Word: stings
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...them to be protected, but rather must only be 'substantially true.'(There follow five legal citations which I'd be delighted to share with you, but shall not bother your readers with at this time.) Continuing. "As one court has phrased it, only 'the substance, the girl, the sting of the libelous charge' need be true for the speech to be protected. (More citations follow.) And so forth...
...Sting seems to have lost control of his subtlety mechanism. What made a Police gem like Driven to Tears so powerful was its personal and un-sanctimonious reaction to poverty and suffering, set in a brisk and tuneful way. Sting's cleverness, so astute in the past, is buried by well-intentioned solemnity. He shouldn't have to explain his songs in exclusive interviews...
...REST OF The Dream of the Blue Turtles has its rewards though. Even Childrens' Crusade is somewhat redeemed by the fresh lilt of its reggae waltz feel. The single If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, which Sting calls his "antidote song" to the poisonous possessiveness of Every Breath You Take, is the least painful love lesson around. Plus, in this song and several others, Sting shows a fine knack for layering rich choruses and leaving space for Branford Marsalis' smooth and simmering horns. But it's only with the remake of Shadows in the Rain that all the players...
...while Sting's lyrics too often veer toward veiled inaccessible imagery or silly diplomacy ("Believe me when I say to you/ I hope the Russians love their children too"), the old Police-meister can still turn a nice phrase. In We Work the Black Seam, he finally gets the balance right; between simplicity, sincerity, a pressing issue and a catchy hook: "One day in a nuclear age/ They may understand our rage/ They build machines that they can't control/ And bury the waste in a great big hole...
...Dream of the Blue Turtles is either the break, or simply a break from The Police. Either way, Sting will continue to surround himself with the finest musicians around and to put on a riveting live show. But he better brush up on generating excitement on vinyl while censoring--or at least tempering--his preachy tendencies. As it stands, Sting's new LP does not live up to the promise of his moniker or his hype...