Symphonicities

It’s only a surprise that it has taken Sting this long to put an orchestra to many of his most beloved tunes. Sting has always been an ambitious musician, hiring the finest jazz sidemen, exploring the deepest sonic textures a studio could handle and writing songs that often defied the basic logic of the standard pop song. Here, he takes an unsentimental approach to his own catalog and reworks things with a free hand. While it’s tempting to compare and contrast the tracks, it’s best to imagine these songs as brand new songs and hear where the emotional journeys take us. His early Police hit “Roxanne” is a somber plea. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” has a string section tracing its harmonies. “When We Dance” is a sweet, romantic tune designed for candles or a crackling fire. “The End of the Game” features a sparkling vocal. The entire album is less a “classical” Sting album than an adult-contemporary collection with an emphasis on the everlasting textures of an orchestra.