Sting - The Last Ship (2013)
 

Hi all! Long time no review. But what can I say, I haven't liked any of the new albums and I'm still unsure about JT's new volume.

I did get the opportunity to listen to the Last Ship from Sting today, so I'll give you my two cents on it.

Here's an album sampler -


...unfortunately, all the tracks are being deleted fairly rapidly off of youtube. You can get the whole album on Spotify, though.

First off, I have heard this album in its entirety already, but I sort of shrugged and said whatever, not worth another listen. I'm kinda still in that boat, so to speak. But there are some interesting points I'd like to make.

Sting has slid deeper into his story-telling talent, with almost all of the tracks on the album telling a story. The themes vary, but ships and sailing are present throughout. There's also a very strong religious tone, or at least, a sense of having faith in god.

As for the sound of the music itself: Celtic, Celtic, and more Celtic! Bagpipes, violins, and Irish-sounding stuff abound. There's also plenty of harmonica and accordion. I usually like that kind of flavor in an album...but once or twice. By the fourth or fifth song, it's a bit overkill.

Sting's voice is as pure as usual, but he's added a very thick accent (is that Irish?) and an older man rasp, kinda. I find it extremely off putting, actually. Sting's voice always seemed timeless to me, but now he just sounds old, really. And he's not using a very impressive vocal range in his talk-singing methods this time around.

My overall opinion is that the album is telling a story and dealing with some interesting themes, which make it sort of like reading a short story or a short novel. It's musical quality is lovely but it lacks the kind of mystery or romance Sting usually has. I really miss his "Ten Summoners' Tales" days, obviously, but I miss the "Brand New Day" sound... (I wasn't too impressed with Sacred Love, with the exception of the beautiful and heartbreaking track "Book of My Life.")

His strong tracks on this album are the more upbeat ones, in my opinion, such as "And Yet" and "Language of Birds," although the latter takes itself a bit too seriously. These tracks remind me more of the "original" Sting sound.

However, the one and only track that called me back to revisit this album was "I Love Her, But She Loves Someone Else." Give it a listen. If you like it, though, don't expect the rest of the album to be anything similar!! It really is lovely, though.

I give it a solid 5/10. Each track is a hit or miss, and there's little reason for me to download it.

Did anyone else give this album a chance?

I saw Sting performing some of the songs on Joolz Holland. "And Yet" and a few other tracks. I've never been a HUGE fan of Sting, and when he talked to Holland about writing this album from the point of view of the shipbuilders...having never been one, I couldn't help but feel this was a tad cynical. Also, his voice sounded Irish rather than Geordie.

The man is beyond pretentious

Pretentious is a word that definitely comes to mind, more so here than ever in "Brand New Day."

Wasn't his father a shipbuilder though? It was quite an album theme/concept on "The Soul Cages" (1991) as well.

Loved the melody

Huh, I didn't realize. That's cool if so. But the heavy old man drawl throughout really bothers me. :( And Sting had a really weird relationship with his dad. So I'm actually a bit interested now. *goes off to do research*

Sting should retire
 

This album is so old and tired

mer