Sting - Bring on Night (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

Simply incredible sounding jazz/pop live album

Bill M. | MA, USA | 09/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Crowd-pleasing double live disk

Jack Fitzgerald | Seattle, WA United States | 05/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Sting's Early Solo Days Captured Live!

W. Langan | the end of the world to your town! | 02/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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)."

The straight dope on this album

Christopher Bitely | Coastal Maine | 12/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, so admittedly, this is a reactionary review because I've seen too many people give misleading and superficial representations of this album (kind of annoying, no?). Onto the review...

It's a great live double-disc set and it is heavily influenced by Sting's band comprised of jazz musicians. But, only one song could be considered jazz (Dream of the Blue Turtles) and that's the one without much of a solo section (very un-jazz-like). This lineup is one of the best I've ever come across in pop music. The keyboard solos on some of these songs are so smokin' I shake my head and laugh sometimes when I'm listening to it.

Another quick thing to clear up. On this album and on Dream of The Blue Turtles, Sting gives up the bass (replaced by Darryl Jones) and plays guitar. He's actually a pretty good rhythm guitar player.

So is it good? Absolutely. And you get to hear quite a few of Sting's solo songs as well as some Police material. It's a great album with lots of color and excitement. You can even appreciate Branford Marsalis doing a mid-80's rap over one of the choruses. It's kind of cheezy now, but given the time period, it was fresh and fun.

So, as a recommendation, let me say that I taped a copy of this CD way back when I didn't have a CD player in my car and would just let it repeat itself over and over in my car wherever I went. I think you'll really dig this album."

Bring it on!

kennedy19 | wakefield, ma USA | 01/04/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Upon leaving the Police at the height of their fame, Sting embarked on a bold new solo career with a group of expert jazz musicians in this fusion rock band. All of the players are superb: bassist Darrel Jones (Sting played guitar instead in this band), the late keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, drummer Omar Hakim, and famed saxophonist Branford Marsalis, along with some backup singers. This lengthy live album, taken from the band's tour through Europe in 1986, showcases a unique, skillful sound; it also highlights many of the more obscure corners of Sting's songwriting career, breathing new life into many forgotten Police songs. Indeed, it seems ironic that the band's live versions of songs like "Children's Crusade" and "We Work the Black Seam" (from the Sting album "The Dream of the Blue Turtles") are the most ragged offerings here, considering that this same band played them on the studio recordings. Various lengthy medleys are entertaining, although Branford's "rap" during the opening set is slightly embarrassing, as are his occasional bum notes during tenor sax rambling. Be this as it may, when the band turns to odd Police oldies like "Low Life" and "Demolition Man," they cleary improve on the flawed originals. (Don't get me wrong, the Police were one of the finest rock groups I ever heard; rather, this group takes material that the Police had treated as second-rate and elaborates upon it into something better.) Quieter numbers like "Moon Over Bourbon Street" and a drawn-out "Tea in the Sahara" lend themselves very well to this band's jazzy stage sound; in fact, the moody "I Burn For You" is perhaps the highlight of the set, building to an intense climax of longing and menace that is truly frightening. However, the band also proves they can cook with upbeat numbers like "Another Day" and the straight blues of "Down So Long." Overall this recording is worth having. It shows Sting at the peak of his confidence and daring, when he was still riding the forward momentum of a career that has since become more tame. Music fans of many stripes can enjoy this atmospheric collection of lesser-known songs made wonderful onstage. It should also be noted that this CD contains many songs not featured in the concert movie of the same name."

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