Sting declared that he was more interested in seducing people than screaming at them. On his latest CD his seduction is deliciously tantalizing, as the former “King of Pain” ushers in A Brand New Day.
Arguably the most evolving artist of our time, Sting seems driven to never repeat something he has done before. However, he loves to allude to previous works, as well as literature and cultural stereotypes. His varied experiences and impressive self-education inform every note and lyric.
Sumner admits that he purposely weaves different styles together in an effort to promote the integration of musical genres. “Sometimes the hybrids are really clumsy and ugly and diabolical. Sometimes, you get lucky,” he states on his website. But there’s nothing ugly on this CD, just rich, beautiful music.
This latest release is much more upbeat and reaching than Sumner’s last CD, Mercury Falling. Sumner draws on his many forays into various musical genres, making every cut a masterfully woven work of art. But while all the songs have their own unique tone, they are still unmistakably Sting.
“A Thousand Years”
For Sumner, the personal is profoundly universal. Lines like “A thousand times these mysteries unfold themselves /Like galaxies in my head” reveal the immense world within him, and his uncanny ability to enfold the listener
The music in this cut has a new age, Middle Eastern feel. The techno beat is a little reminiscent of Enigma.
“A Thousand Years” addresses the possibility of people existing within an infinite continuum of time. Sting’s haunting voice chants:
“I may have lived a thousand years, a thousand times,
An endless turning stairway climbs.”
He implies that we all may have lived both as powerless pawns and as fortune’s children.
As with most of Sumner’s compositions, the theme could be interpreted in several ways. The love he refers to could be another person, or the spirit behind all life. Whatever it is, that love anchors him within infinite time as “a single thought, a single touch of grace.” His love is a touchstone in the endless flow of eternity.
The song is rich and mesmerizing, one of the best on the CD.
“Desert Rose”
This vivid Arabic-influenced song is a heat-induced sensual hallucination. It transports the listener to a fiery, passionate desert. Sumner cries, “I dream of rain/I dream of gardens in the desert sand.” The words conjure images of the burning desert, longing for the rain in earnest need, paralleling his lover’s longing. The jumbled images move back and forth from the desert to the singer’s desire.
“And now she turns,
This way she moves in the logic of all my dreams.
This fire burns.
I realize that nothing’s as it seems.”
Some of Sumner’s most powerful images to date appear in this song, such as the evocative line, “No sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this.”
Sumner called on noted rai singer Cheb Mami to accompany him on this cut. Mami’s Middle Eastern wail in Arabic weaves throughout, bringing the oppressive heat of the desert and desire to life.
“Big Lie Small World”
This jazzy jaunt has a Bossanovan underlying musical tone with shades of “The Girl From Ipanema.” The lyrics feel at once both desperate and satirical, recalling the Police tune, “I Can’t Stand Losing You.”
Though it’s the story of a man dealing with the pain of rejection and loss, Sumner’s humor shines through with lines like, “I hit the postman, hit your lover/Grabbed the letter/Ran for cover/The police arrived in time for tea.” As well as, “I have to face the magistrate/It hasn’t been the best of days.” It’s the kind of absurdity we can often find in very painful situations. The music and subject matter make it a thematic cousin of “Seven Days” from Sting’s Ten Sumner’s Tales CD. It’s a fun, jaunty song.
“Tomorrow We’ll See”
A slow, almost James Bond-like beat underlies this cut.
The sultry, languid tone follows in the footsteps of “Moon Over Bourbon Street,” and it’s sequel “Sister Moon,” making it an instant Sting classic. Its content parallels the Police’s legendary “Roxanne,” which Sumner pairs it with on his current tour.
The lines “My skirt’s too tight/My tights have run/These new heels are killing me” make it unclear at first if Sumner sings from a woman’s perspective. Later, the words “A friend of mine, he wound up dead/His dress was stained the color red,” tell us we’re hearing the story of a male transvestite prostitute.
The seductive music and revealing lyrics of “Tomorrow” transport the listener to a tawdry night of sexual transactions on the street. Sting’s haunting voice glides over the lyrics like velvet on satin.
“It’ll be the sweetest five minutes you’ve ever had.
Don’t judge me. You could be me in another life
In another set of circumstances.”
Sumner juxtaposes incredibly sultry music with jarring images of torn stockings, cigarettes, a dead prostitute. The vivid contrast of seduction with ugly reality captures life on the street. As does the line, “I don’t need forgiving/I’m just making a living.”
It would be a shame if Sumner didn’t release “Tomorrow” as a single, though it might prove too controversial for mainstream play. It’s the most captivating song on a very intriguing CD.
“Fill Her Up”
Sumner has experimented with a country western sound on several albums. This song starts out like a hoe down, but transforms into gospel halfway through.
The good old boy narration changes into an observer commenting on the first speaker’s moral transgression. The stream of consciousness tale is interrupted as the narrator suddenly finds himself in a “glade of heaven” a voice (his conscience, higher self, guardian angel?) somewhere saying, “Why would you wanna take that stolen thing/And what real happiness can it bring?” This bridges into gospel music as a whole new song emerges. A soft gospel chorus chants lines like, “Your gonna fill her up with sorrow/Your gonna fill her up with pain.” Then the music soars as Sumner’s voice exclaims “You gotta fill her up with Jesus/You gotta fill her up with light!” Spilling into a full gospel-style testimony.
The changing music mirrors the singer’s inner transformation from being glamorized by luxury he cannot have, to realizing the spiritual consequences of giving into his temptation. The effect works to highlight the grandeur of our inner voice that pushes us to do the right thing in the midst of an uncaring, shallow world in which it’s so easy to go astray.
“Ghost Story”
This cut reveals a man’s torture over his lost relationship. Ghost story slowly blossoms with a single plucking of a guitar, Sumner’s lone voice joining in to make a melancholic declaration of his plight. Gradually the music expands, becoming fuller as the lyrics move to bigger questions.
The music starts to rock with the words,
“What is the force that binds the stars?
I wore this mask to hide my scars.”
Towards the end, as the singer drops his denial, the music gets even larger and more beautiful.
“You were my compass star,
You were my measure,
You were a pirates map of buried treasure.”
… I must have loved you.”
The song blossoms from self-persecution to self-realization in a celebration of music and exquisite imagery.
“Brand New Day”
The first release off the album, “Brand New Day” intros with some new age strains, then breaks into a refreshing harmonica that breaks into a lulling, up tempo beat.
This is an expansive song, addressing the disillusionment that so many people feel about love. Sumner tells us to “Turn the clock to zero … We’re starting up a brand new day.”
His message: erase the bitterness of the past, and open yourself to love again. Sumner has noted that this is a different view of the new millennium, as a hopeful, new beginning. This is a song of the rebirth of spirit, of hope, and of a better world for the coming age. And it definitely rocks.
Sumner is an artist of so much texture and musical range, it could take a listener years to sort it all out. If you like to listen to a CD over and over and hear something different every time, Sting’s the artist for you. The richness, layers, and passion in his music both intrigue and overwhelm. Brand New Day is one of Sumner’s best solo efforts yet.