1985
4 keepers
keeper avg .444
Relative to his work in Sting's former band, which you may have heard of, his first solo album begins the skew toward adult contemporary, enlisting Wynton Marsalis' band no less to back him. But it's not like there are no indulgences in pop as the top 5 single "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"****, the new up-tempo version of the old Police track (1980) "Shadows in the Rain"****, and the faux-reggae "Love Is the Seventh Wave" are all unashamedly catchy. The top ten single "Fortress Around Your Heart"***** resolves each atmospheric, modal verse with a highly sing-able chorus. And however somber, apparently the listening public was up for making the dramatic, classically influenced "Russians"**** a top 20 single.
The other half of the tracks (most of side 2) are more subdued and dare I say jazzy, especially "Consider Me Gone", "Moon over Bourbon Street", and of course the toss-off instrumental title track. "Children's Crusade" is pretty sleepy until the extended instrumental bridge. Though I get how the short, angular synth blurb that drives "We Work the Black Seam" somehow implies the song's subject of nuclear power, the song is difficult listening. But even Sting's uber-successful former band could be unnecessarily obscure at times so maybe the album is more of just a stylistic adjustment than it is abandoning pop accessibility.
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