Brand New Day (1999)

Brand New Day does a lot of things extremely well, and then it does a lot of things extremely just fine. It’s a record all about creating an atmosphere and building songs to fit inside it. A lot of these tracks blend together sonically, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it isn’t what made Sting so great as a solo artist. Some things hold steady here: he keeps folding world music and sounds into his work, and he still finds new ways to blend his love of jazz and pop/rock. The latter isn’t as high-energy as his first couple of records, but the influence is still there.

The opener, A Thousand Years, sets the tone with its romantic lyrics and catchy melody. It’s followed by Desert Rose, one of the greatest songs Sting has ever created. Featuring Algerian singer Cheb Mami, Sting blends Middle Eastern and western pop expertly. With a hypnotic melody and a chorus you can’t get out of your head, Desert Rose is one to play until your ears stop working.

Perfect Love… Gone Wrong is an interesting balance of reggae rhythms and the soulful vocals that were all over Mercury Falling. Once you think you’ve got the song figured out, in comes the female French rap. It throws you for a total loop, but it works surprisingly well. Fun, unique, and danceable all at once. Well done, Sting. Keeping it fresh from time to time!

Right before the upbeat, celebratory self-titled single Brand New Day sits the country-and-blues-guitar-driven Fill Her Up. Echoing the twang and country of earlier Sting successes, Fill Her Up threatens to get lost in the sea of averageness. Then, halfway through, those Mercury Falling backing vocals arrive, and the song builds into an energetic, offbeat jam session filled to the brim with jazz and swagger. It’s fantastic.

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Highlight Songs:

• Desert Rose

• A Thousand Years

• Perfect Love… Gone Wrong

• Fill Her Up

• Brand New Day

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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?

I think you could get away with streaming this one. Own it if more than the highlight songs do something for you, but I would rather throw a couple of the songs on a Sting playlist and call it a day. It’s a solid album, though.

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Overall Rating:

3.5 Stars