Songs From the Labyrinth

by

Sting and Edin Karamazov

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When I heard that Sting was coming out with a new collection of music, I tried to stop my giddy grin, and went on and preordered it. When I opened it up, I was hit with a bit of surprise. For one, it was released on the Deusche Grammophon label, which usually devote themselves to classical works. Looking closer I saw that it was not an array of pop songs, but rather a review of the works of John Dowland.

Oh boy, am I in for an adventure! I thought and eager ripped off the packaging and into the cd player it goes.

I was enchanted right from the start. The singing is wonderful, there was only one really bad track, and even Sting reading from one of Dowland's letters to an influential courtier at James I's court was interesting. There's a haunting quality to the songs, music written by a man who was an outsider in the land of his birth (Dowland was a catholic in a fiercely protestant England), and from what the letter tell us, a man who was living on the edge between being comfortable and poverty.

Not all of the songs are great, and there are several real clunkers in this -- for me, I detested listening to Can she excuse my wrongs? but several others are haunting in their beauty and touch of melancholy. Slipped in between the musical selections is Sting reading from a letter of Dowland's, written in 1595, to an influential courtier in Queen Elizabeth's court, and Dowland is hoping that he can gain the patronage of Lord Robert so that he can gain employment and return to England. While at first, it feels odd to have the readings in there, but eventually you get a cohesiveness that makes Dowland's story all the more poignant.

The liner notes contain the text of the letter, song lyrics, an extensive essay from Sting talking about how he came to the music of Dowland and his study of the lute, and its bigger brother, the archlute. Several photographs are included as well, and the design is very beautiful throughout.

No, it's not a perfect album. Very few are, and there are always several clunkers it seems, and this one is no different. However, for sheer exhurberance, I give this one a solid five stars -- it's bold, it's something new, and I do have to applaud Sting for getting out there and stepping out of his role as a pop icon and trying something new.

No, not everyone is going to like it. Quite a few will hate this one, but if you want to hear music of the Renaissance performed by a masterclass musician, go on and give this one a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

"John Dowland: Songs for Tenor and Lute" by Nigel Rogers with Paul O'Dette on Virgin Classics, there's really no comparison technically or interpretively. Sting get's an A for effort and also an A for putting his reputation on the line in the name of a beautiful repretoire. As a lifetime lover of this music, I am thrilled to see Sting take it on as another "cause". If this cd turns on just one person to lute or classical guitar music, I say great.

As another musician/reviewer suggests, if you forget that you are listening to Sting the results seem amateurish and student-like, but the truth is that you are listening to Sting and that of course changes everything! In Sting's defense, it's true these are not operatic arias but rather intimate art songs, they are pop songs of sorts and they do mark the beginning of a long line of self-expressive songwriting that does include Sting himself. Glad they at least found a roadie who could tune a lute :)