Search - Sting :: Soul Cages

Sting's soulful creation

zdshankm | Chicago, IL United States | 12/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some critics argue that truly great music has the power to transport the listener to another place. If this is true, then Sting's Soul Cages is one of the best albums ever created. Constantly innovating, Sting departs from his reggae-funk-rock "Police" days on Soul Cages, producing a soulful and magical album. Suggesting an underlying "water" theme with such song titles as "Island of Souls" and "Wild Wild Sea," the listener experiences a floating sensation from the peacefulness and lucidity of these songs. Written at a emotionally-trying time of his life, Sting's "Why Should I Cry For You" and "The Soul Cages" convey a paradoxically powerful aura of concurrent sadness, beauty, contemplation, and serenity. However, the album isn't merely a melancholic and breathtaking soliloquy; Sting livens the mood with the upbeat early '90s hit single, "All This Time" (again, invoking the water theme with such lyrics as 'All this time/the river flows/endlessly/into the sea'). In fact, "All This Time" is the reason this enhanced CD should be a part of everyone's collection; when played on a computer, the video for "All This Time" appears as the tenth track, providing a visual insight into Sting's artistic genius. Romantic, emotional, thought-provoking, and musically intruiging, THE SOUL CAGES should be an integral part of every music afficionado's collection.... ZS"