Sting/France 2019

It’s about a month until Sting’s ultimate greatest hits tour “MY SONGS TOUR” arrives in Japan. Introducing an excellent live album that predicts the upcoming performance in Japan. This work includes “July 26, 2019 Carcassonne performance”. This is a superb audience recording from when he appeared at France’s famous summer festival “Festival de Carcassonne”. Each summer festival in Europe is unique, but this festival is the best. It continued every night for over a month, and this year it was held for 34 days from June 28th to July 31st. Also, speaking of this summer’s tour, it became a hot topic that Sting’s tour was canceled due to poor health. First of all, let’s check the position in the overview of the tour currently in progress in order to understand the recent situation. ●2019《“MY SONGS” released on May 24th》・May 28th-July 6th: Europe #1a (23 performances) x July 8th-15th: 6 performances canceled・July 17th- August 2: Europe #1b (12 performances) ←★Coco★・August 23-September 2: North America #1 (8 performances)・October 5-15: Korea/Japan (6 performances)・October 18th – November 2nd: Europe #2 (11 performances) ・November 8th – 15th: North America #2 (3 performances) ●2020 January 14th – February 16th: Los Angeles ( 30 performances) ・May 22nd – June 6th: Las Vegas (8 shows) ・August 15th – September 2nd: Las Vegas (8 shows) This is the schedule announced so far. In 2019, they will be touring extensively until November, and will also announce concert residencies in LA and Las Vegas in 2020. Plans are already set for a year in advance. The cancellation occurred in early July. Although the details of the illness have not been made public, he returned to tour after taking about a week’s rest. The Carcassonne performance of this work was the 7th concert of “Europe #1b” after his return. This work, which recorded such a show, is a superb audience recording that is truly “super”. The venue is a semicircular open-air theater adjacent to the castle wall, but that’s why the sound extends into the sky without echoing, and there is no cloudiness or turbidity. Moreover, perhaps because it was so close to the PA, there was no sense of distance at all, and the heavy bass, which tends to be spoiled outdoors, was glossy and rich. It is a beautiful recording with an extremely thick core that jumps into your ears and is also extremely neat. Apparently it started raining two minutes before the performance started, and there was a slight sound of contact at the beginning, perhaps because they were trying to avoid it, but after that there was no effect from the rain (it apparently stopped before they knew it). The sense of realism that springs from the super luxurious Greatest Hits is also recorded, and the performance sound and Sting’s singing voice that overwhelm it are beautiful and powerful, just like an official work. And that sense of realism is also delicious. After all, this work is “MY SONGS TOUR”. The hit songs are played one after another, creating a huge chorus. Of course, it would be ruinous if you were bothered by the close-up screams, but you don’t have to worry about that with this work. The waves of chanting and clapping that filled the outdoor theater were vast, yet extremely clear with no echoes. It is an ideal enthusiasm that supports Sting’s singing voice beautifully without disturbing it at all. Although the show drawn with such a sound is the ultimate greatest hits, it is a little different from the previous “MY SONGS TOUR”. The flow of suddenly starting with the gentle “Roxanne” is refreshing, but the selection itself has also changed. Let’s organize the set here in order to anticipate the upcoming Japanese performance. [THE POLICE era] ●OUTLANDOS D’AMOUR (3 songs)・So Lonely, Roxanne, Next To You ●REGGATTA DE BLANC (2 songs)・Message In A Bottle, Walking On The Moon ●SYNCHRONICITY (3 songs)・Wrapped Around Your Finger, Every Breath You Take, King Of Pain [Solo era] ●THE DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES (2 songs)・If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, Russians ●…NOTHING LIKE THE SUN (2 songs)・Englishman In New York, Fragile ●TEN SUMMONER’S TALES (4 songs) ・If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, Seven Days, Fields Of Gold, Shape Of My Heart ●BRAND NEW DAY (2 songs)・Brand New Day, Desert Rose ●Others ( 2 songs)・Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (GHOST IN THE MACHINE), Waiting For The Break Of Day (44/876) …and so on. Compared to “Europe #1a” before the cancellation, it is a little narrower, dropping three songs: “Can’t Stand Losing You,” “Spirits In The Material World,” and “Demolition Man.” It is surprising that “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “Demolition Man”, which were re-recorded in “MY SONGS”, were dropped, but it is also a little surprising that “Russians” was included in the set instead. This song started playing after returning to tour, and this is also the first comeback in eight years. Even now, the three songs that fell have not been revived, and the Japanese performance may be a selection similar to this work (although it cannot be confirmed). The ultimate greatest hits “MY SONGS TOUR” where Sting himself summarizes his career. There is only one month left until the Japan performance. Since he will be 68 years old by the time he comes to Japan, he was cold to the cancellation fuss, but as long as you listen to this work, there is no need to worry. With that wonderful singing voice, he has created a rich and luxurious show. A masterpiece of a live album that can anticipate such scenes with the best sound. Live at Theater Jean-Deschamps, Carcassonne, France 26th July 2019 TRULY PERFECT SOUND Disc 1(53:50) 1. Intro 2. Roxanne 3. Message in a Bottle 4. If I Ever Lose My Faith in You 5. Englishman in New York 6. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free 7. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 8. Band Introductions 9. Brand New Day 10. Seven Days 11. Fields of Gold 12. Waiting for the Break of Day 13. Shape of My Heart Disc 2(43:17) 1. Wrapped Around Your Finger 2. Walking on the Moon 3. So Lonely 4. Desert Rose 5.Every Breath You Take Encore: 6.King of Pain 7.Next to You Encore 2: 8 .Russians 9.Fragile Sting – vocals, guitar, bass Ben Butler – guitar Rufus Miller – guitar, backing vocals Josh Freese – drums Kevon Webster – keyboards Gene Noble – backing vocals Melissa Musique – backing vocals Shane Sager – harmonica