The Dream of the Blue Turtles - sting fans

The Dream of the Blue Turtles
1985 - :
Including: Fortress Around Your Heart, Love Is the Seventh Wave, Consider Me Gone, and more...
Buy album: Amazon Music Store

If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Love Is The Seventh Wave
Russians
Children's Crusade
Shadows In The Rain
We Work The Black Seam
Consider Me Gone
The Dream Of The Blue Turtles
Moon Over Bourbon Street
Fortress Around Your Heart

Sting found an excellent balance on his first solo album, released in 1985--it's impressively diverse yet appealingly cohesive at the same time, and his songwriting is uniformly excellent. The album is mostly low-key, and Branford Marsalis' decorative saxophones crop up all over the place, but don't let that fool you into thinking this is boring 'adult contemporary' stuff. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is a great uptempo pop-rocker with bluesy melodicism on the verses. The upbeat "Love Is The Seventh Wave" has a reggae-fied Caribbean feel, and Sting engagingly pokes fun at himself with his lighthearted mocking of "Every Breath You Take" on the fade. "Russians", though lyrically dated, still retains its atmospheric, haunting power musically. "Children's Crusade" is the most 'adult contemporary'-sounding song on the album, with verses that are superbly melodic. Sting offers a terrific rethink of "Shadows In The Rain", replacing the dreamy resignation of the Police version with an edgy, uptempo urgency and gusty vocals from Sting. The pollution-themed "We Work the Black Seam" alternates low-key, yet slightly ominous verses with a soaring chorus. The smokey "Consider Me Gone" has a downbeat, light jazz atmosphere with great layered vocals from Sting on the quasi-chorus. "Moon Over Bourbon Street" is a creepy, starkly-arranged gem with Sting's double bass work making a striking impression. The closing "Fortress Around Your Heart" has supremely dreamy verses thanks to a simple but deftly-executed guitar riff; the chorus is a bit bombastic and jolting in this context, but hardly unlistenable.

Sting has become notorious for having 'lost his edge' more and more over the years, but "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" is a great example of Sting's undeniable talent. By Dave "missing person"