Brand New Day by Sting

After a long hiatus, Sting amazed everyone with this one. Blending musical styles and musicians from around the world, we got a revitalized Sting. We still have most of the songs centering around every form of love that you can think of, but this is the most mature work that I've heard. There's a certain level of contentment here, that encourages repeat listening, and this CD almost never leaves my player - at least not for very long. This picked up a Grammy as the Album of the Year pick, and was a grand choice to close out the century with. If you don't have it yet, and you're already a fan of Sting, I say, go out and indulge yourself. If you don't know Sting's music yet, I say, why wait - go find this one and you'll be in for a treat.

A Thousand Years This is my favorite song on this CD, the words giving a deeper meaning to me than if I had listened to it, oh say a decade ago. Love is what Sting sings about the best, and this is one of the most insightful songs he's done. With a world beat edge to it, and a haunting counterpoint, the lyrics have a poetic quality, looping back on themselves and coming to a climax.

Desert Rose With vocalist Cheb Mami giving him backup in Arabic, this is energetic, singing again about love and surrendering to the bliss of it. There's also a great percussion line given by Manu Kateche, which only increases the exotic flavor of this arrangement, and this one simply soars. Unfortunately, the liner notes do not provide a translation of the Arabic, merely giving the script opposite the English lyrics.

Big Lie, Small World Sly, with that 'I don't care' attitude to it, this is a jazzy little song about when you realize you've made a huge mistake and driven away the person you really love. Then you make it worse by writing about it. Sting's voice is particularly clean in this, and the lyrics are funny, and fit well. It reminds me a lot of Seven Days from his earlier album, Ten Summoner's Tales.

After The Rain Has Fallen With a strong electronic mix and mideastern drumming, it's more of a troubadours ballad about a thief, a princess, and the future. It's a cute song, but lacks the staying power, and I didn't like it much. Still don't like it, despite the great harmony, and driving beat.

Perfect Love...Gone Wrong I love this song. It's funny, satirical, and witty, with the story of a relationship told from the dog's point of view. Although the translation of the French lyrics isn't provided, I got a friend to translate it for me, and found out that it's a not so subtle threat against the dog. No matter, it's still a funky, brash song that's got plenty of hip-hop to it, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Tomorrow We'll See I tried to like this one, but failed. All about the horrors of life on the street and grim fatalism, it speaks of a life that no one should be forced to lead.

Prelude To The End Of The Game I'm still trying to figure this one out. Clocking in at all of 28 seconds, it's a strange little instrumental blip in the middle of an otherwise excellent album.

Fill Her Up Mixing up country-western, a dash of gospel, and Sting's sly words, we get a song about longing, the crush of poverty, and some pretty insightful thoughts.

Ghost Story This is my second favorite cut off this cd. It stirs up some powerful emotions for me, and is one of the most mature songs I've heard in a long time.

Brand New Day Winding all this up was the title track for the cd. It struck the perfect mood for the 2000 celebrations in NYC, and in these troubled times, still offers a bit of hope, that tomorrow can bring changes and to stay optimistic.

Guest musicians on this included Stevie Wonder, Cheb Mami, James Taylor and Bradford Marsalis, along with a great many other talented people.