I too have been impressed by "The Last Ship".
As his first album of original songs in a decade, and a concept record at that, I approached this with much more interest than I did “Sacred Love”. That interest has been rewarded with what I think is his best work since “Ten Summoners Tales”.
Musically it’s very folky which for me has its limitations, but what propels this record further than anything Sting has done since ’93 is his song writing and conceptualisation of his own childhood experiences. He tells a story.
The title song, which musically is reprised for the close of the album (I’ve always loved it when artists revisit musical themes at later points in their albums) is one of the most affecting that Sting has ever written.
Whilst the 3/4 time signature may be slightly over-used and the beer-swilling pub shanty “What Have We Got?” might not really be my thing, it all fits together, and well. Whether born of a musical play or vice-versa, it’s obviously theatrical, and intentionally so – and I don’t mind that because I’ve always loved prog rock / concept records - which are all theatrical in their own way.
Sting is in fine voice and it’s nice to hear him performing in his native Geordie accent. The production is, as usual, clean and lacks character by virtue of its polish, but it has depth and clarity. Fortunately, also no damned Kipper! (I'm presuming the "kipper" above is not actually the producer but someone who either simply likes Kipper or is having a joke, like joining a "Best Drummers in the World" forum and calling yourself "Lol Tolhurst")...
Cha!
Posted: 03 Oct 2013 12:02