Sting

Sting - After disbanding the Police at the peak of their popularity in 1984, Sting quickly established himself as a viable solo artist, one obsessed with expanding the boundaries of pop music. Sting incorporated heavy elements of jazz, classical, and worldbeat into his music, writing lyrics that were literate and self-consciously meaningful, and he was never afraid to emphasize this fact in the press.

Sting - Live In Berlin (2010) {Deutsche Grammophon}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 519 Mb
Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 89 Mb
© 2010 Deutsche Grammophon | 06025 275 3095
Rock / Contemporary Pop

Recorded on September 21, 2010 as Sting was smack dab in the middle of his Symphonicities tour, Live in Berlin – available as a CD/DVD set, a Blu Ray, and a condensed single-disc CD – offers further orchestral reimaginings of Sting’s songbook, retaining a healthy chunk of the songs on the 2010 album Symphonicities and finding room for other highlights from his past, both obscure and quite familiar (“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Russians,” “King of Pain,” “Every Breath You Take”all pop up on the video). Compared to the studio album, the symphonic flourishes don’t seem quite as overwhelming – the attention is drawn to Sting and his songs, not to the orchestrations – and the show is paced expertly, turning Live in Berlin into a bit of sophisticated comfort food for longtime Sting fans.

Sting - Symphonicities (2010) {Deutsche Grammophon}
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Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 131 Mb
© 2010 Deutsche Grammophon / Cherry Tree / UMG | 274 2537
Rock / Pop / Classical Crossover

Given Sting’s far-reaching ambition and interests, it was merely a matter of time before he recorded an orchestral album, but 2010’s Symphonicities surprises by offering symphonic arrangements of his older songs instead of a new work. This is a canny move, for the common complaint lodged against rock-classical crossovers is against the quality of the material – think Paul McCartney or Billy Joel – a criticism that can’t be leveled here, as this is a selection of some of Sting’s best songs.

Sting - If On A Winter's Night… (2009)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 300 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 127 Mb
Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 11 Mb
© 2009 CherryTree / Deutsche Grammophon | 06025 270 1743 GH
Pop / Rock / Christmas / Folk

It's no secret that Sting is a serious man, so it's only logical that his holiday album – his first new music since the Police reunion, not that it really matters – is a serious endeavor, thank you. No niceties for him, no comforts of carols; he favors formal over familiar, writing madrigals, not ditties. It is music made by someone who lives in a castle, which isn't necessarily such a bad thing: the austerity is genuine, not affected, and the cerebral nature of the album is fascinating, albeit mildly so, as this is as sleepy as it is thoughtful. And it's that thoughtfulness that does distinguish If on a Winter's Night…; no other Christmas album exists in the head like this. It's a holiday album for people who have never wanted to hear a holiday album, let alone own one.

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In 1967 four young musicians from Nottinghamshire, England formed Ten Years After. Alvin Lee, Chick Churchill, Ric Lee & Leo Lyons became one of the most explosive quartets on the world stage and cemented themselves as one of the biggest bands in Rock n Roll history.