I don’t particularly know why, but I really like Sting’s music, both with The Police and as a solo artist.
A lot about him outrages my purist sensibilities about the sanctity of Reggae music and Jazz. He seems to lift pretty licentiously from those styles in the name of his pop crooning.
But the fact is, I like his singing, and I like the instrumentals he uses.
“Moon Over Bourbon Street” particularly caught my ear due to the bassline right at the start. Later in the song, there’s a little flute riff that I kept having to replay because I liked it so much.
The rest of the song is pretty nice too, with a slow, paranoid feeling.
Bourbon Street is a dodgy street in New Orleans, which Sting once felt creeped out while walking down. The song is written from the perspective of a vampire from a novel called Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice, which is about a vampire with a tortured conscience.
It’s pop music, but intelligent and innovative. There’s a very strong Jazz feeling to this one, although Sting’s vocals dominate proceedings.
The song is from The Dream Of The Blue Turtles. This album, inspired by a dream Sting had, was released in 1985, and was his first solo album.
Creates the intended sensations so well!