Live In Berlin

Recorded on September 21, 2010 during the tour supporting his album Symphonicities, Live In Berlin takes the orchestrations of that album onto the stage where the arrangements are allowed to breathe. It’s a way of keeping Sting interested in his material and it gives his audience re-imaginings of obvious hits such as “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” and “King of Pain,” the fan favorites like “Englishman In New York” and “Moon Over Bourbon Street,” and fantastic deep album cuts. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and guests, Branford Marsalis and Steven Mercurio, make a comfortable musical bed for Sting to twist up his lyrical visions. He's in fine voice throughout and it’s his distinctive phrasings that lend songs like “The End of the Game,” “All Would Envy” and “Shape of My Heart” a passionate center. Despite the orchestrations, these songs are never overwhelmed. There is still an austere beauty at work where the notes left unplayed are just as important as the notes that are. This is a concise retrospective that should satisfy Sting fans and make them anxious for new material.