The Bridge (2021)
During my first listen through all of Sting’s records a while back, I found myself getting bored and discouraged with some of his more recent releases. I gave this one a fair shot this time around, and it’s actually a pretty solid record. Sting seems to be bridging the gap between what worked on earlier albums and what he’s chasing today. It lands closer to 57th & 9th than anything else in his catalog: a blend of later-age pop rock Sting, some skippable pop songs, and a few interesting folk-inspired tunes. The Hills on the Border and Captain Bateman bring out that folk influence, and it’s refreshing for Sting. He pulls it off well and deserves some praise for it.
The album kicks off with Rushing Water, which felt rather generic at first. The second listen made me want to hook the drum beat up to an IV and pump it into my veins. It’s catchy as hell with great instrumentation. You don’t want to skip The Book of Numbers either, a gorgeous entry with uplifting horns on the back end. Make sure to listen to the Super Deluxe version so you get the FIP Session live tracks. They’re fantastic.
Overall, Sting isn’t making the same music that shot him to stardom in his early solo career, but why should he? He’s done it before, and as an artist you need to evolve and challenge yourself with new things. At this point, records like The Bridge and 57th & 9th don’t seem to be really challenging Sting, but he isn’t copy-pasting his early work either, and we’ve got to appreciate him for that.
——————————————————
Highlight Songs:
Rushing Water
The Book of Numbers
(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay
The Hills on the Border
Captain Bateman
——————————————————
Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
Not sure which to choose. The record is definitely worth listening to, but you could get away with streaming it and saving some songs rather than owning the whole album. But, don’t forget about it.
——————————————————
Overall Rating:
3.5 Stars
