Pulp Magazine Issue#1
A wealth of musical influences, a multitude of personas — but it’s all about love, baby.
There is an interesting song on A Brand New Day, Sting’s seventh solo album, called “Tomorrow We’ll See.” On it, Sting prowls the night as a gender-bending streetwalker. “Don’t judge me/You could be me in another life,” our favorite Englishman tenderly croons. It might be decades away from the Police’s “Roxanne,” in which Sting screeches “you don’t have to wear that dress tonight” to another pro, but it’s certainly familiar territory.
Yes, Sting’s songs traverse old haunts, but as the figure beneath the street lamp might take a familiar shape, the shadows play tricks to the eye — the form’s familiar yet you’re not entirely sure what lies beneath the surface. Sting still talks about love (what else is new?) in all its forms, albeit as strange as the image of Sting walking the streets in full female regalia. In A Brand New Day, amore — tragic, comical, transcendant but always, always powerful — still provides Sting’s impetus.
Although not as intense as Soul Cages, Sting latest outing is definitely its lyrical twin. He doesn’t fail to conjure the images of characters in his five-minute epics. More importantly, he doesn’t forget his sense of humor.
However, Sting is also still dabbling in country/western tunes (an Englishman doing country — imagine that!). On “Fill Her Up,” a game James Taylor plays the twangy big shot from the city against Sting’s gas station attendant. Never mind that one may not be too sure what to make of the song which goes from slide guitar to a gospel chorale, but it is fun to listen to.
It’s precisely these hybrid of rhythms, from the mid-eastern experience of “Desert Rose” to the bossa nova beat of “Big Lie, Small World,” which makes this album a memorable one. His collaboration with guests Stevie Wonder, Taylor, and Brandford Marsalis adds more dimension to his trademark quirky arrangements and vocals. There’s even a rap sequence on “Perfect Love…Gone Wrong” — in French.
The album’s actually World Beat. At the very least, with A Brand New Day, Sting makes up for the icy and lifeless Mercury Falling. Sting might not have reinvented the wheel here, but he certainly made it look nice again.
Hey Wistful! Maybe it’s just my personal bias against country but somehow Sting’s lyrics couldn’t seem to gel properly with the spirit and style of country music. I appreciate that he tried though.
What’s wrong with an Englishman doing country?? Just to let you know, there are currently some very successful Australian and Irish country singers in the US. My sister and I are both hooked on country music…which we sing a lot at Karaoke bars or at home…so, what would you think about two Flip chicks doing country and making it big??? (hahaha, it’s a pipe dream…we wish!)