CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sting tends to stay busy during the normal course of events.
Taken off the road during most of the past 20 months, he was possibly even busier.
The Police man has already released one album this year, a compilation of “Duets,” and follows this week (Friday, Nov. 19) with a set of new material, “The Bridge.”
He also had a recurring cameo in the Steve Martin/Martin Short/Selena Gomez Hulu mystery comedy series “Only Murders in the Building.” And he hit the stage once again during September in Europe, followed by his first Las Vegas residency, in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
“The Bridge” is Sting’s 15th studio album as a solo artist, with 10 tracks (13 on the deluxe edition) and the usual range of styles, from the buoyant pop of the first single, “If It’s Love,” to the ensemble rock of “Rushing Water.” There’s also gentler fare such as “Harmony Road,” “For Her Love” and the title track.
Regular musical compatriots such as saxophonist Branford Marsalis, guitarist Dominic Miller and drummers Manu Katche and Josh Freese contributed to the mostly virtual sessions, and Sting, 70, says he’s well-pleased with the results as he Zooms from his apartment in New York City...
How did “The Bridge” come to be?
Sting: What was different was it put me out of my cycle. I was in the middle of a tour with (his stage musical) “The Last Ship” in San Francisco. The mayor shut the city down, quite rightly. I got my crew and myself back home to England, and then you say, “Well, now what? Well, we’ll just have to move the cycle. I’ll just go in the studio.” So, I’d start at 10 in the morning and work through ‘til dinner every day, and that kept me sane. I was very fortunate to be able to do that.
Were any of the songs around at the time?
Sting: No. Zero. I always equate recording to fishing; You throw a line in the river, and you get nothing most days, and on the odd day you might catch a fish, or something that looks like a fish. After a year you have 12 fish, and then it’s, “Well, what do they mean?” I’m always surprised by what comes up. I don’t really understand the process. It’s kind of mysterious, but I’m always delighted when at the end of the day I have a story with a beginning and middle and end.
And what did “The Bridge’s” fish mean?
Sting: When I looked at them all individually...they were all about characters in transition -- between one world and another, life and death, between relationships. That was the connecting tissue. Then I wrote (the song) “The Bridge” because I realized all the characters were looking for a bridge to the future that was somewhere different, somewhere safer, somewhere happier. And I think the whole planet is looking for a bridge like that at the moment. It’s such an anxious time. No one knows what’s going to happen next year or the year after that with all these crises we’re facing. So, the bridge seemed a useful metaphor that would resonate with people.
Did having to record so much of “The Bridge” remotely change the nature of the work, or its value?
Sting: Y’know, I don’t agree. I don’t think the circumstances were different. Studios tend to be isolating places anyway; You squirrel yourself away for months at a time, and even when you’re in the same building with the musicians the drummer’s in one room, the singer’s in another room, the guitar player’s in another room. So, no. And the technology that allows you to record remotely is not a novelty at this point. The challenge, though, is to make sure that it still sounds intimate, that it still sounds warm. That’s helped by having musicians who have worked with me for decades, so we already have a rapport. We have an understanding without me needing to say very much. So, no, it was very much the same.
There’s a lot of love on “The Bridge” -- “If It’s Love,” “Loving You,” “For Her Love,” even unrequited in “Captain Bateman.” Is the message that love is the answer especially in these kind of troubled times?
Sting: Well, you know, there’s nothing more boring than a love song that says, “I love you and you love me.” Where do you go with that? It’s a closed loop. But “I love you and you love someone else” is much more interesting. I’ve experienced most of the range -- the spectrum, if you like -- of emotions related to love, from the greatest joy to the worst misery and everything in between. I’ve been made aware of it or experienced it myself. So, I can write with a certain authenticity, a certain truth, now. Love is great theater if you like. It’s full of stories.
When do you reach a point when you can look at “The Bridge,” or any new piece of work you do, and place it within the context of your entire body of work?
Sting: Well, my intention is to always get better -- to be a better songwriter, to be a better singer, to be a better bandleader, a wiser person maybe. Whether I succeed in that or not is really up to a commentator. It’s not my job to do that. But my intention is to get better, and I make sure I try as hard as I can to do that.
You just finished a residency in Las Vegas and you’ll be back in June for another run. What would the punk rock Sting have to say about that?
Sting: I think the idea of a Vegas residency from the old days was very different to the reality now. Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck would be stuck there for years, never getting out. This was a three-week pod in which I do eight shows, but it does give me my own room. I’ve played Vegas many times, obviously, but just for one night. This gives me the opportunity to explore visual aspects to the songs I haven’t done before, so each song has its own world. It’s quite stunning. And that’s never been my thing, really, so it’s a novelty for me. It’s exciting.
A part of your past has been remade this year with the new version of “Dune.” Have you seen it?
Sting: I have. The new one is a different animal, and I was very impressed. My character’s (Feyd-Rautha) isn’t involved in this one. How could they replace ME, after all? (laughs)
And I have to say that I totally thought you were the killer in (Hulu’s) “Only Murders in the Building.”
Sting: How dare you! (laughs) To quote Shaggy, it wasn’t me. I’ve worked with Steve (Martin) and Martin (Short) over the years, many times, so they wrote me into the script and said would I mind doing it? I said, “Sure, it’s a straight drama, right?” (laughs) It was great fun.
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