Sting is perhaps one of the most innovative rock stars with a legendary pop-acumen that makes him flirt with almost every genre of music-from the initial reggae tinged Police albums to jazz in Nothing like the sun- traditional English folk in Ten Summoner’s Tales to Puff daddy remixes (ugh!)
But all said and done There are far too few intelligent solo artists around to dispute Sting’s claim to greatness
At first listen Mercury Falling, some 6 years back, seemed to be Sting’s weakest album.
It seemed like the great man had finally lowered his standards after the great Ten summoner’s tales and Nothing like the sun- but a few weeks of listening later I realised that Mercury Falling was going to be- for the want of a better word-my ’favoritest’!
The album is a sweetly painful one-recorded after Sting’s divorce- and only Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks has ever conveyed the pain of losing love so poignantly
Yet there’s Sting cheery sunniness all around-an all pervasive shiny humor-that lifts the album so wonderfully above all the rest
The brightest example would be the song
’I am so happy (I can’t stop crying)’-A wry look at a messy divorce (his own?) and yet so gently sympathetic -
’’What can a father do
But Baby-sit sometimes?’’-
Clever and funny lines that convey the pain better than anything else
’Hounds of winter’ and ’I was Brought to my senses’ are two beautiful songs that underline the same theme of Parting -
Yet, to make it lighter catch Sting Howling away to glory in the magnificent Hounds of Winter!
Brought to my senses and Let your Soul be Your Pilot -both involve choruses from a Gospel group and sound vastly ambitious
While, Brought to my Senses features as one of the best examples of Sting’s talent to blend a beautiful tune with cleverly crafted lyrics , Let your Soul-sounds over-stretched at times and a bit tiresome
All Four Seasons is a throw back to Sting’s ’’Every Little thing she does’’ days-Tragi-comic songs-Which as-a-rule feature Sting at his Humorous best
(example ’’She Changes her mind Like she changes her Sweaters’’!)
The album’s greatest moments are however the violin lined ’Valpariso’ and the all-french ’La belle dame sans regrets’(This one contains spectacular guitar work by Sting favorite Dominic miller)
Valpariso’s cello intro and mandolin touches at the end make it a melancholic masterpiece of unsurpassed beauty.
And then ofcourse there’s the finale-Lithium sunset with a brilliant harmonica blast at the beginning
(by the way Do notice that the last and the first lines in the album happen to be-Mercury Falling!)
A must listen to any lover of rock and a must possess for any fan of Sting!
Song List
1The Hounds of Winter ()
2Hung My Head (**)-The Weakest Sting song in a long time
3Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot ()
4I Was Brought to My Senses ()
5You Still Touch Me ()
6I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying ()
7All Four Seasons ()
8La Belle Dame Sans Regrets ()
9Valparaiso ()
10Lithium Sunset()