Sting, Cher and Elton John–when talent trumps trends
JOHN. Pares down his flamboyant musicality with a back-to-basics trio.
Sting, Cher and Elton John are already in their 60s, but their enduring careers are incontrovertible proof that genuine talent will always trump trends and gimmicks—as their respective new albums, “The Last Ship,” “The Diving Board” and “Closer To The Truth,” demonstrate!
Has blissful domesticity made Elton John less driven about his music? (The 66-year-old singer-songwriter has been married since 2005 to his filmmaker-“husband,” David Furnish, with whom he has two kids born to a surrogate.) Not necessarily—if anything, it has only made him more uncompromising about the quality of his music: The release of his 30th solo album, “The Diving Board,” was pushed back at least four times—because he was dissatisfied with the lineup!
The result is a hefty compilation of adult contemporary tunes, with occasionally lackluster cuts. The album, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, revisits John’s “Tumbleweed Connection” heyday in the ’70s as he pares down his flamboyant musicality with a back-to-basics trio that has Raphael Saadiq’s bass and Jay Bellerose’s drums deftly complementing the 66-year-old singer’s gifts as a piano player.
CHER. Releases highest-charting solo album to date.
Check out the playful theatricality of “The Ballad of Blind Tom.” You also don’t want to miss the upbeat soulfulness of “Mexican Vacation,” the jaunty hustle of “Take This Dirty Water,” the lyrical “Voyeur,” and John’s contemplative intimations of celebrity: “Took a high dive into the crowd/ Out to the sound of their wild applause/ You’d freefall into the ether/ Out on a limb, fragile and adored/ But, who below knows that you’re still a mystery?”
‘The Last Ship’
Sting’s “The Last Ship,” which bowed at No. 13, can appear heart-wrenchingly somber at times—but, it’s an even more satisfying collection, deriving its accessibility from tunes that are written in the context of a stage musical.
It’s inspired by the 62-year-old former Police frontman’s childhood in the seafaring town of Wallsend in the United Kingdom, where he witnessed the shipbuilding industry’s eventual demise in the ’80s.
The musical, which sets sail for Broadway next year, revolves around a Wallsend native who travels the world for 14 years, only to find the shipyard’s future in grave danger upon his return—and his girlfriend engaged to someone else!
The production team behind it is nothing to scoff at: It includes director Joe Mantello (“Wicked”), playwrights John Logan (“Red”) and Brian Yorkey (“Next to Normal”), and choreographer Steven Hoggett (“Once”).
Rooted in blue-collar folksiness and brimming with elegiac urgency, the album is never listless yet seldom rowdy, especially when it foists the feisty stomper, “What Have We Got?” (with Jimmy Nail), on its listeners—who will more likely end up “Riverdancing” to it, a la Michael Flatley!
STING. Goes to Broadway.
Charmers and weepers that’ll grow on you upon repeated spins: “Dead Man’s Boots,” “Practical Arrangement,” “I Love Her But She Loves Someone Else,” “The Night The Pugilist Learned How To Dance” and the ethereal “So To Speak,” which Sting stirringly renders with the nymph-voiced Becky Unthank.
‘Closer To The Truth’
Cher is the only artist to have a No. 1 single on Billboard in each of the past six decades—! With the release of her 25th solo recording, “Closer To The Truth,” she accomplished another impressive feat when the compilation opened at No. 3—her highest-charting solo album to date!
The collection is a merry mix of rabble-rousing dance tunes (“Woman’s World,” the banjo-boosted “I Walk Alone”) and significant adult-contemporary tracks (the string-backed “Favorite Scars,” the radio-ready ballad, “Lie To Me”) that bank on booming hooks and the 67-year-old icon’s time-honed skill at “selling” her “merchandise.”
Moreover, there aren’t a lot of sexagenarians out there who can use the Autotune technology the way Cher does—in fact, in the groove-heavy “Dressed to Kill,” her characteristic contralto is almost unrecognizable! As they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!
