Sting – The Dream of the Blue Turtles
In quite a few ways, Sting has never in my mind surpassed his debut solo album. This very interesting synthesis of his mid-’80s Police style (which is to say, more mainstream and less of the endearingly outlandish style of the Police) and modern jazz is truly unique, and even Sting himself has never quite topped it. Most everyone will remember “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free” and “Fortress Around Your Heart” from this album, and the somewhat less successful single “Love Is The Seventh Wave”, but the album also contains the Anne Rice-inspired “Moon Over Bourbon Street”, “We Work The Black Seam”, 
and “Russians”, some of the best things Sting has ever done in or outside of the Police. I suppose he couldn’t have stuck to this style for fear of being accused of getting lazy, but so much of the follow-up albums Nothing Like The Sun and The Soul Cages failed to live up to the incredibly high standard of Sting’s solo debut, I can barely listen to his later work… well, maybe with one exception.
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- If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free (4:14)
- Love Is The Seventh Wave (3:30)
- Russians (3:57)
- Children’s Crusade (5:00)
- Shadows in the Rain (4:56)
- We Work The Black Seam (5:40)
- Consider Me Gone (4:21)
- The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1:15)
- Moon Over Bourbon Street (3:59)
- Fortress Around Your Heart (4:48)
Released by: A&M
Release date: 1985
Total running time: 41:40
This is one of the very few live albums I have ever really liked. The audience is plenty noisy, but the band revels in the feedback. Some of the classic Enz tunes have never sounded better, represented by “Time For A Change”, “Bold As Brass” and an absolutely beautiful rendition of “Charlie”. Tim Finn rejoined the group for the farewell tour that sparked this album, and the lively banter between he and Neil is often almost as entertaining as the music itself. There are few albums I can think of – not even the aforementioned Parsons live CD – that are almost like being there. This one definitely qualifies. It’s reasonably easy to find – despite being an import and a double disc, it’s generally easier to find than most Australian 
manufactured Enz releases – and I highly recommend it! It serves as a sweeping overview of the band’s body of work, played with enthusiasm and a genuine sense that they’re loving it. It’s also a much better introduction to some of the better Enz songs – though more early favorites would have made it even better – than the existing best-of compilation. 
Since this movie soundtrack is constructed out of instrumental versions of material from the third Peter Gabriel album and Security, it may seem like a redundant purchase, but there are several new tracks, and even the familiar tunes are interesting to hear without the words (especially – go ahead and yawn here if you like – an instrumental version of “Rhythm Of The Heat”). Probably the best track here is “Birdy’s Flight”, which is essentially a long, somber intro and then the pulse-pounding 
catalog. There’s no connecting element, few if any orchestral highlights, and for crying out loud, no Parsons Heartbreaker! What were they thinking?
This album opens with a sequence designed to trick you into thinking that Rundgren’s whole a capella project – whose sounds and vocals, if not performed live orally, were performed with samples of mouth- manufactured sound – is going to be nothing more than a Bobby McFerren ripoff. Wrong. After the first few seconds of “dum-dum-dum-dum-dum,” you’ll be blown away as “Blue Orpheus” kicks in and leaves McFerren’s music in the dust. This is such a revolutionary album, it’s amazing to think it’s well over a decade old. Rundgren not only had to perform the entire album in the most unconventional way imaginable, but he also had to construct songs that would stand up to a vocal-based arrangement. The harmonies are often reminiscent of those found in really good black gospel, and the range of sounds – including “percussion” – that Rundgren generated orally is remarkable. Most impressive of all is Rundgren’s own vocal range, since he sings every part of every song. Perhaps the two best songs are put back to back for good reason – the shatteringly 
depressing “Pretending To Care” needs to be followed by the ludicrously bouncy “Hodja”. Fortunately, this album is not at all difficult to find or, failing that, put on order – which could make it as much a part of your DNP Album List is it is of mine! I can’t heap enough praise on this album – and the words don’t stand a chance of doing it justice. You need to hear it for yourself.