Sting Bring On The Night

Review by Richard Lee


Universal Music / 1986 / 98 Minutes / Not Rated
Street Date: March 29, 2005

Specifications:
-DVD-Video
-DVD-9
-Region 1

Aspect Ratio:
-1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio Set-Up:
-Stereo
-DTS 5.1
-Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
-Off
-English
-French
-German
-Spanish
-Portuguese

Main Menu:
-Play
-Chapters
-Bonus Material
-Audio Set-Up

Bonus Material:
-Music Videos:
Bring On The Night
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Russians
-Original Trailer
-Photo Gallery
-Personal Playlist

In 1984, when I heard that one my favorite bands The Police were breaking up, I thought once again inflated egos were to blame for bringing to an end another successful music act; this one at the pinnacle of their career. This was made all the more evident when Sting (Gordon Sumner) released his first solo effort “The Dream of the Blue Turtles” the very next year. Seldom in the music business do solo careers survive after a hugely successful stint in a band; Steve Perry of Journey and Dennis DeYoung of Styx are just two examples. Expectations were that Sting would encounter a similar fate; have one or two moderately successful albums and then disappear. Little did anyone know that we were witnessing the birth of one of the most successful and lucrative solo careers in music history. Part of this can be attributed to Sting’s total departure from the ska, reggae pop rock of The Police to the fusion of jazz and pop with which we now identify his music; in essence, a complete re-invention of his image.

“Bring On The Night” is directed by acclaimed movie director Michael Apted (“The World Is Not Enough”, “Gorillas In The Mist”, and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” to name a few) and as such is not a straight-forward concert on video. Rather, the film chronicles the beginnings of Sting’s solo career and the preparations leading to the inaugural concert opening his “The Dream of the Blue Turtles” tour. It is shot in a semi-documentary style interspersed with interviews, rehearsals, and behind-the-scenes footage; especially in the first half of the picture with the second half taken up with the actual concert. Sting brings together a group of well-renowned Black-American jazz musicians with ties to Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Weather Report. Through their interviews, we see that they are all aware they are part of a unique experiment and don’t know what to expect from the audience on opening night. 

The film begins with shots of Paris as we hear the opening notes of Sting’s reworked version of “Bring On The Night” originally released on The Police’s Regatta de Blanc album. The camera quickly segues to beautiful vistas of the French country-side and ultimately to a 17th century estate, the Courson Chateau, where Sting and his band-mates have taken up temporary residence and are using one of the large rooms as a rehearsal hall. The camera travels into the chateau and winds through the halls and rooms finally reaching the musicians who are now jamming to a revamped version of “When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around” from The Police’s Zenyatta Mondatta. This two-song medley of Police songs now heard as jazz, pop pieces lets us know immediately the direction Sting is taking his music and is, to me, the highlight of the entire film. We are then given an inside look into the rehearsal process as Sting directs the musicians as well as footage of the band having fun in and around the estate. 

Opening night of the tour takes place at The Theater Mogador in Paris and begins with “Shadows In The Rain” again from Zenyatta Mondatta; seems this may have been a decision to start with something familiar to the audience before bringing in the new material. Next up are several selections from “The Dream of the Blue Turtles” album before Sting returns to familiar territory with “Roxanne”, although now a mellower version with a simple chorused guitar and soft riffs from a saxophone courtesy of Branford Marsalis. Next, and the most poignant chapter on the DVD, is “Russians”. The song reflects a parent’s concern for the future of his child amid the threat of global destruction from nuclear war and is aptly juxtaposed with footage of Sting’s wife Trudie giving birth to their son, Jake. After two more songs from the new album, the band really cuts loose with the show’s closing number “Demolition Man” from The Police’s Ghost in the Machine. The song is played at a break-neck tempo with Sting prancing around as if The Police were still backing him up; notice his broken guitar string. Finally, after much applause, Sting comes out for one encore “Message In A Bottle”, played again, like “Roxanne”, mellowed down with just him and his guitar. 

Picture Quality:

Shot on film in 1985, it is given an anamorphic treatment for this DVD and the results are quite impressive. The picture was clear and sharp, and the camera work certainly reflected the fact that a well-respected director was in charge. The color palette was for the most part bland so colors did not particularly stand out. But considering that this is a documentary style film about a concert, it serves its purpose just fine here.

Audio Quality:

Sting’s music CD’s, especially the ones offered in the DTS format, have been reference material for audiophiles for years so it should come as no surprise that this DVD offers a DTS track along with the regular stereo and Dolby Digital track. But whereas his music CD’s have been re-engineered for distinct surround tracks, that doesn’t appear to be case with this DVD. The DTS is, without a doubt, the audio selection of choice, but what comes out sounds more like simple pro-logic stereo, although done very well. We must remember that this is Sting’s first effort as a solo artist and will not match the audio quality of his more recent concert DVD’s of which there are a few. Outstanding recording of music concerts didn’t begin until well into the nineties. 

Bonus Material:

The DVD includes three music videos in 4:3 format and 2-track audio – “Bring On The Night”, “If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free”, and “Russians”. Also included is the original theatrical trailer, a photo gallery, and a personal playlist which allows you to arrange seven of the concert tracks and the three music videos into a pre-determined order of playback of your own choosing.