All This Time

Performer: Sting
Artist: Christian McBride; Chris Botti; Anoushka Shankar; B.J. Cole; Mary J. Blige; Vinnie Colaiuta
Engineer: Donal Hodgson; Stefano Marchioni; Simon Osborne
Producer: Kipper; Sting
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Sting (vocals, guitar, bass); Dominic Miller (guitar); B.J. Cole (pedal steel); Jaques Morelenbaum (cello); Chris Botti (trumpet); Clark Gayton (trombone); Jason Rebello (piano); Kipper (keyboards, programming); Christian McBride (acoustic bass); Manu Katche (drums); Marcos Suzano (percussion); Haoua Abdenacer (djarbuka); Jeff Young, Katreese Barnes, Janice Pendarvis (background vocals). Recorded live at Il Palagio Studios, Italy on September 11, 2001. "All This Time" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Recorded live in Tuscany, Italy. Personnel: Sting (vocals, guitar, clarinet, keyboards, bass); Mary J. Blige, Babija Rhapl, Joy Rose (vocals); Dominic Miller, Vicente Amigo (guitar); Anoushka Shankar (sitar); Chris Botti (trumpet); Clark Gayton (trombone); Jason Rebello (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Dave Hartley (piano); Jeff Young (Hammond B-3 organ); Kipper (keyboards, programming, background vocals); Christian McBride, Danny Dunlap (bass); Manu Katche, Vinne Colaiuta (drums); Aref Durvesh (tabla); Valerie Denys (castanets); Lance Ellington, Ada Dyer, Donna Gardier, Katreese Barnes (background vocals). Producers: Kipper, Sting, Victor Calderone, Dave Aude. "Whenever I Say Your Name" won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. "Send Your Love" was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Personnel: Sting (vocals, guitar); Dominic Miller (guitar); Jaques Morelenbaum (cello); Chris Botti (trumpet); Clark Gayton (trombone); Jason Rebello (piano); Jeff Scott Young (organ, background vocals); Kipper (keyboards, programming); Christian McBride (acoustic bass); Manu Katche (drums); Marcos Suzano (percussion); Katreese Barnes, Janice Pendarvis (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Simon Osborne. Recording information: Il Palagio, Italy (11/09/2001). Photographer: Danny Clinch. On the day that the second live album of Sting's illustrious solo career (and third if you count the Police's 1995 LIVE set) was to be recorded in Tuscany, Italy, the widely respected singer/songwriter/bassist was beset with one of the world's worst horrors of all-time. The show was to be recorded and broadcast live on the web on September 11, 2001, the day of the World Trade Center tragedy. Instead of canceling it altogether, Sting went on with the recording (although the web broadcast was scrapped except for a single song), resulting in the release of the 15-song ALL THIS TIME, just two short months later. Featured are a trio of Police-era classics inventively re-arranged ("Roxanne," "Don't Stand So Close To Me," and "Every Breath You Take"), plus renditions of such solo selections as the expansive "(If You Love Somebody) Set Them Free," "Brand New Day," "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You," and the poignant folk-like ballad "Fields of Gold." SACRED LOVE seems like the culmination of a process that began 10 years earlier with Sting's TEN SUMMONER'S TALES album. While his first three solo albums were dense, cerebral affairs, that one began a move towards simplification and broader commercial appeal. While SACRED LOVE's predecessor was perhaps Sting's slickest, most pop-oriented album, this one seems to strike an easy balance between his weighty lyrical concerns and a broad-based, accessible sound. As on his 1999 hit "Desert Rose," Sting uses world rhythms to spice things up here, employing sitar and Middle Eastern percussion on "The Book of My Life." An undercurrent of the R&B feel of BRAND NEW DAY can still be felt here as well, lending ballast to even his airiest harmonic moments. He even reprises the single "Send Your Love" (initially given worldbeat feel) as a percolating electronic dance track at the album's end, and it's perhaps a tribute to his musical facility that it sounds equally effective.

Rolling Stone (12/13/01, p.150) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...This is music filled with mood and memory, refined yet raw with emotion." Rolling Stone (12/25/03, p.110) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2003" Rolling Stone (10/16/03, p.85) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...The radiant SACRED LOVE is a vivid and frequently gorgeous reminder that Gordon Sumner is first and foremost a talented singer-songwriter..." Q (12/01, p.144) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...The performances here bend towards restraint....serving as a reminder of the quality of songs such as 'Fields Of Gold' and 'Fragile'..." Q (10/03, p.114) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...He knows how to fashion a quality-sounding product for a start: tasteful sitars, flamenco guitars and jazzy pianos are but part of his armoury..." Mojo (Publisher) (10/03, p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...The grand design survives on Sting's sheer musical elegance and a sharp eye for surprise..."

To some, the Englishman born under the name Gordon Sumner will always be known as the bassist, songwriter, and frontman of the Police. But Sting's mega-successful solo career from the 1980s into the 21st century may even overshadow his former band's fame. Crafty lyrics and a clever hybrid of rock, jazz, pop, and world music have made him an international star, and he proudly inhabits the role of the pensive celebrity. While his former bandmates search out uncharted territory, Sting continues to pursue the spotlight with his own brand of soulful, grown-up pop. Throughout his career, Sting has also dabbled in various acting roles, appearing in films directed by numerous cinema luminaries.

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