August 10 - Shadows In The Rain

I always forget that the song of the day originated on The Police's album Zenyatta Mondatta - but there it felt more like a throwaway track. When Sting released his first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles in 1985, five years had passed since the first appearance of Shadows In The Rain, and it has changed character from relying heavily on reggae rhythms to being a swing jazz number - and what a number. It gets my feet tapping and head bopping - and Sting almost growls "how can I explain shadows in the rain." The band he assembled for The Dream of the Blue Turtles was very jazzy - Branford Marsalis on sax, Darryl Jones on bass, Omar Hakim on drums, and Kenny Kirkland on keyboards. Although Sting would play double bass as well, he mainly sang and did the guitar work. While Sting to my ears has been relegated to "boring old fart" status, his early solo output was great. I love his first four solo albums, and while there have been glimmers of interesting music on the later ones as well, I think his fourth, Ten Summoner's Tales, was the beginning of the decline. What he is doing is pretty, but pretty boring to me.

But with The Dream of the Blue Turtles, he helped open my ears to jazzier sounds. Lyrically, the album is all over the place. He is channeling Anne Rice on one song (Moon Over Bourbon Street), and referencing Shakespeare on another (Consider Me Gone) - and while his political sentiments always have been marred by clichés, stating that he hopes "the Russians love their children too" has always resonated with me (Russians). But Shadows in the Rain is not about politics or literature, it's about the aftermath of a slightly big bender, and it is delivered with gusto and a solid dose of humor.