Track Listing

1. Thousand Years
2. Desert Rose - Farhat Bouallagui, Sting
3. Big Lie Small World - David Hartley, Sting
4. After the Rain Has Fallen
5. Perfect Love... Gone Wrong
6. Tomorrow We'll See - David Hartley, Sting
7. Prelude to the End of the Game
8. Fill Her Up
9. Ghost Story
10. Brand New Day

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3691 in Music
• Released on: 1999-09-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
There is a difference between being an inspired musician and an informed musician. Sting is the latter. As always, he surrounds himself with ultratalented artists: this time around Stevie Wonder, Branford Marsalis, James Taylor, guitarist Dominic Miller, and the prince of rai Cheb Mami, fill the roster. Brand New Day exhibits about as many musical styles as there are tracks, all encased in dense, meticulous production. The album begins promisingly. "A Thousand Years" pulses atop a lush, two-note foundation. "A Desert Rose" folds trilling Algerian pop into trip-hop. Melodic, late-night jazz ballads dominate the middle portion of the collection. But Sting's preoccupation with odd-numbered time signatures prevents the songs from grooving, while the choruses are yawns. "Fill Her Up" (no, not "Fill 'Er Up"), a country tune, represents Sting at his most self-indulgent. Listening to one of the wealthiest musicians in pop singing "Got no money to invest / Got no prospect / Or education / I was lucky to get the job at this gas station" requires a heroic suspension of disbelief. The song morphs into this gospel number where Sting and a supporting chorus chant "You gotta fill 'er up with Jesus! / You gotta fill her up with life!" Who knew unleaded could be so rousing? --Beth Massa

Customer Reviews

Leave Your Expectations at the Door
I'm a huge Sting fan; I own a large collection of funky Sting B-sides, imports, and foreign language CDs in addition to the regular stuff. So when the new 'Brand New Day' album came out, I was one of the first in line to snag it! Here's my take: if you're a Sting fan, you're in for a ride. If you're not . . . well, give this album another chance. Sting fans, the good news is that this album is REALLY different. Musically, Sting is at his most creative; he's having a blast moving from genre to genre (and hey, why limit it from song to song- - he now mixes country, gospel, and jazz in one track - - eeek!). Lyrically, there are moments of brilliance (I'm particularly fond of the title track and 'Big Lie, Small World'), but there's nothing as consistently incisive as his first two solo efforts. Where do I net out? I'm wild about four tracks, convinced that I'll eventually like three more, and can't stand two of them. If you're not a die-hard Sting fan this album may not be for you at first listen . . . but with time, you may find that your musical horizons stretching. Enjoy!

Sting travels a wide musical map
Brand New Day delivers some of Sting's strongest and weakest material in a solo career that is passing its fifteenth year (!). Sting has never been content to do the same thing for long, something that irks fans who want another 'Roxanne' or 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'. Brand New Day is much more complicated.

To start, the recording and performers on the album are all first rate. Branford Marsalis and drummer Manu Katche (from Dream of the Blue Turtles in 1985) return as part of staggering array of talented performers. Where the album isn't a perfect success is in the material.

The opener, a soft, minor number, is fine for what it is, but the excellent lyrics (Sting really shines as a songwriter, here and elsewhere) are sometimes lost in the musical murk. When you pay attention, you recognise that this is a worthwhile song, just nothing exciting. 'Desert Rose' is one of Sting's most satisfying solo numbers, with plenty of exotic instrumentation, great backing vocals and the soaring kind of lead vocals -- and plenty of violins! -- that make it a standout. Listen to the music and you can tell this is a serious production by someone who knows more than rock.

'Big Lie, Small Word,' a rhythmic guitar tune, works well enough, leading to 'After the Rain has Fallen', with fairy tale lyrics that show off Sting's distinctive straining vocals and some nice harmonies. 'Perfect Love...' is okay, with a forgettable French rap that shows how bad rap is no matter what language it's in. 'Tomorrow We'll See' delivers more thoughtful lyrics, but here Sting tries his hand at a gentle rap. After an instrumental interlude, Sting casts off his musical taste and plunges into a twangy country romp, complete with dumb lyrics about no job and no money (did he spend it all?) This song makes me wish I could erase selected tracks from commercial CDs. This is Jimmy Buffett material. I don't want to hear Sting do this kind of stuff.

More successful, 'Ghost Story' is a slow, guitar-accompanied recitative piece that could have come from the 'The Soul Cages' album -- soft and reflective, but wholly effective, really a beautiful song, with a hint of folk near the end. 'Brand New Day', the title track, is an infectious tune that Sting infuses with more soul than any white British guy should ever be able to. It really works.

This is a very ambitious album, and the good moments are very good, but the experimentation is more gimmick than anything. The good news is that Sting remains an intellectual songwriter who puts a lot of thought into his music and obviously enjoys writing and performing. Jazz and reggae brought Sting a lot of fans -- he could leave rap and country behind without losing anyone.

Recommended, even with its imperfections. I grew up to Sting's music, and I would rather have an A- Sting album than most of what fills the shelves today.

Critical thoughts on an album that isn't his best...
I buy every CD that Sting puts out. This one was no different. I just wish I could have purchased only some of the tracks on this CD. There are songs that are instantly recognizable as great -- "A Thousand Years", "Brand New Day", "Desert Rose". After repeated listening those have been belated joined by the incredible "Fill Her Up". It evokes the country sounds present on Ten Summoners Tales, the jazz influence of The Dream of the Blue Turtles, with a lovely gospel interlude.

Yet I could do without a number of the tracks. Specifically, the grating, sappy and rediculous "Big Lie Small World", "Tomorrow We'll See" (the next in Sting's songs of prostitution), and the be-boppy "Perfect Love... Gone Wrong". Their presence on the album is going to wear out the skip button my car's CD player.

While not his best efforts, the remaining songs on the album are decent efforts. "After the Rain Has Fallen" rocks fairly well, and "Ghost Story", in the vein of The Soul Cages is ok, but not equivalent to the songs on that album.

I think this is worth the money, but I'd say that if you don't have all of the others, go ahead and get them first, starting with The Soul Cages, which is a must have for any musical collection.