Customer Reviews

Sting - The Brand New Day Tour: Live From The Universal Amphitheatre

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

When Sting went solo in 1985, a lot was made of his using nearly 50 percent new songs for his first BRING ON THE NIGHT tour (as if a superstar act "should" keep the new stuff to a bare minimum). Fifteen years later he is even bolder: of the eighteen songs presented here, EIGHT of them are from his latest, acclaimed BRAND NEW DAY album, and I count only eight that date from the first two decades of his career (with only three associated with the Police)!

VERY FEW veteran artists have the confidence--and the talent--to remain in the present tense after all these years, defying the overwhelming trend for established performers to become mostly oldies acts (e.g., the Stones, Prince, Earth Wind & Fire, and countless others). This is not so much a criticism of the oldies trend, but rather an indication of how uniquely Sting has positioned himself.

Some might say Sting is mellowing, but I'm looking at this beautifully-shot, wonderfully-sounding DVD and thinking that, while his use of rock elements has diminished, the music has become more assertively eclectic, with jazz, country, funk, and world music elements seamlessly morphing into a unique, "Sting" sound. The style may sound less brash than some Police recordings, but the soulful substance is deeper. I think it's a pop-culture myth that being subtle means retreating from the cutting edge--Sting continues to make a case that the opposite may be true!

The group is outstanding in their ability to tweak the new material, and to revamp some of the older songs (the once-moody song MOON OVER BOURBON STREET has become a Satchmo-like New Orleans romp). Chris Botti is the most assertive horn player in Sting's group since Branford Marsalis, and the remaining musicians are well-chosen for their ability to play as a team and to forge a truly contemporary sound for their leader. Sting himself sounds as fresh and invigorated as if he just mastered how to play the music yesterday, whether it's the new material or his timeless classic MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE.

If you're looking for Sting to take you down memory lane at this stage of his career, be forewarned that he is one of the least nostalgic pop artists on the planet...his inspiration lies mostly with the newer material. On the other hand, the new material shows his continued growth as an artist, so if you're open to his current musical vision, this DVD is highly recommended. The music is great, and the presentation (visuals, sound) is first-rate.

This DVD is the perfect example of why Sting has remained a musical icon for so many years. Sting has the ability to evolve with time, as this collection shows. Only a few greatest hits - most titles here are from his latest studio release "Brand New Day" and that is not a bad thing if you enjoy the Sting of the present. Those looking for a Police reunion or 20 "Greatest Hits" songs should stay away. Although he performs a few titles from the past - Sting really shines with the new material, mostly attributed to the incredible band backing him on the tour. Great sound and video quality, whith applause, percusion and a bit of echo filling your back speakers in 5.1 If you enjoy Stings solo career, buy this DVD - you will not be disappointed.

Let me preface this by letting you know that I have both seen Sting live during the "Mercury Falling" tour and I have spent over 10 years performing live and recording, so I am a bit more heavy on the scrutiny than most. [....] Let me tell you, if you want a concert that replicates the CD, then you should be buying the CD, not the concert DVD. Concerts are not necessarily supposed to be "perfect" in the sense that everything in an 18-song set is identical to a performance that takes months of studio recording to perfect (and even then it's NEVER perfect). Concerts are supposed to be a bit of an experience that brings the audience closer to the artist. I feel that the DVD does this successfully, and I find that the concert itself is rather enjoyable, including an excellent trumpet player (Chris Botti, who was remarkable!), Stevie Wonder, and Cheb Mami (on Desert Rose). While I personally miss Kenny Kirkland and Vinnie Colaiuta, Manu Katche (whom I remember from "Nothing Like The Sun") does very well behind the drums and out front for a couple of songs. Sting tries several things during the course of the concert to deviate a bit from the norm. He roughs it up a bit for "Moon Over Bourbon Street", which caught me a bit by surprise (and completely annoyed my wife!), and Manu Katche coming out front to rap in French was quite refreshing. The quality of the visual end of the DVD was very good, but the real reason for the three-star rating was the poor sound compression. While the sound itself was not bad, the compression used while mixing down the live audio to the DVD was HORRIBLE!!! It can't be put any other way. I read [that someone] was checking his 5.1 system and components. I laughed when I read that, because I did exactly the same thing. There are times where the mix is BRILLIANT and the clarity is what you expect from the very best of DVD audio. Then immediately, the music drops quite low, only to accentuate vocals, and then it tries to correct itself over a 10-15 second time period. It just gets ugly at times and puts a HUGE black eye on what I consider to be a DVD for any Sting fan. It is just really difficult to look past this blight. [....] Then I can maybe pull out this DVD after he releases something else with a better audio track. Of course, I find Sting to be an incredible artist and may watch it again in the near future, since my Ten Summoner's Tales video is going bad from my frequent viewing habits...

As a huge Sting fan who views him as one of the musical geniuses of his generation, I looked forward to this concert DVD with bated breath. Unfortunately, my expectations may have been a tad too high, as the disc disappoints.

Admittedly, 'Brand New Day' isn't my favourite Sting album, but even his performance of his older material, like 'Fragile' and 'Message In A Bottle', fails to truly ignite. While other reviewers appear to have enjoyed it, I found his Louis Armstrong style version of 'Moon Over Bourbon Street' particularly grating, as it bled the menacing, sinister soul out of what is, after all, a very dark song inspired by Anne Rice's 'Interview With A Vampire'.

All-in-all, I would probably still grudgingly recommend this DVD to Sting fans, at least until someone gets around to releasing a CD or DVD of his recent free concert in Central Park. At worst, it's okay if put on in the background while you are doing something else.

Oh, if only they would release BRING ON THE NIGHT on DVD instead...now THAT is a Sting concert video (actually, a full-length documentary) worth buying!

I was really looking forward to this but unfortunately I agree with the reviews I have read of this DVD. I saw this concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in May 2000. I had never seen him before but it was fantastic and Sting at his very best. The DVD disappoints because the stereo soundtrack has been created direct from the mixing desk without any effects, particularly on Stings vocals. As much as I love his and Cheb Mami's voice on Desert Rose, they are far too loud in the mix and make it near impossible to enjoy. I would love to see Ten Summoners Tales on DVD which was a film recorded during the recording of that album at Sting's home in England. Or Bring on the Night, or his previous music videos - please...there has been so much better than this from Sting.

I was a little wary about buying this disc after reading a few of the reviews about it, in particular the audio dropouts on some of the songs like Every Little Thing... While listening to the disc I too noticed the dropouts; specifically, it sounded like some sort of compression was kicking in. I thought about it for a few seconds and realized that I had "Night" mode (compression) turned on on my receiver. This is a feature that will lower the loudest sounds on a DVD, like gun shots, to prevent the sound from getting too loud. I turned the "night" mode off and the audio no longer had the volume fluctuations other reviewers complained about.

The sound was very good overall so don't let the other reviews scare you away from this disc. Just make sure you know how to use your receiver!

Ron

I actually saw Sting perform at the Universal a few days before the show they used in this video. Having seen the concert as well as the video, I must say the video does an excellent job of bringing the concert into your living room. The sound engineer does an excellent job balancing the instruments and Sting's voice and contrary to some of the other reviews of this product, I didn't have any problems listening to it in 2 channel or 5 channel stereo or in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The Dolby Digital setting does a very nice job of putting you right in the middle of the audience! This, combined with some great footage, really gives you the whole concert experience. If you are a fan of Sting, or just getting into his music, the combination of songs on this DVD will give you a great compilation of his works, from the Police, all the way to his latest solo works... as well as some excellent songs from in between. I highly recommend this to anyone thinking about buying it!

I must agree with most of the reviewers on this site. I wish I had listened to them before buying this DVD. The music is great, as usual from Sting. But the sound is CRAP! Even listening on stereo headphones the sound goes in and out, up and down, really loud and then barely discernible. It also always seems to go down when Sting is singing or speaking. Whoever was running the board this night should be shot... repeatedly... in the knees... with a bow & arrow... for days. I mean, it's ridiculous. I'm going to try and return it, but I'm not hopeful. See if you can rent this first (try Netflix) and see how it does on your sound system. If it's good (or even okay) buy it, because it's a great concert. Please take this review to heart from someone who didn't.

I was very excited when I heard Sting was coming to dvd, as I am a huge fan of Sting and also the legend players he works with. Overall the disc is great, apart from an annoying audio problem when watching it from the 5.1 source through a non 5.1 system( it seems fine when using stereo, but default setting is 5.1) I don't know if it is o.k through a 5.1 system cause I don't have one, but from what I've heard it is o.k. Manu Katche's drumming is no where as good as Vinnie's from the album, ( I am a HUGE Vinnie fan.) but he does play some really tasetful stuff in "englishman in new york" and some great shuffles in other tracks. Dominic Miller(guitar) is a legend Sting makes this dvd happen ( apart from reading words from his music stand in some songs) His song writing is flawless........ If you are into Sting, you need to have it.

...I'd rather add to my Sting-dvd-collection! This being said; Sting delievers. Not the most inspiring I've seen from my favorite artist (I wish they would release "Summoners' Travels" on dvd sometime in the near future -in my opinion Sting was at top (his best) in the years 1985-1994. Some of his best work and performances took place between then.

Not that I don't find Sting inspiring anymore -he is still the best! Still my favorite, and I doubt anything could ever change that. Sting is still in progress (musically) -and the man never stops surprising me! Working with some of the best musicians in the world, well, millions of fans can't be wrong! And I'm always curious on how his next sound and project will turn out!

This dvd-release is probably the least seen in my collection. I don't know why -there is just something, (...what's the description here...?) hm, uninteresting and different about the show. A little unpersonal. A lot of my favorite Sting-songs missing, not his best vocal-performance -and though mistaces may be charming; Have you noticed in one of the songs at the end of the show Sting is not touching the bass guitar -but the bass guitar is playing. Has he got an auto-pilot in there somewhere? No big deal, but I got a little curious. That's all.

The sound 5.1 is fantastic -so I don't recognize other reviewers experiences here with the sound-format on this release. Picture good.

Stage and performances, good. The background a little unnessacary (correct spelled?). Sting is not famous for a visually stunning live show like Pink Floyd, but instead is critically acclaimed for his talent of involving the audiences in his performing.

Unless you're not a big fan, don't buy this -it may give you a wrong impression. I'd buy All This Time or Bring On The Night instead -both 5 star worthy in my opinion!

(I personally also think that they overdid Chris Bottis' trumpetplaying at times during the Brand New Day-tours' shows, not that he is anything but a talented musician -but "Moon Over Bourbon Street" is the worst and most painful version I've ever heard on this release.)