Customer Reviews

Sacred Love

5 star:		(139)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(40)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

Like many, I'm sure, I skipped through the tracks on this cd when I first got it, hoping to find 4-5 that I immediately liked. Initially, I remember being disappointed. However, after a few weeks, I only have one thing to say: WOW.

As for the criticism, we have to first remember that unlike most musicians today, Sting is still, first and foremost...an artist. As such, his art (or music) is going to be an expression. It's obvious from listening to this cd that Sting's been going through some deep stuff internally, and it has naturally manifested itself into his music.

I have to say I agree with the review by "Hounds" found elsewhere on this site. There's definitely one Tribute song here, if not more. This shouldn't be a surprise - you can see a gradual transformation of Sting over his past couple releases where, if you know what to look for, you can sense his growing interest in the spiritual/God/whatever you want to call it.

Ironically, I think this album will probably go down as one of Sting's "worst", though, from the standpoint of the general population of music fans. Mostly because the lyrics in many of the songs are meaningless to most, but extremely powerful to some. In many ways, I wonder if this is more of a 'Gospel' cd cleverly disguised as popular music. In "Whenever I Say Your Name" (my absolute favorite), "The Book of My Life" and "Send Your Love", Sting may simply be crying out to his Creator...meanwhile, the world perhaps hears a song that makes no sense whatsoever. To me, that's the beauty of this cd.

And that is to challenge anyone who puts him in a box or who is closed minded to resist progress, change and new directions. Sting once said the minute you tell him he can't do something, that's when he'll do it! It is amazing he can still have this effect after 25 years in the business. I even asked myself before this release, there is nothing Sting can do to surprise me anymore. I was wrong, the man is a genius and he loves to challenge his audience.

Sacred Love incorporates some very progressive beats, rhythms, harmonies, packaged with an incredible vocal performance. To the fans who have yet to accept the album, it's only a matter of time before you are hooked. I would have never followed Sting's career for 23 years if he stayed constant, it would have been such a boring journey. I credit the man for broadening my horizons on music, from world rhythms to jazz to country. Music is music, a melody is a melody, no matter what frame it's painted in. This album has small splashes of hip hop/gospel influences which I am sure alienated some fans but the music is interwoven in such an excellent manner, the Sting signature/genius is clearly there.

Songs like 'Sacred Love', 'Never Coming Home', 'Stolen Car', the jazzy 'Forget About the Future', 'Whenever I Say Your Name', the powerful lyrics in 'This War', and my favorite, 'The Book of My Life' puts this album among the best the man has recorded. 'The Book of My Life' is definitely one of the best songs Sting has written, if not the best.

Thanks for the challenge and the journey. IMHO, definitely the best singer/songwriter/musician/arranger I have heard.

Bring on the Sacred Love tour!

First of all, I have to say that I am a HUGE Sting fan. The depth and personal nature of his lyrics, coupled with his cool, smooth voice and brilliantly adept songwriting capabilities, are an inspiration.

That's why this review was so crippling to write.

"Sacred Love" is by no means a bad album. It just lacks the catchiness, conciseness, and memorable nature of his past work.

The first thing that took me aback about the album was how amazingly uncatchy the songs are. Apart from a few tunes ("Stolen Car", "Never Coming Home", "Dead Man's Rope" and "Send Your Love"), the songs' choruses rarely repeat the same lyrics, melody, or rhythm, thus rendering them unfamiliar. Sting has always had a penchant for a send-up chorus ("Fragile", "If I Ever Lose My Faith", "Englishman in New York", and "All This Time" are some great examples). However, this album noteably lacks this decidedly Sting-ish element.

The production is, of course, first rate. The added bass contribuitions of Christian McBride, sitarist Anoushka Shankbar, and flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo, are well-tempered and very enriching. Sting's voice hasn't lost anything, as he comes across with a refined, cool maturity. Mary J. Blige's performance, while noteworthy, is a bit alarming, her bombastic revival-choir vocal somersaults oddly coupled with Sting's soulfull smoothness.

One of the possible reasons for the difficult nature of the album could be the abundance of lyrics to be found. Take the lead-off track, "Inside" for example. It starts off beautifully, but careens into obnoxious, overtly metaphoric and relentless ranting ("Love me like an innocent, love me like your favorite toy...annihilate me, suffocate me...blah blah blah). It's almost too much at times, and made me long for the sweet, spare nature of 10 Summoner's Tales/Soul Cages-era Sting, where each word actually counted. Here, it's just self-indulgent.

Some of the tunes also seem to have a marked lack of focus. The tunes "This War" and the title track, "Sacred Love" seem like demos, plodding along, waiting for something to happen, then ditching into a chorus when nothing does.

In a nutshell, the album falls short. Too wordy, uncatchy and undeveloped, the album did little to satiate me after four years of little original material from a man who I consider my all-time favorite musician. This is a testament that Sting thrives best in his classic setting: a rockin' five piece band, where the music is concise and focused. Here's hoping he comes around.

Up until now, Sting has delievered 25yrs of worthy songs. Like so many older acts who've lost their way, here Sting relies on contemporary club-sounding music coupled with rap-rhyming lyrics to try and give himself a fresh appeal; it's not appealing, it's appalling. He's obviously been hanging around Madonna too long. Even "This War", which one might expect Sting to deliver in quintessentially poignant fashion, is an uninspired, mumbled mess that clearly proves how far removed he is from himself and his music. How disappointing it is for a long time fan to write such criticism but it is truly deserved.

One of the things I greatly admire about Sting is his willingness to work with new sounds and new themes for his albums. Instead of cranking out tired variations of the same style album after album, Sting uses each new album as an opportunity to reinvent himself. Even though this willingness to shake things up style-wise sometimes results in Sting recording music that I personally don't care for all that much, I still admire that he's willing to try new things while still staying true to himself. Say what you like about any of Sting's albums, there is never a sense that he's become a victim of target marketing or selling out. It's obvious that the music Sting makes is exactly the music Sting wants to be making. I like that in an artist.

That said, here are my thoughts about Sacred Love, his newest musical experiment: Overall I really like the album a lot. I can't say that I like every song on the album, but I do like most of them. Frankly, there is such a hodgepodge of styles covered in Sacred Love, that I think only the diehard Sting enthusiast would be fond of them all. This is really a genre-bending album that he's put together here. It's impossible to classify because it skips so wildly from rock to hip-hop love ballad, to world lounge, to Middle Eastern techno dance, to the classic Sting sound so strongly influenced by jazz and reggae. Really, I'm very impressed that the album flows together so well. I wouldn't have thought it'd be possible to wrangle all these styles into one album without disastrous results. It's another testament to Sting's amazing talent.

There's a lot to like about this album. The lyrics are thoughtful and well crafted and never dull. The use of Middle Eastern, South American, and African influences are a delight to people who like their music well-traveled and flavorful. The spiritual and philosophical overtones scattered throughout strike an almost perfect balance most of the time, and make listening to the album an intensely personal experience, almost like you're having a conversation with the artist himself. And for me, The first 3 songs really are incredible. If every other song on the album was crap, I'd still be reasonably happy with my purchase becasue of "Inside", "Send Your Love", and "Whenever I Say Your Name".

The only songs that just don't work for me are:

* The heavily Christian "Dead Man's Rope", which has good lyrics, but meanders on and on in a very tedious way.

* "This War", a very strong statement against President Bush's foreign agenda. While I may agree with Sting's views, the song isn't what I'd call entertainment. Unfortunately, this is no "They Dance Alone". I'll take my political commentary on my own time, thanks Sting.

* "Send Your Love" Remix. As remixes go, this one just doesn't do it for me. The original song is uptempo world fusion (think "Desert Rose") to begin with, and works pretty well as a dance song as is. Shaking things up further with a frenetic dance beat just makes the vocals sound forced and strained.

To sum up, I won't tell you that if you're a Sting fan you should definitely run out and buy this album. I like this album quite a bit and play it frequently, but you may not feel the same. This is an album that, as a fan, you will either really like or really hate, depending on how flexible you are as to what you think a Sting album should sound like. I'm pretty openminded when I pick up a Sting album because I don't like to pigeonhole my favorite artists. If you are, too, then I recommend you give it a listen. There's a lot to like here if you give it an unprejudiced listen.

So, a friend approaches me at work with word of this album's release...

I go online and read some really negative reviews, but buy it anyhow. I do so because I've followed Sting for a quarter of a century and consider him a truly remarkable artist.

Anyway, the CD arrives and I listen intently. Something doesn't take, though, and so I listen to it again, and again.

My verdict?

This "Sacred Love" is simply not worth the purchase, barely one cent of it.

The problem?

Sting has incorporated the "non-music" cadence and rhythm of rap and hip-hop into his score, and the result is just as phony and unlistenable as the model upon which it is constructed.

It's absolutely absurd for an artist who built his reputation on rich vocals and instrumental excellence to have turned to this preposterous genre and expected the public to embrace it.

Worse still, I don't even believe that HE thinks that it's any good. When I listen to the album I do not hear the voice of a musician announcing to the world that, yes, this is my very best, and it brings me joy to share it with you all.

Rather, I hear him snickering at us, with a snide and sarcastic, "everyone else is doing haiku this year, this is mine!"

This will be my last auto-purchase of a Sting release.

I am a Sting fan from way back and so I anticipated this recording for some time. I love it. My favorite song is "Dead Man's Rope." This is a wonderful collection of songs that speaks to many areas of life primarily love and religion. As always the lyrics and music are fabulous. This is a tremendous follow up to "Brand New Day" and I can't wait to see him in concert. "Stolen Car" and "Never Coming Home" both had me singing along from the getgo. I have been listening to this album practically non-stop since it came out last week. Love it, love it!

I wasn't planning on buying this the day it came out but after hearing 'Sacred Love' from start to finish on my favorite radio station (the only station I listen to, really) I immediately loved what I heard, which is rare since most CDs take several run-throughs to grow on me. Following in the same vein that made 'Brand New Day' a slow but eventual hit with "Desert Rose", Sting's first single "Send Your Love" contains some eastern instrumentation, which can be heard in short scatters throughout the album, complementing it nicely. The song also has a poppish-trance beat that practically begs to be remixed as another club favorite (and it is as a bonus track) and I'm more than ready to dance the night away to the infectious melody. Sting has apparently taken a liking to world grooves, as heard on "The Book Of My Life" featuring Anoushka Shankar, but he combines the old with the new quite well. The familiarity of bluesy rock and fiery jazz are as present as ever but I find myself most impressed with his passionate duet with R&B singer Mary J. Blige. I'm frankly shocked at how much I enjoy this ballad because I'm not a big fan of diva's singing their heads off but their voices mesh well together and it was surprisingly pleasant.

This may not be Sting's best work (every cut is a far-cry from soul-stirring classics such as "Fields Of Gold" and "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You") but it's much better than his last effort. He seems to have found himself and once again sounds complete with what he's doing.

OK, reviewing a Sting record is getting a bit more complex these days. So I ask myself "What does he do very well here?" Answers..1) He's a good producer. The songs are constructed in quirky and interesting layers i.e. the sitars and the flamenco guitar 2) He's a good composer and a subtle story teller, though you can frequently hear why Copeland and Summers had to kick his ass to "pick it up a little." Do you think "Synchronicity" was originally a samba? 3) He's an awesome bass player!

He's in menopause now, despite all the tantric sex, but still brings a lot of edge and cosmic vibe to the record. But I wish it had more edge, like Soul Cages or Summoners Tales. Because Sting-a ring when you go nightclub on us we want to check behind the trousers and see if you still have a full set intact.

I prefer to think that you are still somewhat angry young sophisticante, but you are too gifted for your own good. So you settle on a cool-jazz groove that pleases Chris Botti and Sade.

I must admit that I found a guilty pleasure in the dance mix of "Send your Love". And in the end, no one writes and sings about death and fragility better than Sting and I think its cool when he borrows from himself the same tones, themes, and textures in "Bring on the Night" and "I Hung my Head."

I'm still with you Sting.

Sting has become one of our pop icons, and love him or hate him, you cannot deny that the guy can write catchy tunes. His solo output is double that of the Police, and while he doesn't demonstrate the amazing growth that he did over those few short years in that rock group, he makes up for it with consistency.
The album is impeccably produced, with lush instrumentation and involving rhythms.
If anything, he has lost the ability (or the interest) to write a simple pop tune. He's getting progressively 'wordy'. The lyrics are dense...nicely written...but thick. Don't expect verse-chorus-verse here.
The music, as usual, is terrific. He's still blending classic pop sensibilities with world music and jazz arrangements. It's the norm today, but in the mid-80's, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon infused pop music with these elements in a way that has "stuck". The three of them took rhythms and melodies from sources unfamiliar to American pop audiences, and welded them to their individual styles.
Now, it's no big deal to hear an African chant, tribal drum, jazz piano solo or unusual polyrhythmic signature on the radio. Most people won't even recognize it as such.
The single "Send Your Love", the "Desert Rose" of this set, is represented in two variations, and both work, strangely enough. They're enough alike that the song remains intact, yet different enough that they work independently. It's kinda cool.
"Dead Man's Rope" sounds like a sequel to "King of Pain", and I mean that in the best possible way. As he frequently does, he tosses in a few lines from an old song at the end of one on a new album. This goes back to "Synchronicity", where the song "O My God" quotes a few lyrics from "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic". On "Dead Man's Rope", he hearkens back to "Synchronicity" for a bit of "Walking In Your Footsteps".
The song "Never Coming Home" sounds like an outtake from the live 'Bring On The Night" album, with the extended piano jam and a guitar line stolen from the "Reggatta de Blanc" album.
A few of the slower songs meander a bit too much. Too soft-focus.
The duet with Mary J. Blige sounds terrific, but the song itself doesn't serve the artists. It's not that great of a song. I can't hum it. But let me tell you, they sound awesome together. Sting's voice has always blended well with female R&B singers. I recall the back-up singers on the last Police tours...I can only imagine how Sting and Blige would have sounded doing a call-and-response take on the opening tune, "Inside". Epic potential.

The album "Sacred Love" falls short of five-star status because there just aren't enough jaw-droppingly amazing moments. I'm a huge Sting fan...just huge. Unfortunately, every time he releases an album, I want it to alter my life. I want it to be the best album of the year. I want it to be essential.
This is merely great. And maybe I'm the one with the problem...