Sacred Love [ENHANCED] [HYBRID SACD - DSD]

Sting

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 30, 2003)
• Original Release Date: September 30, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B0000AX8FK
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #182,515 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. . Inside

2. Send Your Love

3. Whenever I Say Your Name (with Mary J. Blige)

4. Dead Man's Rope

5. Never Coming Home

6. Like a Beautiful Smile

7. Let's Forget About the Future

8. This War

9. The Book of My Life

10. Sacred Love

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sting explores his shiny, happy side on Sacred Love, adding playful touches of techno to his smooth, vaguely multi-cultural pop sound. Like 1999's Brand New Day, Love sounds effortless and content, with expert musicians backing up Sting's gauzy revelations about love and life. The former Police frontman shakes things up here and there; DJ/producers like BT and Victor Calderone breathe life into tracks like "Never Coming Home" and "Send Your Love," while Mary J. Blige puts her smoky vocals to work on "Whenever I Say Your Name." "This War" takes a not-so-subtle shot at George W. Bush, as Sting gives his left-leaning fan base a thrill with lyrics like "Your daddy was a businessman/ and it always made good sense/ You know the war can make you rich my friend/ In dollars, pounds, and cents." Of course, Sting long ago cashed in his rebel cachet for adult contemporary oblivion. But even though this music is designed for broad appeal, it does so with the natural, unforced ease of a seasoned showman. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What can we compare this album with?, November 9, 2003

By A Customer

I do like the SACD mix which I find quite intelligent, expanding the already multi-layered sounds quite unusually at times. Try as I might to find another reasonable point of reference, Sting really only compares to himself - which is enormous praise for anyone these days. That said, expectations are high and you can't help noticing that there is a huge difference to the integrity, simplicity and sheer force that some of his most original work with The Police and the early solo stuff had in spades. Who cares about SACD mixes where these hoped-for essentials are lacking? I can only guess that this truly gifted musician must be listening to people telling him how wonderful he is and that at some point he must have started to believe them (well, that's kinda hard to resist). Why follow your own path if retracing your steps by producing more of what you've already done is so much easier? Originality will of course go by the wayside and the result may seem sophisticated on the surface, but will lack substance and feel a bit careless underneath. On this album, great musicians end up collaborating on nothing truly exciting or new - that is, if you take the time to compare it to some of Sting's earlier work, in relation to which I'd like to rate it 2 Stars. A bloody shame, really.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing Up With Sting, October 10, 2003

By	Susannah (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews

Astonishing, how this man reinvents himself again and again - as do we all as we move through our lives. And then he is gracious enough to share that reinvention with us. This CD is truly remarkable, and could not have been produced by anyone else, or at any other time.

What in Sting's younger years was lush, passionate, often painful self-examination has become, in adulthood, intense, austere and very direct: here I am; take me or not. For those who complain that they liked previous work better and want more of the same, I disagree. It would be as sad were Sting to 'get stuck' at any point in life's progress as it would be for any of us to do so. "Sacred Love" is not "Soul Cages" again - such a production at this time of life would be so inappropriate as to seem grotesque: the Mick Jagger syndrome. This marvelous, difficult, uncompromising CD is, rather, the definitive voice of a thoughtful, intelligent, introspective 52-year-old. We should all be growing up so gracefully.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I Wanted To Love This (But Couldn't), September 22, 2003

By	Samit Choudhuri (Pacific Northwest, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First things first: I love the music and song that Sting crafts. I've been a huge fan since the late 70's when I heard The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me" on a flight from Mumbai to Rome on the way back to Nigeria (I was in 3rd or 4th grade).

I've followed Sting's solo career with equel vigour from the very first time I heard "If You Love Somone..." and "Love Is The Seventh Wave" on BBC shortwave in West Africa. I've seen Sting 10 times starting with Nothing Like The Sun (I came to America in 1987) through the live ..All This Time promotional tour. I met him on one occasion at Sandstone in Kansas City and was front-row center on his BND promo tour in Chicago. My favourite two albums are DotBT and Soul Cages. Hehe, that's a tough choice because there's I really love nearly everything Sting has done.

I wanted to love this CD. I really did. I even tried. But it doesn't come up as compelling as his previous material. At least not to my my humble ears. I almost hate admitting that I don't like this because it makes me feel like a disloyal Sting fan, but in the interest of being honest, there you go. I purchased the Japanese import of the SACD and have listened to it maybe two dozen times. That's not to say it's bad; there are a few tracks that I like (as opposed to all of them) and some very solid hooks in some of the songs ("Stolen Car"'s "take me dancing" chorus jumps to mind). I like "Dead Man's Rope" and "Inside" a lot. The sitar in "Book Of My Life" is damn good too, but lyrically the song itself doesn't do anything for me.

I can't put my finger on it, but the music doesn't *move* me like nearly all of his previous material has. One thought: This might be because the music heavily electronic and sounds sterile (?). His live show on the upcoming tour might change my mind (that would be nice), but in the iterim it ranks as my least favourite Sting solo CD. Sorry, but there you go. If I find my opinion changing down the road, I'll be sure to let you know. Unfortunately, my opinion has gotten worse the more I listen. :(

Still, if you're a Sting fan, you know you can't pass it up. Anyone know if there are plans to release all the Sting music videos on DVD soon?

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the CD (because I don't think you probably enjoyed this review ;). And for what it's worth, there's a lot of potential for a good live show here.