Bring on the Night [ENHANCED] [LIVE]

Sting

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced, Live
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000002GLE
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,418 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

When Sting embarked on his solo career, he didn't throw his tenure with the Police out the window; on this live double album from his Dream of the Blue Turtles tour, he reworks some odd selections from his old band's catalog in the expansive, jazz-inflected style of his new crew (which included saxophonist Branford Marsalis). These performances emphasize showmanship (solos, backup singers, and all) and they've got lots of crowd-pleasing moments, like the overwhelming swell of "I Burn for You" and a Caribbean clap-along on a medley of "One World" and "Love Is the Seventh Wave." But Sting's raw-steak voice has been affected by his band, too, and his phrasing on the quieter torch songs draws cleverly on jazz traditions. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply incredible sounding jazz/pop live album, September 16, 2003

By	Bill M. "bill_m1" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

I've bought live albums from countless different bands before, and I must say that this is probably the best one I've ever heard. The recording quality is flawless. Everybody in the 7-piece band sounds great and is mixed very well. I can't speak for the reissued version though; I only have the original version (which like all older double-disc CDs, came in that bulky, older style type of case). The liner notes are very well done too. There are many abstract art paitings of the band members, which look quite striking (albeit a bit "80s") against the black background. Sting comments on each song on the album, explaining their meaning and inspirations.

This live album was made in the time after Sting's first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. The band includes Sting on lead vocals and 6-string guitar, four musicians that each have a resume to die for (Omar Hakim on drums, Darryl Jones on bass, Kenny Kirkland on keyboard, and Branford Marsalis on sax), plus backup vocals and some percussion provided by Dolette McDonald (who also sang on the The Police's "Syncronicity" tour) and Janice Pendarvis.

There are a total of 16 songs here, including 3 medlies of 3 songs each. 8 songs are from The Police. Instead of going after the hits we've all seen on too many compilations, Sting goes for songs that are more obscure, but none the less great. I'm a die-hard Police fan, and trust me when I say that Sting does NOT butcher these songs -- he digs up these gems and turns them into pieces that sound equally beautiful with a jazz band. The disc starts off with a long but up-beat medly of "Bring On The Night" and "When The World Is Running Down", that just never loses energy. Sting also reforms "Low Life" (a former B-side) and brings a new melancholy to "I Burn For You" (a song from the "Brimstone & Treacle" soundtrack). The reggae sound of The Police's "One World" leads nicely into Sting's "Love Is The Seventh Wave". The pure-jazz madness of "Dream Of The Blue Turtles" flows into fast guitar-driven "Demolition Man". "Driven To Tears" is given a hip latiny feel, while "Tea In The Sahara" is given a new fullness with piano, sax, and back-up vocals.

Of the 8 non-Police songs, 5 are from Sting's solo album. Once again, he doesn't go straight for the hits ("If You Love Somebody", "Fortress Around Your Heart", "Russians"), but rather chooses almost every other song: "Love Is The Seventh Wave", "Consider Me Gone", "We Work The Black Seam", "Moon Over Bourbon Street", and "Children's Crusade". The live versions don't sound drastically different than the studio version, maybe with the exception of Sting's powerful ending vocals to "Bourbon St". But they're all songs that sound just as great live as they did in the studio. The remaining two songs, which you can't find anywhere else in any form are "Down So Long" and "Another Day". "Down So Long" is a 12-bar blues jam, which give some of the musicians a little more spotlight. But "Another Day" is one of my all-time favorite songs from ANY band! Very emotional and well-played. Why Sting never made a studio version of this, I don't know.

"Bring On The Night" is, like the documentary of the same title, a great document of this incredble line-up of musicians. I only wish more bands had live albums that captured their essence as well as this one.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crowd-pleasing double live disk, May 23, 2003

By	Jack Fitzgerald "JFD" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Sting's 1986 double live set "Bring on the Night" was an ambitious effort, considering that he had released only one album of solo material. Instead, he reworks many lesser, and obscure, Police tunes with his rock/jazz fusion backing band and produces a winner. Sting handles the vocals and guitar, with Omar Hakim on drums, Darryl Jones on bass, Kenny Kirkland on keyboards and Branford Marsalis on saxophone.
The disk starts with a twisty medley of "Bring on the Night/When the World is Running Down You Make the Best of What's Still Around." It's a long title, and a long song, with outstanding vocals by Sting, excellent keyboard solo by Kirkland and a surprise rap by Marsalis.
"Consider Me Gone" is pretty similar to the studio version on "Dream of the Blue Turtles" but it sizzles live with a cool Pacific style jazz beat.
"Low Life" is an obscure Police tune not found on their regular issues, but on the "Message in a Box" set. Nice blues/jazz feel and dark lyrics.
"The Dream of the Blue Turtles/Demolition Man" features a jazz instrumental melded into smoking version of the "Ghost in the Machine" classic, with horns that are not quite as dissonant as the original, and a break-neck pace.
Disc 2 opens with another medley, this time "One World (Not Three)/ Love is the Seventh Wave" and a fantastic multi-vocal introduction. Both songs have similar themes of, well, the world kind of [isn't good], but there's a lot to enjoy, too. The melding of these tunes is seamless. Sting and his band put a lot of thought, and rehearsal, into reworking these tunes.
"Moon Over Bourbon Street" features Sting and his bass guitar, and a little haunting sax in the background. A tribute to Anne Rice's "Interview With the Vampire" and Sting finds a depth to his usually thin/reedy/raspy voice that is not usually heard.
"I Burn For You" is another obscure Police tune that builds to a powerful finale.
I'm not sure where "Another Day" came from, but there is some cool audience interaction. "Down So Long" features Sting showing some blues/jazz chops.
"Tea in the Sahara" closes out the set, trading the desert atmospherics of Andy Summers' studio version for Marsalis' saxophone.
Although Sting is the frontman here, he lets his backing group flash their instrumental chops, making this a very enjoyable collection.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sting's Early Solo Days Captured Live!, February 10, 2001

By	W. Langan "take403" (the end of the world to your town!) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of Sting's early solo efforts (it had only been a few years since the Police broke up) taken from his 1st solo tour. Sting sounds confident on this CD (he sings and plays rhythm guitar) and his band (Darryl Jones on bass, Branford Marsalis on sax, Omar Hakim on drums, Kenny Kirkland on keyboards to name a few) sounds top notch! There's more jazz on this CD than anything else.

"Bring On the Night" is joined with "When the World Is Running Down" and they jam out on that one! He also segues "Dream of the Blue Turtles" (from his solo debut of the same name which got nominated for a Grammy) with the hard rockin' "Demolition Man"! He combines 2 songs with a simmilar reggae beat (and message) "One World"/"Love Is the 7th Wave". "Driven to Tears" is a great political conscientious song- "too many cameras and not enough food". "Children's Crusade", as Sting points out on the liner notes, talks about different eras from the 11th century to World War I to 1985 (then the present). "Another Day" is Sting's characteristically "despondent" side (with its ironic upbeat melody) and "Low Life" is humourous and catchy. "I Burn for You" is featured in the movie Brimstone and Treacle, which Sting both acted in and composed some of the songs (Sting points out that he composed this while he was teaching: "The soundtrack got a Grammy. [My students] got their O levels."). "We Work the Black Seam" is loosely based on a coalmine strike. The CD closes with "Been Down So Long" (a bluesy break from the jazz improvisation, but as Sting says, "the blues is music form indigenious to the coalfields of Northern England") and the Police classic "Tea in the Sahara" (not to put down the original, but this version has reinvinted itself greatly in comparison).