ALBUM: The Dream of the Blue Turtles
MVC Rating: 4.0/$$
Somber is the word that pops into my head at first listen in more than three decades at Sting’s first solo album after leading the Police for half a dozen years.
Turtle dreams must be sad.
Sting’s voice is in fine form as usual. And the music is steller (yet somber). Jazzy half-describes the situation here, or maybe jazzy reggae.
He’s recorded tracks at Eddy Grant’s studio in Jamaica. Among the fine musicians is saxophonist Branford Marsalis.
The album is understated for sure all the while taking on big topics. My favorite is ‘We Work the Black Seam.’
One day in a nuclear age/ They may understand our rage/They build machines that they can’t control/And bury the waste in a great big hole
That’s not even among the singles which include ‘If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,’ ‘Fortress Around Your Heart’ and ‘Russians.’
What might save us, me and you/Is that the Russians love their children too
The scale tips toward the mood set in the downbeat song ‘Consider Me Gone.’
The doctor has told me it’s no good for my health/To search for perfection is all very well/But to look for heaven is to live here in hell.
I can see why now I haven’t played this in years and also see why it is popping up with increased frequency in record stores bargain baskets. So I would probably go with a Sting’s greatest hits if you like the singer. If not, toughen up and take the 3-dollar downer. It’s worth that on musicality alone.