Wow. TST is how I discovered Sting properly, although I'd heard the Police before, it was Fields of Gold and then TST that brought me to him. Then the Soul Cages (Oiy!) then... the rest is history (which, I believe, will teach us nothing). Rah! Ten Summoner's Tales... Time to give it an airing... B
great post, bry. TST is still great, a decade later. vinnie's drumming makes any police fan proud, esp. on "stronger than justice" and "seven days". he played every song from the album (NA version) on tour except for the GREAT "something the boy said", which may be his best vocal (and bass!) on the record! and some of you doubt that i like sting solo! ha! give me an album like TST (NOT BND!!!!) to talk about, i could go on for daze!
... sometimes we'd glimpse a shadow falling... rich
--- brian.d.thompson@gsk.com wrote:
I was listening to TST this morning on the way to work for the first time in quite awhile when I realized that the album is ten years old this month (March 1993). It's hard to believe that TST is a decade old already. I can still remember listening to it for the first time. I remember that many longtime Sting fans were disappointed with it in comparison to the previous albums; they felt the songs weren't as deep or meaningful, especially coming after such a personal album like The Soul Cages. And to be truthful I was a bit let down initially with TST for the same reasons (Soul Cages is probably my favorite album). The album was definitely the most commercially accessible and radio friendly of his solo works up to that point (that's not always an insult!), and as a result was a big commercial success. The songs are less personal and more "role playing" than his previous albums, a trend that has continued to BND. But I have grown more and more fond of TST over time. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" and "Fields of Gold" were the two perfect singles, IMHO his strongest hit singles to date. Most importantly, the album has aged really well. It sounds great and it's still just as enjoyable in 2003 as it was ten years ago (if not more so).
If I Ever Lose My Faith in You: A great single and a nice start to the album.
Love is Stronger Than Justice: Ah, the beginning of Sting's preoccupation with country music. For that fact alone many will continue to rue this song, but the reality is that this is the least "country sounding" of all of his country songs (at least the verses are). Beside the 7 beat time signature and the jazz piano solo at the end make it all worthwhile.
Fields of Gold: A great love ballad and a great single. Raise your hand if this was played at your wedding reception!
Heavy Cloud No Rain: Fairly forgettable. I can take it or leave it. Probably my least favorite song on the album.
She's Too Good For Me: Another take it or leave it. The middle section with strings is nice, though. There certainly was no reason to play this at the beginning of the Mercury Falling tour!
Seven Days: A quintessential Sting song. My favorite song on the album. I'm so glad he has continued to play it on subsequent tours. The 5 beat time signature is fantastic. Vinnie plays his heart out. The song is perfect. End of discussion.
Saint Augustine in Hell: This actually used to be my least favorite song on the album but it has grown on me more over the years. The narrative part in the middle is different and adds to the track.
It's Probably Me: From Lethal Weapon 3 of course. I like this version better than the film soundtrack version.
Everybody Laughed But You/January Stars: I really like this song(s) but like all other North Americans was really peeved that it was cut from our release. This started a continuing trend in shortening all future US/Canada releases that I really don't care for. Now I have to regularly buy the US and Japanese releases of every album to get all the tracks.
Shape of My Heart: A great Sting/Miller collaboration. Nice guitar and lyrics.
Something the Boy Said: Another song that I was fairly ambivalent towards at first but has grown on me ever since. The lyrics are reminiscent of The Soul Cages but packaged in music that suits TST. Nice.
Nothing 'Bout Me: A nice track to end the album. I really like the music in this one.
Anyway, that has gotten rather long, but I wanted to acknowledge TST's ten year old "birthday." I'm sure in 1993 many of the album's critics took some solace in the thought that Sting probably couldn't do any worse. Boy was that solace shattered when Mercury Falling arrived! Of course this is all just my opinion, but MF is Sting's only truly forgettable album. I thought that in 1996 and still think so seven years later. If you took it away from his back catalog you would be missing out on nothing, whereas TST has become a vital part of Sting's catalog over the years.
Brian T.>
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