Sting in Oslo Spektrum...

He stood there for the first time in 1991, and once again he returned. Ever-young Sting, now 71 years old, in Oslo Spektrum.

This time under the "My Songs" poster, although he has also released a new album, the upbeat "The Bridge", in the relatively recent past. He is the fittest veteran out there, and a tight t-shirt reveals that he is in a completely different class than his peers from the UK; Elton John, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel included. The keys are also the same, and although his crystal-clear vocals have taken a slight hoarse turn at times, it is impressive what he still manages to do.

"My Songs" contains both his time as a solo artist and not least his time in The Police, and of the 20 songs in Oslo this time, eight of them were taken from The Police catalogue between 1978-1983. In Oslo he started just as well in 1979, with "Message In A Bottle". Just to put the cupboard in place with a ragged and youthful start. Then he ensured a good opening with "Englishman In New York" and The Police classic "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic".

The new songs "If It's Love", "For Her Love" and "Rushing Water" came in succession before the quarter had passed. The first with whistling, something that should have gone to the grave after Roger Whittaker's heyday (do you hear Scorpions, and Kent..?). But in all its banality both in terms of lyrics and composition, it is a catchy song. "For Her Love" is more of a pale copy of "Shape Of My Heart" (which also came later).

Then “Rushing Water” was again the winner of the fresh produce department this time, driving and airy in the verses with Dominic Miller laying down terses and new drummer Zach Jones’ tight and simple structures (Josh Freese has left the band, and rumours are rife that he will be announced as the new Foo Fighters drummer soon).

After having residencies in both Las Vegas and London, there is something “performance”-like about Sting in 2022. The songs rush a bit, go into each other, Sting talks over intros and seems more “directed” than usual. He explains that a song can emerge from something you whistle, and then the band cues straight into “If It’s Love”. The introduction by Shane Sager on harmonica was also somewhat stiff (“Do your parents know you’re here? How old are you?”). Previously he has been more easygoing and free and created a playroom when he has worked in the quartet format like here, when people like Dominic Miller (guitar), David Sancious (keyboards) and Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) have oozed excess, in-the-moment spontaneity and a different drive than what was shown in Oslo Spektrum this time. Did the new keyboardist Kevon Webster have a single solo? Boring stuff..!

Only Dominic Miller is from the old gang, and he has his spots. But beyond that he was invisible and a small shadow of himself on the left wing in Oslo Spektrum. It was almost as if he thought "I'll never get the fuck out of that band here after over 30 years, so I'll just chill out a bit over here...". There were more interesting fills from Shane Sager's harmonica than from Dominic Miller's guitar. And that being said, it was nice to have Sager in Branford Marsalis' sax role in "Englishman In New York" as well as the harmonica intro on "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You", nice improvised fills on "Shape Of My Heart" and of course Stevie Wonder's signature on "Brand New Day".

Sting is also more mobile than before on stage, and that of course contributes to a more moving show than a bassist and vocalist standing in front of a microphone for 90 minutes. But even though we're writing in 2022, there are no head-mounted microphones that can match a handheld in sound quality. When you also get the microphone too close, you get s's and f's through the system that can be reminiscent of an old FM radio that is close to having perfect reception, but certainly not quite. You also hear a lot more breathing and panting, and it wasn't pretty when Sting ended with beautiful and delicate "Fragile" while his nose was breathing and panting right into the microphone during the intro.

Song-wise, it was a review of a long career that felt like a "best of" album. There were few surprises, perhaps with the exception of the somewhat forgotten Sacred Love single "Whenever I Say Your Name" where Melissa Musique took on the role of Mary J. Blige. On "Shape Of My Heart" they also brought in the Juice WRLD elements from "Lucid Dreams" for which vocalist Gene Noble got his minutes at the front of the stage. We also got "What Could Have Been" from the animation spinoff Arcane from League Of Legends. Three features that made an otherwise standard Sting show a bit out of the spotlight.

In addition to that, there were "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You", "Fields Of Gold" and "Desert Rose" from the Sting catalogue and "Walking On The Moon", "So Lonely", "Every Breath You Take" and the still vibrant "Roxanne" from The Police catalogue which were some of the nostalgic highlights in the more than 90 minutes of the concert.

He's been better, but he's still good. But get the microphone stand back, fill the band members with some 98 Super again and loosen up a bit more.

(c) Music News by Odd Inge Rand