Long Live Sting!
Dear Roxanne,
In Every breath you take, the Englishman in NY sends you a Message in a Bottle saying that If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, free, set them free. He thinks that Everything you do is Magic. So, If it's Love that you feel For Her Love, you should not feel So Lonely, just close your eyes and Walk on the Moon.
Yours sincerely,
Sting
Indeed, Mr. Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting, sang all that and much more about life and love at his exclusive and intimate concert at The Palladium Theater in London this April. The concert series was named after his 14th album, My Songs.
Joe Sumner, Sting's son, started off solo on his Fender Acoustasonic Strat. Fine, but let's just say he needs to find his own style and differentiate himself musically from his father. Comparisons are odious.
Then the show started, with two important acts: Cruel Hearts Club, an all-female, very British and inspirational rock band. They played on their Fender Mustang bass and Fender Jazzmaster guitar. They were followed by Sting with a Ukrainian cellist, playing Russians, who clearly moved the whole room.
The curtain rose and then all the musicians who accompany Sting appeared, including, of course, the super-acclaimed and concert partner since 1990, Dominic Miller, with 'The One', a 1961 Fender Stratocaster, and co-author of some of Sting's most famous songs, such as Shape of My Heart.
From then on, the theatre turned into a discotheque where it seemed like we were all up on the speaker singing and dancing to Sting's classics, one after the other. The audience, of very different ages, stood throughout the concert and actively participated as if they were one of the band. There was a strong connection with the star of the evening.
Sting covers almost all musical styles: rock, reggae, jazz, classical, new age... and he combines them all! Especially noteworthy is Walking on the Moon mixed with Get Up, Stand Up; So Lonely with No Woman No Cry; and Roxanne performed in combination with I Don't Mean a Thing. Arabic influence can also be heard in Desert Rose, where he mixes something as exotic as Algerian folk with electronic music, all inspired by Frank Herbert's novel Dune.
Who knew that Johnny Cash himself would cover Sting's I Hung My Day and that Steve Wonder accompanied him on harmonica on Brand New Day? He has so many interesting anecdotes to tell about each song that he could regale us with them all night long.
Sting plays the same bass for the whole concert, his favourite for 25 years: a 1957 Fender Precision Bass - almost his age!
Many songs were missed, and unfortunately, he didn't reward us with any extras, and the concert lasted only an hour and a half, but Sting is forgiven for everything, or almost everything.
Like Springsteen, Dylan or Bowie, Sting has recently sold his music catalogue to a record label. This deal will ensure that new generations will know his art and continue to be inspired by it. In any case, in view of his great physical and mental shape, it looks like he still has a lot to say, long live Sting!
(c) Guitarsexchange by Eva García de la Fuente
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