Customer Reviews

My Funny Valentine: Sting at the Movies

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If there is one thing that Sting is under appreciated for, it is his contributions on movie soundtracks. I personally think that its great when artists contribute a song or two on moive soundtracks. Some argue that most artists put songs on soundtracks so you will go out and get that cd just for the one song. In this day of downloadable music (legal downloads, of course), you can create an entire new cd of music from individual songs of one artist. This cd shows you don't need to go through all the trouble and just get this recording.

Now, Sting released a movie cd a few years back, but this cd is a must to update your sting movie songs. The following list is the song with the movie it came from. Items marked with a star indicate a new addition:

1. My Funny Valentine - Ashura (Japanese), 2005*
2. Englishman In New York - Stars and Bars, 1988
3. Shape Of My Heart - The Professional (aka. Leon), 1994
4. Angel Eyes - Leaving Las Vegas, 1995
5. Until - Kate and Leopold, 2002*
6. It's Probably Me - Lethal Weapon 3, 1992
7. Windmills Of Your Mind - The Thomas Crown Affair, 1999*
8. The Secret Marriage - Four Weddings And A Funeral, 1994
9. Fragile - The Living Sea (Imax), 1995
10. The Mighty - Bring On The Night, 1986*
11. Valpraiso - White Squall, 1995
12. Someone To Watch Over Me - Someone To Watch Over Me, 1987
13. Moonlight - Sarbrina, 1995
14. My One And Only Love - Leaving Las Vegas, 1995
15. Murder By Numbers - Copycat, 1996
16. Demolition Man - Demolition Man, 1993
17. My Funny Friend And Me - The Emperor's New Groove, 2000*
18. All For Love - The Three Musketeers, 1993

Now, I listed the tracks according to the Amazon listing here. My cd has them in a different order. But since this is an import cd and to lessen any confustion, I will just stick with the listing here. Once again, this would be a great addition to your Sting collection. The only song that I really dislike and could have been omitted and replaced with another track is All For Love. I'm sorry, but Sting, Rod Stewart and Bryan Adams: a good song they do not create. Because I dislike the song so much, that is the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five.

Sting is really under appreciated for all the standards he has
recorded over the years and this one has some exceptional tracks.
Someone To Watch Over Me sung by Sting has become my favorite version of this song. He has a unique take on singing a standard
and should put out an album of the some of the ones he has done.
The songs on this album that he has written are also wonderful.
I guess Shape Of My Heart and Fragile have become standards themselves. If you like adult comtemporary you'll love this album.

Answer: it's a mixed bag. Many, many films have been released within the last twenty years with Sting singing on the soundtrack. At the same time, his appearances in films have been dropping off slightly, so that you don't see him trying to act all that often any more. I don't know about you, but no matter what the cause, when Sting contributes to it I always feel that his attention is elsewhere. I haven't heard him excited in a long time, probably not since his duet with LULU (of "To Sir With Love" fame) on SAIL ON, SAILOR by The Beach Boys (on her TOGETHER LP). I haven't seen all of the movies for which Sting contributed tunes on the soundtracks, but on only a few of them has his presence been a boon. And yet for some reason they drag him out whenever things are slow.

ASHURA, the new Japanese sword and spectacle love story that's very much like HERO or CROUCHING TIGER, is very much a period piece. The audience that I was in burst into polite laughter when Sting started to croon "My Funny Valentine" during what looked to be the 15th century. He does a great job on the old Rodgers and Hart evergreen, it's just not a martial arts track.

Possibly the best track here, from the best movie, might be "Shape of My Heart," one of his most affectine numbers, from the French film LEON (THE PROFESSIONAL) with Jean Reno and Natalie Portman as the very young girl whose life is turned upside down by a hit man. The thriller is moody, intelligent, sensitive, and so is the track. I also enjoy Sting taking off on the Michel Legrand "WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND" from the recent remake of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. Of course no one sings that song like Dusty Springfield, but you can see them paying respect to a wonderful soundtrack of long ago. Ditto with him taking on Gershwin with "SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME," from the chic Scott whodunit that tried to make stars out of Tom Berenger and Lorraince Bracco. The movie is worth watching, but nothing at all happens in it of any note.

This Japanese compilation is expensive, though not as much as you might pay if you were trying to collect all these fugitive numbers from a great performer, so you have to consider the factor of, you're paying for the convenience (and the great transfer). It's not a CD you're going to leave out on your coffee table, and for many will be a guilty pleasure only, but on the other hand, if you love Sting, you've got to have this one.

This is an expensive update of the import that came out and I bought a few years ago. The additions are amazing especially My Funny Valentine, which is all you'd expect it to be: a quiet, thoughtful reading by Sting closely mic'd and accompanied by an upright bass and soft piano arrangement. (Think 'Moonlight.') 'Until' reminded me of the b-side 'This was never meant to be.' 'My Funny Friend and me' is nice and the Irish flavored 'the Mighty' sounds like it could've been on the Mercury Falling CD. However; you DO get the superior 'Windmills of your mind.' which was originally a Brand New Day b-side, (which probably adds to the price tag) AND you get the original 'Fragile' from 'Nothing Like the Sun.' Overall, these songs are exchanged for 'De Doo Doo Doo', 'I burn for you', and 'Need your love so bad.' Which is all to the good--however, why the disc ends with the loud Demolition Man remix is anyone's guess.

Yes, it's expensive, but if you're a Sting fan, find a way to buy this. Today. Now.

It's a small price to pay for such a comprehensive selection which includes many of what I consider his best recordings. The fact that there's an overwhelming number of jazz pieces only adds to the overall value. Sting excels at this genre, but has kept them out of his commercial releases, though I have no idea why.

A personal favourite -- the sublime Moonlight from the soundtrack to "Sabrina" -- makes a welcome appearance here, together with other noteworthy gems like The Windmills Of Your Mind ( sensual ), Until... ( lovely ), My One And Only Love ( gorgeous ) and It's Probably Me ( super cool ).

18 terrific tracks, one rare collection, superb sound quality. You couldn't possibly ask for anything more.

Admittedly I'm a big Sting fan but this CD exceeded my expectations. His original compositions are great and his covers, particularly Michel LeGrand's Windmills of Your Mind (a favorite song) bring something absolutely unique to each song. A lot of music you can't get on any other Sting CD.

I like this CD, though I didn't mean to purchase the IMPORT at that price. My Bad...This CD covers all the songs that stuck in your head as FAVS thru the years. I esp. like the jazzy tunes he's gotten into, since leaving the Police. Check it out, it's a keeper and best choice out of the 5 CD's I purchased along with this!

ONE OF STING'S BEST ALBUMS, EVERY TRACK IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AWESOME SHM AUDIO FORMAT. MUST HAVE FOR ANY CD COLLECTION, BUT DON'T PAY THESE RIDICULOUS OVER-INFLATED PRICES, I BOUGHT MINE FROM THE MUSIC SPECIALIST ON E BAY, THEY ALSO HAVE A STORE IN GEMM, ANTEATERMUSIC. SAVE YOURSELF A TON OF CASH.
CHEERS!

I have been listening to The Police and Sting since the mid eighties. This collection of hard-to-find songs is a must for Sting fans. Trying to go out and find the songs individually proved to be problematic. Definitely worth the price.

I brought this CD for one song I heard of the radio and I now like the rest of the songs. I would recommend to lovers of music.