2016 CD Reviews - Sting - 57th & 9th

Sting

57th & 9th

A&M Records - 2016

http://www.sting.com

Billed as the first rock / pop album Sting has done in more than a decade, 57th & 9th quickly sets about proving the accuracy of that tagline. The opening track (see the video below) is "I Can't Stop Thinking About You" and besides the catchy uptempo pacing, the music is a pure rocking slice of real pop music. It grabs your ear immediately with its hummable chorus and the musical undercurrent keeps the blood pumping. The song is instantly memorable and effective at grabbing the listener's attention.

While Sting's musical explorations have taken him far from the music that made him a household name, he hasn't forgotten how to write songs that make you bounce with excitement or feel the emotions his writing conveys. Abetted by a number of co-writers (including drummer Josh Freese), Sting manages to rock out while at the same time addressing issues of concern to him without losing the plot, musically speaking.

Upon first listen, the song "50,000" kind of bored me, I think mostly because I didn't like the way the main lyrical passages were done more in a spoken word style than actual singing. But when I dug into the song and its lyrics, I grew to appreciate it more. It also demonstrates that Sting's lyrics can take on a sense of literature rather than just a collection of throwaway lines.

Skillyfully packaging lyrics showing his concern over environmental issues inside a slickly done pop music score, "One Fine Day" will score major points with his fans.

At points in the album, the storytelling takes on more of a bard in a tavern performing epic tales to entertain the patrons. "Pretty Young Soldier" and "Heading South On The Great North Road" are the embodiments of this type of song on the album. Oh, and the song "If You Can't Love Me" takes the top billing for "wordiest" track.

For me, I enjoyed the more uptempo tracks such as the aforementioned opening cut and the lights out rocker "Petrol Head". The latter features some intensely driven music and a particularly aggressive vocal turn from Sting.

Not everything was a charmer with this album though. I thought the song "Inshallah" was a mood music flop that would be better served as something with which to put people to sleep. Meanwhile, "Down, Down, Down" was just flat and never really achieved whatever goal the song had intended for it.

The closing song on the album, "The Empty Chair", felt like a lullaby. Normally you might think that to be a bad thing, but given the serious nature of the lyrics (the song was dedicated to the late photojournalist Jim Foley, a victim of the terrorist group Isis) the song was sad, poignant and a triumph. Given the malleable nature of the song, the lyrics can be interpreted in different ways. I was led to my own thoughts on the meaning of said lyrics as I listened to the song and it made me sad. Perhaps that is the mark of a good song, that whatever the original goal of a song is from the artist, the listener can make the song more personal to them or their situations. You can check out a live performance of "The Empty Chair" via this Youtube link.

The 57th & 9th album may be Sting's return to straight up rock and pop music, but it also continues his run of music with substance and style to coincide with the ability to write some catchy hook lade music. In this day and age, the wherewithal to do that is a fading skill. It is nice to see that there are still practioners of the art flying the flag.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by RJhog (Admin) on November 24, 2016 at 4:48pm

I gave this some thought but just decided not to purchase. Sounds like it's a good effort, just not necessarily stellar. Enjoyed your thoughts on it TR.