Sting Its Probably

Martin Page, who hails from Southampton, England, first gained recognition as a songwriter in the early 80’s with Top-40 hits for Kim Carnes and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others. With Bernie Taupin, whose usual partner was Elton John (and with Dennis Lambert & Peter Wolf), Page wrote “We Built This City,” a Number One Hit for Starship (their first) in 1985. Page and Taupin returned to Number One the following year with “These Dreams,” recorded by Heart (also Heart’s first chart topper). Teaming up with Peter Cox and Richard Drummie of the UK group Go West, Page wrote “King Of Wishful Thinking,” which was featured in the movie “Pretty Woman,” and became a Top Ten hit for Go West in 1990, and “Faithful,” another hit for Go West. With Robbie Robertson, Page penned the critically acclaimed “Fallen Angel,” featured in Robertson’s first solo album.

“Making this album felt like a travel in time,” Sheryl Crow tells Apple Music. “There was a lot of reflection involved.” The trailblazing rock icon—whose conversational, subversive megahits helped soundtrack the past three decades—says that her 11th album Threads will be her last. But she isn’t retiring so much as changing gears; from here on, she’ll focus on releasing singles and playing shows. “I am unequivocally not going to stop touring,” she says. “I’ve had a wonderful, long career of making albums. I’m up for something different now.”

The worlds of the crossover album and of the ECM music label don't overlap much, but this is a crossover album unlike any other released up to this time. For one thing, it deals with the Renaissance lute song, not a form in which new pieces have been written often. And for another, the vocal middle ground between Renaissance vocal styles and the rock background of the contemporary composers is unique. What is here are Renaissance lute songs from England and Spain, plus songs by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Tony Banks of Genesis, and, at the end, Sting, expanding on his Dowland album of a decade ago.

“It’s probably fair to say that only Cyro Baptista could concoct a mix of music to include Brazilian, Mexican, and Afro-Cuban forms with hints of jazz, funk, and whatever else may fit, sometimes with multiple forms within the same song. Yet, even while you may not detect the particular style or have a total grasp on what he’s up to, he somehow makes it accessible and infectious.” Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine

“It’s probably fair to say that only Cyro Baptista could concoct a mix of music to include Brazilian, Mexican, and Afro-Cuban forms with hints of jazz, funk, and whatever else may fit, sometimes with multiple forms within the same song. Yet, even while you may not detect the particular style or have a total grasp on what he’s up to, he somehow makes it accessible and infectious.” Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine