| Product Summary | | Label: Uni/a&m | | UPC: 00606949044329 | | Release Date: 9/28/1999 | | Buy.com Sku: 60357270 | | Item#: MKC69K | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25730 | Format:  CD |
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(P) 1999 Interscope Geffen (A&M) Records A Division of UMG Recordings Inc.
(C) 1999 A&M Records Inc.
| With customary thoughtfulness and his usual verve, Sting is talking about Brand New Day, his sumptuous new album, a collection of songs exploring the theme of love. "I didn't set out to write lyrics just about love, yet almost all the songs have the theme of broken lives that can be mended by love. My challenge was to write a happy love song without being banal or smug. For example, 'Brand New Day,' the last song, begins with a jaundiced view and then moves toward acceptance, to diving back into love. It's basically the thought that failing in love is an act of optimism - and I think if the album has a tone, for me...it's an optimistic one." Incorporating highly rhythmic elements, echoes of Miles Davis and medieval plainsong, of Algerian pop and American Country Music, Brand New Day also ranges, with typical Sting audacity, over a world of styles - here's love in abundance of musical tongues. For every irresistible hook or melody, there's a rhythmic challenge or instrumental surprise. "Trying to write simple pop songs over a compound time is my idea of a crossword puzzle - or three-dimensional chess," Sting explains. "That's my obsession." "And," he laughs, "I think people expect that of me to throw them a few loops here and there. They'd probably be disappointed if I didn't.' Co-produced by Sting and producer/programmer Kipper and featuring Sting's customary peerless collaborators - guitarist Dominic Miller, drummers Manu Katche and Vinnie Colaiuta - and guest stars James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Branford Marsalis, Chris Boti and Cheb Mami, Sting's seventh solo studio outing builds on the legacy of a visionary original, impatient with labels, categories.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Sting (vocals, guitar, bass); Cheb Mami, James Taylor, Ste (vocals); Dominic Miller (guitar); B.J. Cole (pedal steel guitar); Katherine Tickell (fiddle, Northumbrian pipes); Gavin Wright, Moulay Ahmed, Koulder Berkan, Salem Bnouni, Sameh Catalan (strings); Branford Marsalis (clarinet); Stevie Wonder (harmonica); Chris Botti (trumpet); Jason Robello (piano, Clavinet); Dave Hartley, Don Blackman (Hammond B-3 organ); Kipper (keyboards, drum programming); Manu Katche, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Minu Cinelu (percussion); Joe Mendez, Janice Pendarvis, Althea Rodgers, Marlon Saunders, Veneese Thomas, Darryl Tookes, Ken Williams, Tawatha Agee, Dennis Collins (background vocals); Ettamri Mustapha. | | Principally recorded at Il Palagio, Italy and Mega Studios, Paris, France. | | BRAND NEW DAY won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Pop Album. "Brand New Day" won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Performance. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | BRAND NEW DAY continues Sting's sophisticated approach toward pop music as he once again collaborates with ace musicians on material that knows no cultural or stylistic boundaries. Not surprisingly, the tantric guru chooses love as the theme for this eclectic collection of songs. | | Sting's cross-cultural forays range from a collaboration with Algerian singing sensation Cheb Mami on the Ofra Haza-meets-William Orbit "Desert Rose" to the bossa nova-influenced "Big Lie Small World." There's a jazz patina throughout--guest trumpeter Chris Botti emulates Miles Davis on the coffee-house hip-bop of "Perfect Love...Gone Wrong" and long-time friend Branford Marsalis adds mournful clarinet to the sumptuous string arrangements of the noirish "Tomorrow We'll See," a song about a weary prostitute straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel. Although the upbeat yet moody title track cheerfully rings with Stevie Wonder's bubbly harmonica, Sting's restlessness on "Fill Her Up" truly stands out. The track starts out as a country song (a la "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying") in 9/8 time only to eventually reveal an ambient gospel chorus. |
Producer: Sting; Kipper |
Musical Guests | | James Taylor | | Cheb Mami | | Stevie Wonder | | Vinnie Colaiuta | | Branford Marsalis | | Chris Botti | | Manu Katche | | Dominic Miller |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 09/28/1999 | | Original Release Date : 1999 | | Catalog ID : 90443 | | Label : A&M Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 48m : 49s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00606949044329 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (10/14/99, p.122)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Sting's most stylistically integrated album since 1987's NOTHING LIKE THE SUN. There's groovy Rai music, witty bossa novas, warm-hearted Bach revisions and independent country, plus a smashing finale..."Q (1/00, p.87)
- Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1999." Q (11/99, p.132)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...[Its] goodie bag of class-rock, breakbeats, bossa nova, rap, chanson and whatever next gives more the more it's played....Sting can still pull it off....full of vaulting ambition and cat-killing curiosity." Mojo (Publisher)
(11/99, p.108)
- "...Sting employs eclectic shadings masterfully and always in the right places....BRAND NEW DAY is big of tune and smart of lyric to the power of 10. Given time, it could be your favorite Sting album ever." |
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| Customer Reviews | ![]() | | Production |  5 | | Performance | 5 | | Composition | 5 | | Overall Satisfaction | 5 |
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5 of 5 Brand New Day Thursday, November 09, 2006
ltsykes from Marquette, MI
I LOVE IT! thanks for the prompt service Was this review helpful?  
5 of 5 He goes where others don't Monday, August 05, 2002
sand-da-man from Chicago, IL
I'm still trying to figure out what it is about this album that angered or disappointed some critics. Maybe its the ease with which Sting moves from one genre to another, perhaps giving the impression that it's all a part of some contrived pretentiousness. In reality, I am constantly dumbfounded by the extraordinary variety of music that his writing encompasses, as he constantly explores ever new and fresh vistas. More impressive is his genius in converting what could be the complex and esoteric into listenable, even "catchy" pop songs. A particular favorite on this entry, Ghost Story, for example, may even be disguised by its apparent simplicity. Don't be fooled: it's a masterpiece. In sum, all of the selections on this album, embellished with superb production and musical accompaniment, push the boundaries ("Fill er UP" moves blithely from country to jazz to gospel- and still gets the story told). Granted, this is not for the musically idle or indifferent. It beckons you to listen more than once-- but the ultimate reward is worth the investment. Let those without patience move on to the pap. Was this review helpful?
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