The Bridge

by Sting

Overview

Sting conceived of the concept of The Bridge after he completed its recording. Looking back at the polished, subtly and familiarly adventurous pop songs he composed, he realized the connecting thread between the tunes was connection itself -- bridges between cultures, people, and eras, with water imagery alternating between comfort and danger. It takes some close listening to discern these elements of The Bridge, as it plays as smoothly as anything he's released in the 21st century. Happily, he retains the melodic sharpness that characterized 57th & 9th, his last solo album of straight-forward pop tunes. The Bridge isn't quite as crisp and clean as that 2016 effort, yet it moves along at a quick clip -- the entire album clocks in at 36 minutes, while the deluxe version that contains a cover of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and the lite funk instrumental "Captain Bateman's Basement" is a mere 45 -- and that swiftness helps individual moments land. It helps that Sting makes sideways nods at his past, whether it's the percolating rhythms of "Rushing Water," inviting Branford Marsalis for a solo spot on "Harmony," or how the gentle fingerpicking of "For Her Love" evokes "Fragile." Instead of highlighting the distance between now and then, these allusions clarify Sting's persistent interests and act as an illustration of his central conceptual conceit: at these moments, it feels as if The Bridge itself is a bridge between the singer/songwriter's past and present. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/19/2021
Label:	A&M / Polydor
UPC:	0602438587070
Rank:	192722

Tracks

1. Rushing Water
2. If It's Love
3. The Book of Numbers
4. Loving You
5. Harmony Road
6. For Her Love
7. The Hills on the Border
8. Captain Bateman
9. The Bells of St. Thomas
10. The Bridge

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sting   Primary Artist,Bass,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Clapping,Keyboards,Double Bass,Synthesizer,Handclapping,Fretless Bass,Vocals (Background),Guitar (Synthesizer)
Kurt   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Martin Kierszenbaum   Keyboards,Percussion,Synthesizer,Handclapping,Synthesizer Bass,Organ,Piano,Guitar,Clapping
Josh Freese   Drums
Manu Katche   Drums
Laila Biali   Vocals (Background)
Jo Lawry   Vocals (Background)
Peter Tickell   Fiddle
Donal Hodgson   Electronic Percussion
Julian Sutton   Melodeon,Mellotron
Maya Jane Coles   Synthesizer
Gene Noble   Vocals (Background)
Melissa Musique   Vocals (Background)
Tony Lake   Synthesizer
Hannah Brier   Vocals (Background)
Fred Renaudin   Synthesizer
Branford Marsalis   Saxophone
Dominic Miller   Guitar,Percussion
Shaggy   Clapping,Handclapping
Gavin Brown   Guitar

Technical Credits

Martin Kierszenbaum   Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming,Brass Arrangement,String Arrangements,Arranger,Composer
Hugh Padgham   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Robert Orton   Mixing
Otis Redding   Composer
Sting   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes
Gene Grimaldi   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Steve Cropper   Composer
Eric Ryan Anderson   Photography
Thornton Wilder   Liner Notes
Danny Quatrochi   Guitar Technician
Richard Evatt   Assistant,Pro-Tools
Donal Hodgson   Engineer,Drum Programming,Percussion Programming
Eric Hurtgen   Design,Art Direction
Maya Jane Coles   Composer,Producer,Drum Programming
Tony Lake   Engineer
Andy Apel   Assistant,Pro-Tools
Dominic Miller   Composer
Gavin Brown   Composer