Sting: The Brand New Day Tour - Live From The Universal Amphitheatre

Sting is the kind of performer that is hard to categorise. His songs vary from reggae to rock, jazz to pop and even country. It was a little easier to pigeonhole Sting when he was simply the bass player/singer with The Police - white reggae - but since then he has evolved into an accomplished all-round musician proficient on guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica and saxophone. While we do not get to see him play most of these on The Brand New Day Tour, what we do get is a wonderfully relaxed Sting sounding as good as ever, playing effortless bass and some fine acoustic guitar during the encore.

Sting is supported by a talented group of musicians and backing singers, most of who have only been playing with him for a short time. These same musicians can be heard on Sting's most recent studio album Brand New Day and consequently it is the songs from that album that are the most faithful to the originals. That is not to say the other songs are radically different, but different musicians will naturally have different playing styles and songs will often 'mature' as is the case with some of the songs here. This is most evident on The Police songs and those from Sting's first solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles, but they are still instantly recognisable and I frequently found myself singing along with gusto. It is a welcome change to see an artist acknowledging his entire career.

There are several standout tracks including Desert Rose featuring Arabian singer Cheb Mami, the title track Brand New Day which includes a surprise appearance by Stevie Wonder and the first song in the encore Message In A Bottle with Sting playing unaccompanied acoustic guitar. Magic!

Track Listing:

The Brand New Day Tour is a full frame, single layer (no annoying layer change) non-16x9 enhanced release.

The transfer itself is a good one and the image is clear and sharp, with only one or two instances of aliasing that were not overly noticeable and easy to ignore unless you are specifically looking for them. Close up shots are very detailed (especially when the stage is well lit) and shadow detail is acceptable. Colour levels remain constant and black levels are fine throughout.

There are two audio tracks to choose from here, and while the Dolby Digital 2.0 track was acceptable, it is noticeably inferior to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track. This is well presented and faithfully reproduces true concert sound with the music emanating essentially from the front speakers with the surround and centre speakers used to 'fill out' the music. Crowd noise comes mainly from the surrounds and the subwoofer is in regular use due to the amount of low levels. Remember that Sting is first and foremost a bass player and as such there is a lot of focus on the bottom end.

There are no audio sync problems and all vocals and instruments are very clear. This is important as there is an emphasis on percussion in Sting's music that needs space to be heard, which is where the Dolby Digital 2.0 track fails to measure up. Crowd banter between songs was minimal but always clear.

All tracks are selectable, but some songs follow immediately from the one before it with no audible break which makes for smooth viewing from start to finish, but a little disjointedness if only particular tracks are selected.

There is a brief 15 minute featurette of backstage footage that includes interviews with Sting and his entourage. It is mildly informative but suffers from aliasing, grain and odd colouring at times. It was filmed mostly with a handheld camera and is presented in full frame and Dolby Digital 5.1, but sounds very flat and could almost pass as a mono recording.

There is also a full set of scrollable credits .

Fans of Sting will find no reason to question their purchase. It is a well-presented performance from a wonderful singer/songwriter in fine form. Sting may claim in the featurette that this band is in "…no way over-rehearsed by any means" but I found them to be a very slick and professional outfit. With a good choice of songs spanning his entire career, it seems Sting is comfortable with his entire catalogue and is humbly appreciative that such a large number of people still care.