Search - Sting :: Bring on the Night (Rpkg)

Great band, new arrangements, mediocre sound

Eric J. Anderson | Ankeny, Iowa | 12/29/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, the sound quality: Bob Ludwig is one of the best mastering engineers in the business, but there is only so much he can do with a poor master. This album suffers from poor recording, poor mixing, and possibly poor recording technology. It has all the earmarks of early digital -- especially the tizzy and brittle high frequencies. Ludwig seems to have filtered these out somewhat, bringing the midrange to the fore. That makes Sting's voice more natural. Generally, the sax and keyboards do not have the definition and impact they should. The drums come through with a fair amount of impact, though the timbre of the drums is not at all natural. You can hear the bang and the "thwack" but not so much the skin and the distinctive metallic shimmer of the cymbals, which sound more like white noise. In other words, the remaster tries to minimize some of the deficiencies of the original recording, but it cannot remake the record. The microphones were perhaps poorly placed or poorly equalized, and the instruments arise out of a kind of indistinct general foggy cloud. The piano and sax were mixed a little too low at times -- lacking body and not cutting through in the mix during solos -- especially the keyboards.



OK, the sound is what it is. We can't change it. But your enjoyment will not suffer much if you buy the old out-of-print first CD release. Yes, the remaster is better. Not massively better.



These concerts were recorded in France and Italy in 1985. Sting chose a band of some of the finest jazz players for his bass, keyboard, drum and sax backing band. Sting plays electric guitar on this tour. After all the critical things I said about the sound, the band itself is great. The songs are recognizable tunes from Sting's Police and early solo days. But here they are re-imagined, re-arranged, and in many cases amped up in energy. The drumming in particular has both the slam and slap of rock but also the intricacy and subtlety and syncopation of jazz. The late Kenny Kirkland's piano/keyboard solos are energetic and rhythmic and complex. Branford Marsalis adds a harmonious saxophone counterpoint to Sting's voice.



This may be the best band Sting has ever played with. There is much to recommend this set. It has a great deal of energy and infectious musical grooves. The arrangements are, as I said, different and imaginative -- though more jazzy/bluesy at times. Highly recommended on this basis.



If you want to hear the subtleties, you'll have to listen hard through the muddle of a mediocre recording. I've heard bootlegs that sound better than this. Still, it's very enjoyable, it's a great concert, and worth hearing if you like Sting/Police much at all."