It must have been very difficult for Sting and his band to perform these songs in front of 200 people the evening of September 11th. Listening to this performance, it must have been a way to help "heal" the horrible feelings that all of us were experiencing at that time. Some 4 months later, the performance sounds amazingly loose and fun. Perhaps they lost themselves in the performance and nothing else seemed to matter. Regardless of the events surrounding this set and the great performance, I find it to be at times an average recording with a few jems thrown in. There really isn't much need for Sting to release this set since the majority of his fans will already own the studio recordings of these songs. Regardless, I do find enough good moments on this cd to warrent giving it a good review.
Sting's "Brand New Day" was probably my favorite cd of 1999. Just when I was about the write "The Stingster" off as being too egotistical (I didn't really like his "Mercury Falling" cd), he over-whelms me with his best song writing since "Synchronicity"! It's only fitting that he covers some of the tracks off his latest album. The best of the bunch here would have to be "Brand New Day". The re-arrangement of the song on this set is quite unique. Honky tonk piano and horns gives you the sense that this was recorded in New Orleans. The simple rendition here contrasts the large production of the studio version, but the swing and power of the song isn't lost. Likewise, "A Thousand Years" gets a much jazzier and subdued treatment. This was the hardest track for me to get used to on the "Brand New Day" cd, but this live recording is accented brilliantly with touches of piano, bass, percussion, trumpet, and violin. It comes off sounding more like Miles Davis, which may have been the general idea here anyway. Sting also reaches into some classic Police songs. The only problem is, he picks the obvious hits to use. "Roxanne", "Don't Stand So Close To Me", and "Every Breath You Take" are obviously the most recognized songs that the band has performed, but reaching a little deeper into The Police cataloge would have been a better idea for a change. His versions of these three songs are good, but not necessarily that unique or special. Sting does rebound toward the end of the cd with "Moon Over Bourbon Street". Arguably a better performance than the studio track featured on 1987's "Nothing Like The Sun", Sting proves that his jazz sensibility hasn't been lost. Upright bass, hi-pitched trumpet (courtesy of Chris Botti), and Jason Rebello's effortless jazz piano makes for the most memorable moment on the release... for me at least.
I always ask myself the same question whenever I review a cd... "will I still have the urge to pull this out of my collection for a listen a year from now?" The most probable answer is "maybe", since I'd be more likely to listen to "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" or "Brand New Day" before I'd give this a another spin. The performance is great, yet the song selection can be a bit too predictible. I would almost rather see Sting select some key jazz selections to cover, along with some new material to make this set a little more worthwhile. It's a good document for the more serious fan, but not a real necessary purchase for anyone else.
