Customer Reviews

Nothing Like the Sun

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This, the follow-up to "Dream Of The Blue Turtles" was Sting's REAL debut LP, or at least, where he finally arrived at true artistic brilliance.

His pop sensibilities are still present, here... check out 'Englishman In New York' and 'We'll Be Together' for evidence, but added to all this is a bit of picked guitar ("Fragile"), some jazzy polyrhythms ("They Dance Alone"), and a great cover of Jimi Hendrix' "Little Wing".

It's as essential an 80s document as Peter Gabriel's "So" album was, and still holds up, even nearly 20 years later.

For the majority of people who believe Sting was better with The Police, _Nothing Like The Sun_ pretty much proves this theory wrong. Surrounding himself with excellent musicians such as Manu Katche, Kenny Kirkland, Branford Marsalis, Andy Summers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler and many others, this is Sting's strongest set of songs. The album also contains some of Sting's best lyrics and best vocal performances. The album feels like Sting at his most free - he's definitely making music for himself here as opposed to his recent work that often seemes to cater to the mainstream. _Nothing Like The Sun_ also has a little bit of everything; songs like "The Lazarus Heart", "We'll be Together", and "Little Wing" simply rock and "The Secret Marriage", "Fragile", and "Sister Moon" are soothingly beautiful. The production is top-notch and this rather long album has absolutely no filler. Pick this one up if you prefer the serious side of Sting.

Aside from Sting's 'Greatest Hits' CD, this is his best (and could be a greatest hits CD in and of itself). In fact, 5 of the 12 songs on this CD are included on "Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting."

The insert of this CD has Sting describing how and why each song was written - that in itself is worth the price of the CD. However, the songs are fantastic. Each song has very strong aspects to it from the melody, lead guitar parts, vocals, bridge transitions, harmonies, to rhythm and pace of various songs.

Each song is quite different from one another. Thus, each song takes on its own life, movement, and feel. One of my favorites on the CD is "Secret Marriage" which Sting describes is a song based on a melody from Hanns Eisler. Eisler fled to America from the Nazis who apparently hounded him for rest of his life in various disguises (according to the insert).

If you liked the Police, then you will definitely like this CD, if you like Sting, then you should not be without this CD. I highly recommend it.

One thing you can expect from Sting among his various solo works is diversity of musical style. Don't expect the rapid tempo sounds of the Police, although on a few selections, a well listened Police fan will hear faint nuances of the old days. Nothing Like the Sun was originally released in '87 and this work reflects a more 'musically matured' and witty Sting setting his highly articulate lyrics to very palatable form of smooth, sophisticated blend of jazzy rock. This cd features the smooth jazz sax greatness of Branford Marsalis throughout and some selections feature some other well known musical guests on guitar such as Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and former Police-man Andy Summers. In addition, jazz great Gil Evans and his orchestra jazz it up with Sting on a rendition of Hendrix's "Little Wing". Of all Sting's solo works to date, Nothing LIke the Sun remains one of my personal favorites because of the somberly romantic but upbeat mood he creates with his cerebral lyrics and an eclectic blend of jazz and rock.

Not too long ago, I reviewed Sting's debut album, Dream of the Blue Turtles, as much as I love that recording, this album is where Sting truly shines as an artist.

I have a few favorites on this CD, Englishman In New York...always reminds me of my grandfather for some reason, The Lazarus Heart, and a knock out version of Jimi Hendrix's, Little Wing. Even though I am a huge fan of Hendrix, I really love this version of this song. The whole album was very thoughtfully constructed and emotionally created. Although I do not know Sting personally, I get this feeling that he's pretty down to earth. Whenever I listen to him, I feel a little more grounded, a little more in touch with my own creativity, and a little more centered and better able to deal with my fellow human. I don't fully know why this is, I haven't fully analyzed the whole thing, I just feel more gracious to the human species after listening to Sting. Of course, I could quickly put on Marilyn Manson and lose the feeling, but I think I'll stick with Sting.

For the longest time I had a poster sized version of the cover art for this album hanging up on my wall. I recently retired it to the garage. I guess it's not too "cool" to post your influences up on the wall when you're 41. At least, that's what my wife thinks. She has a vested interest in my "coolness" because if I'm a dork, she's an even bigger dork because she married me. But sometimes I go out to that lonely old garage where I have my records and my old turntable and my old furniture from my bachelor days...hey, I just noticed something...all of MY STUFF IS IN THE GARAGE...what the hell is that about...oh, well...but I go in that garage and I listen to my Miles Davis, my Stan Getz, my Sting and I just allow myself to put things in perspective. I don't get over analytical and I don't get too sentimental, I just find a way to integrate the two like yin and yang. I feel Sting does the same on this album. This, his second recording after the Police, is slowly moving away from the poppiness of his former band, and into the visionary dreaminess that would trademark much of his work.

I love this recording and I know you will, too, but then again, what do I know? I'm just the grandson of an Englishman in San Dimas.

Peace & Blessings,
john 'the Light Coach'

When it comes to first-rate artists like Sting, you really want the albums, not just a greatest hits collection. This is a great one to start with and my personal favorite from Sting's solo catalogue. As much as I love Sting's music from the Police days, his solo work is arguably much more adventurous even if it's comparatively mellow (although I have to say that his more recent solo work has veered too close to "adult contemporary" for my tastes). As fascinating as I find his debut DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES, I think this, his second studio solo album, sounds more organic and natural. Here, Sting is more comfortable and confident in the new directions he's exploring. He could hardly have failed with the incredible talent he assembled from the jazz world. I've been a fan of this record since the week it came out and will always return to it.

Here are my own impressions of ". . . NOTHING LIKE THE SUN" (NLTS) -

"The Lazarus Heart" - absolutely magical. This spell-binding opener is based on a "vivid nightmare . . . (Sting) fashioned into a song" (liner notes). Sting returns to the bass guitar on NLTS and delivers one of his trademark simple-yet-very-effective bass lines here. The super-talented sax master Branford Marsalis really makes this one shine. *****

"Be Still My Beating Heart" - intoxicatingly seductive and sensuous. Former Police guitarist Andy Summers adds some great touches to both this track and "Lazarus Heart." The amazing Kenny Kirkland adds fantastic keys all over this album, including this cut. *****

"Englishman in New York" - a stately yet quite adventurous track. I love the subtle "swallowing-bird loop" in the background (listen carefully if you don't hear it) and the heavy drums at the middle 8 are a cool touch. Once again, Kenny and Branford deliver in spades. Hard to pick a best track from NLTS, but this one's a strong contender. *****

"History Will Teach Us Nothing" - a quasi-raggae vibe drives this groovy track. Although I think history IS important, I agree with the fundamental message of this song: we must unchain ourselves from the past - the greatest hope for the human race is for all of us to embrace reason and compassion. I think it's pathetic and sad when, for example, Catholics or Protestants in Ireland march to commemorate some bloody centuries-old victory. "Without the voice of reason, every faith is its own curse/ Without freedom from the past, things can only get worse." Personally, I don't think any man-made deity-based religion can honestly co-exist with science and rationality. ****

"They Dance Alone" - one of Sting's most popular songs, but I personally find it a bit boring if I'm not in the mood for it. It picks up towards the end though. There's some stellar guitar talent on this one, including Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton, but it's so quiet and subtle I almost don't notice it. This is a serene yet powerful song about women in Chile who would dance alone to protest the "disappearance" of their husbands and sons. Thank goodness Augusto Pinochet has finally been brought to justice. ****

"Fragile" - another protest song of sorts, this may be the most beautiful song Sting (& co.) has ever recorded. Sting himself plays the gorgeous guitar lines. *****

"We'll Be Together" - totally infectious. So upbeat and celebratory. "My love is a flame that burns in your name . . ." *****

"Straight To My Heart" - this is an unusual tune, spare yet very catchy. Great percussion. *****

"Rock Steady" - this swingin' track is comical and hip. It tells an amusing little story about a hapless couple who find themselves on Noah's ark. ****

"Sister Moon" - a gorgeous, slow-burning "mood" piece. Once again, jazz-genius Branford Marsalis elevates this one to heavenly heights. *****

"Little Wing" - there are a handful of songs that can literally get me high without drugs. This is one of them. "Mind Games" by John Lennon is another. It's something akin to what Dead-heads experience when hearing their favorite bootleg of Jerry Garcia's transcendental improvisation on guitar (I myself experienced it when I saw the Grateful Dead though I'm far from a "Dead-head"). Every time I hear Hiram Bullock's first solo on this version of "Little Wing," combined with Manu Katche's spot-on drumming, it launches me into orbit. The whole track is such a fantastic interpretation of the original Hendrix. *****

"The Secret Marriage" - Sting ends the album with a classic, very classy little piece with only Kenny on piano to accompany him. ****

The true second solo album, after "The Dream of The Blue Turtles" and the double disc live set, "Bring On The Night", shows Sting continuing his strong pop sensibilities, but now adding more "flavors" to the mix.
"The Lazarus Heart" may be a lyric gauze, but it sure starts off the album energetically, doesn't it? The tempo just gallops along with dynamo drumming.
"Be Still My Beating Heart" hearkens back to those Police songs with instantly recognizable bass lines. I'm thinking "Walking On The Moon" or "Canary In A Coalmine."
With "Englishman In New York", he constructs another mini-movie, again using the first person. It bounces along with a melody so simple that you'll be humming it for days. The chorus is stupid-catchy, and the 'scene' where somebody walks by with a boombox (at least that's how I took it) is grin-inducing.
"History Will Teach Us Nothing" is a twitchy mess, almost melody-less, which coming from Sting says a LOT.
"They Dance Alone" is the overt political piece for this particular album; it's achingly beautiful. It's a companion song to U2's "Mothers of The Disappeared" (from "The Joshua Tree"), and both stun. Its' simple words conjure haunting images.
"Fragile" is a masterpiece, and you realize it after one listen. The melody serves the lyrics, the arrangement serves the song...it's as 'perfect' as a pop song gets.
"We'll Be Together" was the album's first single, and justifiably so. You kind of want Sting to pick up the tempo from time to time, you know? Here he does, with an irresistible melody...it's catchy as hell...and again drops in a bit of the first single from the LAST album just for kicks near the end.
'Straight To My Heart' is an uptempo love song set to an unusual beat, 7/8 or 15/8 or something. The song features more of that classic Sting vocal sound, with that airy soaring tone that irritates non-fans, but is one of the most recognizable voices in rock.
The albums descends into mediocrity at this point...it was on it's way to being one for the ages, but "Rock Steady" is "Consider Me Gone, part 2"...and just as weak. "Sister Moon" is OK if you don't pay attention. "Little Wing" is a Hendrix cover where he plays with Gil Evans. And "The Secret Marriage" takes effort to even recall.
That said, this album was by far better than 99% of what was out there in 1987, and that still holds true today.

With his second solo effort, Sting makes possibly his most powerful album statement, as well as one that is extremely enjoyable. It's difficult to find another artist who crosses styles so frequently while keeping the quality so high, but these 12 songs, with an all-star cast of backup players, is proof that Sting may be the only one we need!
"The Lazarus Heart", with a certain guitarist making an appearance, could have been a Police song in league with "Every Little Thing" or "King Of Pain", while "Be Still My Beating Heart" shows Sting rocking but holding onto his jazz roots, then the listener is treated to the stately but funny "Englishman In New York" which is my favorite song on the album, whose piano and sax solos echoes the jazz vibes even more. I disagree with the title "History Will Teach Us Nothing", but otherwise the lyrics are solid, pleading for a reasonable solution to today's problems as opposed to the violence that's been tried before. "They Dance Alone" is the album's most Latin-styled song and its most socially conscious, as powerfully moving as "Fragile", which is also Latin-sounding, an acoustic guitar work of art.
"We'll Be Together", the album's only lyrically straightforward love song, brings Sting his closest to the dance floor as he ever got up until then, and echoes the lyrics of "Set Them Free" at the end (anyone know why Sting does that?). "Straight To My Heart" almost as clear in its mesage, is a radioworthy fast track, while "Rock Steady" gets the listener moving to a modern-day Noah's Ark story. "Sister Moon" would fit nicely in a 3 A.M. jazz club setting due to smooth sax and a smoky bassline, providing a variant on the incident which led to the album's title. Sting records a momentous jam session with Gil Evans & his orchestra with "Little Wing", arguably the best cover song he's ever done. Using piano and vocal alone, "The Secret Marriage" stands out at the close, simple and hauntingly beautiful.
Even today, Sting continues to broaden his sonic horizons with forays into world music and new variations on Police songs, but "Nothing Like The Sun" convincingly affirms that he'll never abandon his jazz-rock beginnings, as no fan would want. Although all his albums are different, this one stands out more than others in variety and addictiveness. A Sting fan's collection would not be complete without it.

Sting's powerful lyrics are both soothing and haunting at the same time. His political anthems will motivate you to action, while his lingering love-lost blues will stir your soul. No one else can so eloquently capture the logic and the emotion of a situation quite like Sting. I've been a fan for a long time and have at least one copy of just about everything, but I would have to say ...Nothing Like the Sun is my favorite, from start to finish. If you're looking for an intellectual album with topics as diversified as politics, human rights, psychology, love, religion, history, and society, this is the selection for you.

One of the best crafted pop albums of the last 20 years - a true masterpiece. Sting is a genius. Track for track this is one amazing recording.