Sting: 57th & 9th - 2016

 

After dabbling in classical music with Symphonicities and writing a musical in The Last Ship, Sting returned to his more recognisable style of laid-back, sometimes slightly jazzy rock/pop with this appealing album. The street intersection of the title refers to the roads he crossed in New York City on his way to the studio he recorded this album in. 

I Can't Stop Thinking About You is an upbeat, riffy rocker that wouldn't have sounded out of place on either of The Police's last three albums. 50,000 is even more riffy in its beginning, before it delivers a quiet verse based on Sting's reactions to the passing of Prince and David Bowie. The chorus comes blasting back in, anthemically. It is a most atmospheric, evocative number. 

Down, Down, Down also has a very Police-esque guitar line underpinning it, together with a nostalgic-sounding chorus. One Fine Day is another very typically Sting piece of pop-rock. Solid and muscular. 

Pretty Young Soldier is a strange, homoerotic historically-based song, while the chunky Petrol Head has some heavy passages and some echoes of Bruce Springsteen in places. Heading South On The Great North Road is an acoustic, folky tale reflecting Sting's North-Eastern roots. 

If You Can't Love Me is slightly messy in its structure, with a paranoid vocal. Maybe it grows on you, but I find its chorus part a bit discordant. Inshallah is a peaceful, seductively rhythmic number and The Empty Chair is a Celtic-influenced folk lament to end this short but interesting album. It is a sensitively-constructed work whose sometimes introspective feel demands several listens.