Of a thousand rainy days since we first met, it's a big enough umbrella but it's always me...that's (JFC--lucky--thirteen days!) late again....
A few years back I was cooking dinner and listening to my favorites playlist on my Ipod when this week's artist came on, and I thought, "Why do I have this guy on here? I don't even like him that much." Fast forward a couple of years when I, on a whim, threw his greatest hits into the CD player in the car...and promptly listened to it with joy for the next three months. Who knows? I've also wondered a time or two how the hell I missed this week's tune since it was released at a time when I was still very much in the music business, but one supposes it's because the world is just full of so many wonders....
As I was doing my half-assed research on Sting, it dawned on me how much musically he was like his fellow countryman Elvis Costello--the man has literally done everything. From his time with the Police (wrote about in Vol. CCXLIII) to his lengthy solo career, Sting has played numerous genres of music, collaborated with numerous artists from numerous genres, worked on numerous soundtracks and even had a musical (The Last Ship) based on his work for which he wrote the music and lyrics. He's won seventeen Grammys, three Brit Awards, an Emmy, and been nominated for four Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He's also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Police) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (kind of surprised that he hasn't been inducted as a solo artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....). He's also acted in numerous movies and had twenty-one world tours. For his solo career, Sting has released fifteen solo albums (with ten top ten albums in the U.S., and seven in his native U.K.), six live albums, seven compilations, and fifty-one singles (five top ten's in American, two in Great Britain). And for the cherry on top, he's been involved in too many causes and charities to name, is a devotee of chess, and actually was a teacher for two years before rock and roll stardom beckoned. All of which begs the question: JFC, what the hell have I done with my life?
Fun Fact: Sting uses so much imagery in this week's tune that many people have asked if he got them from of a dream. Nope--they're just recollections from his childhood in Wallsend, England.
"All This Time" was the first single from his 1991 album, the rather philosophically entitled The Soul Cages. The song would hit #5 (with a bullet!) in the United States (and #1 in Canada--so many cool kids North of the Border!). The album would reach #2 here in the States while striking gold in the U.K. and hitting the #1 spot.
It's been within the last five years that I discovered this song, and I really couldn't name too many songs I've heard in the last few years that I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed this one. While doing my half-assed research, I discovered that Sting likes to pair upbeat lyrics with sad songs, and such is the case with "All This Time" (the song is actually about the death of his father from cancer--sadly, he lost both of his parents to cancer within a couple of years of each other). Musically, it's catchy as all hell, with the chorus being a sweet piece of pop pie. Sting's lyrics are phenomenal--one supposes one of the many benefits of his college education. And thematically? Every father should be so lucky to have such a wondrous song written about him. Lest I forget, the oh--ee--yo's that close out the song are downright dynamite, too. I'm not sure I have enough superlatives for this week's tune--just a wonderful, wonderful song (one of my favorite lyrics, too--see below).
Lyric Sheet: "All this time the river flowed/Endlessly like a silent tear/All this time the river flowed/Father, if Jesus exists then how come he never lives here?"
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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