November 2000

Sting - The Brand New Day Tour
Reviewed by Roger Kanno
DVD Format

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Picture Quality:
Sound Quality:
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Featuring Sting

Director: Laurence Jordan

DVD Release: 2000
Dolby Digital 5.1
Full Screen

Sting, who is known for his audiophile quality pop recordings with both the Police and as a solo artist, has released a DVD recording of a live concert featuring songs from his most recent album, Brand New Day as well as some old favorites. Never one to shy away from experimentation, Sting has written new arrangements for most of his older songs. The result is a consistently upbeat, jazz-inspired pop sound throughout most of the performance. Even the anguish normally associated with such songs as "Every Breath You Take," "Fragile," and "Message In A Bottle," (which becomes an audience sing along) are replaced with a happy, feel good tone.

Sting, as always, has surrounded himself with some fantastic musicians including Peter Gabriel, drummer, Manu Katché, vocalist, Cheb Mami, and special guest, Stevie Wonder. The performances of Sting and his players cannot be faulted for their technical prowess, but there is little conviction in their playing, which leads to a very "soulless" sound from the artist that brought us Soul Cages. Much of this can be attributed to Sting’s nearly constant grin and the upbeat delivery of even his most angst ridden songs.

Although this may not be one of Sting’s finest performances, fans of his high-quality, audiophile recordings will not be disappointed. While not up to the standards of a true audiophile recording, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of Sting: The Brand New Day Tour is a good example of an exciting mulitchannel mix. The recording lacks some fidelity and depth, but makes up for it with good imaging across the front soundstage and pleasant surround envelopment without the gimmicky use of the rear channels. The bass is not overwhelming and muddy as it is with so many Dolby Digital 5.1 music mixes. It is actually relatively tight and well defined except for a few occasions on the first couple of tracks. The powerful vocals of Cheb Mami on "Desert Rose" nicely compliment the raspy, but expressive voice of Sting.

The video quality of this DVD is on a par with other well shot concert videos. The bright stage lighting provides a high contrast picture that conceals very fine detail, but is otherwise clear and easy to look at. The high degree of light also tends to make some shots seem slightly washed out and accentuates Sting’s pale complexion, but not so much as to be distracting. Other than a behind the scenes documentary, which consists of interviews with Sting and some of the band members, there are no other extras.

Fans of Sting’s usually reflective and solemn style may be disappointed by the new energetic arrangement of his songs in this performance. However, the excellent picture and sound quality of this DVD will not disappoint. Sting: The Brand New Day Tour may not quite be a reference quality disc, but it will still make a fine addition to any library of mulitchannel music DVDs.

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