Sting: The Bridge
Label: A&M RECORDS Catalog: B003457302 Format: CD Sting Dominic Miller (guitar), Josh Freese (drums), Branford Marsalis (saxophone), Manu Katché (drums), Martin Kierszenbaum (keyboards), Fred Renaudin (synthesizer) and backup singers Melissa Musique, Gene Noble, Jo Lawry and Laila BialiLike so many other people, Sting struggled with the Corona pandemic and lockdown. Emotional problems and loneliness were issues that the British rock legend suddenly found himself facing. To cope, the singer and musician chose the best possible way: he wrote new songs Ten of them have finally made it onto his new, 14th studio album titled "The Bridge", songs in which he processes his impressions, thoughts and feelings: "This album was made at a distance. Nevertheless, what I sing about is what comes out of my head and my heart. The feelings are not small. They're big feelings for me," Sting says of the writing process. He wrote on the record for more than a year, gathering ideas and finally putting them into practice. And so, once again, "The Bridge" showcases Sting's great songwriting talent. It feels a bit like a greatest-hits album, but one where all the songs are brand new. It's a record that is simultaneously modern, but also rooted in Sting's lifelong musical and lyrical passions. The new songs represent styles and genres he has explored throughout his incomparable career. And fittingly named, they tell of bridging two worlds: "These songs are between one place and another, between one state of mind and another, between life and death, between relationships. Between pandemics and between eras - politically, socially and psychologically we're all in the middle of something. We need a bridge." Sting previewed a song from the new album with "If It's Love": a melody-laden love song, but one in which he compares his romantic feelings to the symptoms of a terminal illness. The other influences of "The Bridge" are manifold. They range from the exploration of the sombre origins of folk ballads in Cecil Sharp's "Collection Of English Folk Songs" to J. Robert Oppenheimer, from the Roman history of Northumbria to St. Thomas. Price: $18.98 |