Sting
If On A Winter's Night...
Release Date: Oct 26, 2009
Genre(s): Rock, Pop
Record label: Deutsche Grammophon
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Album Review: If On A Winter's Night... by Sting
Disappointing, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 5/10
It's no secret that Sting is a serious man, so it's only logical that his holiday album -- his first new music since the Police reunion, not that it really matters -- is a serious endeavor, thank you. No niceties for him, no comforts of carols; he favors formal over familiar, writing madrigals, not ditties. It is music made by someone who lives in a castle, which isn't necessarily such a bad thing: the austerity is genuine, not affected, and the cerebral nature of the album is fascinating, albeit mildly so, as this is as sleepy as it is thoughtful.
Based on rating 1/5
Despite the short-lived reunion of the Police, Sting's solo career continues to journey far from that sound. Following 2006's experiments with an Elizabethan lute, this wintry offering sees him covering 14th-century carols and adding lyrics to melodies by Bach and Schubert. It's a long way from De Doo Doo Doo, De Da Da Da, and often sounds like music for a monastery or castle.