Sting
Bring On The Night

To be honest, I learned about the release of this album by stopping to gaze at the display window of my trusted newsstand, where a copy of the historic music magazine Ciao 2001 was prominently displayed with a photo of Sting on the cover alongside the news of an imminent live release. The tour supporting "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" began after three warm-up shows the band held at the Ritz in New York in February 1985, starting in May and concluding in June 1986 with an appearance at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver (Colorado).

The album accurately reflects a period in Sting's career where he surrounded himself with tireless musicians, further grounding his new journey as a solo artist. A perfect collage of tracks where, even though the leadership of the group is never in question, the remarkable talent of the musicians allows each to shine without limits. A unique enjoyment and experience exudes from the grooves of this double live album, which led the impeccable Weather Report drummer Omar Hakim to declare that the band assembled by Sting was the best he had ever played with!

The thirteen tracks (not reflecting the official track-list) leave the successful coupling of "Bring on the Night/When the World is Running Down... Around" (from the December 23, 1985, concert at the Palais Omnisports de Bercy) with the task of bursting elegantly through the stereo speakers, making the listener feel like an integral part of the Parisian performance. From "The Dream of the Blue Turtles," the first taste comes with the sophistication of "Consider Me Gone," moving through the delicate interpretation of "We Work the Black Seam" and the same title-track masterfully blended with a renewed version of the evergreen "Demolition Man." The pleasant resurrection of the Police repertoire, albeit in a more personal style, continues with the unexpected "I Burn for You" from the OST "Brimstone & Treacle" (known in Italy as "Le due facce del male"), faithful to the original in the first part and a showcase for the astonishing Hakim in the second, while "One World (Not Three)" pairs - albeit predictably - with "Love Is The Seventh Wave" in a version lasting more than eleven minutes. More Police with "Low Life" alongside "Another Day" (excluded from "The Dream...Turtles") from the December 4, 1985, concert at Palaeur, the same Capitol temple that hosted the Police back in January 1984. The subdued atmosphere of "Moon Over Bourbon Street" couldn't be missing, nor could the gratitude Sting shows to the blues with the classic "Down so Long" (complete with a necessary band introduction), leaving the closing of the show to the suppleness of "Tea in the Sahara," dispelling any doubts as to why Brandford Marsalis considered it among his favorite tracks by the incomparable Police.

The simultaneous cinematic release of a film light show stirs even more interest around the irresistible success the former English teacher encountered over the past twelve months. A documentary-reality through which viewers are privileged to witness the making of a track before its complete composition, the making of "The Dream ...," as well as interviews with the musicians and group rehearsals conducted in a relaxed atmosphere in a castle on the outskirts of Paris. From the same French capital, the live act comes when the debut album was yet to be released, although the succession of tracks doesn't match the album, offering us even unreleased episodes like the performances of "Roxanne" or "Message in a Bottle." The choice to include images of the birth of Jake, Sting's son with Trudie Styler, also provides us with a private aspect the artist wanted to strongly share with the public at that precise moment.

M. Le Sting et Les Tortues Blue (this was meant to be the original title of "BOTN," whose only flaw is - perhaps - not reflecting the sequence of tracks performed during the concerts) represents a true compendium of the most significant live moments the group experienced over more than a year of dates, touring arenas, theaters, and stadiums. A particular moment in the career of the English musician and his stellar band, capable of surprising and captivating through a personal interpretation of a musical formula that is a meeting point of multiple cultures, exquisitely held together by a compelling pop taste that extraordinarily elevates its quality.

To be listened to without prejudice... to be owned without a doubt!