as Gazza has of social etiquette, and it is not the kind of stuff you catch onto at the first time of hearing.

But the odd mix of screaming curls and ageing bald domes that made up the crowd might have shown a little more receptiveness to anything recorded after Sting quit Police in 1985.

Instead it was squeals and cheers as the old hits tumbled out in line, occasionally interspersed with a new number in a bid to educate the listeners.

And the short-sightedness of the audience meant that superb renditions of songs such as 'All This Time', 'Mad About You' and the meaty 'Soul Cages' itself went largely unappreciated.

Aberrations included a butchered version of 'Message In A Bottle', an outrageous attempt at 'Purple Haze' (yes, 'Purple Haze'), and a just plain silly Match of the Day theme, but Sting can be forgiven those.

After all, this is the man who gave us the delicious 'Every Breath You Take' and daringly offered as a final encore the haunting, semi-acoustic 'Fragile'.

Not a barnstormer in the Police tradition, but then why on earth should it be?

(c) Birmingham Evening Mail by Mike Davies