Sting has surrendered to his pop talent - The ambitious and maximalist musician is no more. And that's okay: the concert we saw yesterday at the Assago Forum was simply (so to speak) a journey through great songs, with and without the Police...

Sting the vain man in love with himself (well, that's still a little), Sting who isn't content with being a pop star and wants to be recognized as a cultured musician who records baroque music for Deutsche Grammophon, Sting and the legend of tantric sex for hours, Sting the champion of the Amazon. The Sting who wanted to shake off the formidable rock trajectory of the Police seems to be gone. At 72, he's not ashamed of his graying hair but still shows off a sculpted physique, accentuated by a casually worn T-shirt. For a few years now, the Newcastle-born artist has been touring the world with his My Songs tour, proud to offer his audience the masterpieces of the band that made him a global star, alternating with his solo hits. These, aside from the more mainstream fare, still include at least two or three all-time pop classics (at best).

Sting appears at the Assago Forum for his only Italian date, in what has now become his adopted homeland, at 8:45 pm. A perfect Englishman in Chiantishire, to put it in the most Sting-esque of clichés, he spends much of the year at his Palagio estate, in the hills south of Florence, where he produces Chianti, Sangiovese, and organic olive oil. And the song that opens the concert is named after one of his wines, Message in a Bottle… The opening sequence is simply perfect, with "Englishman in New York," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," and "Spirits in the Material World," the latter a heart-stopping hit for Police fans.

The band is going full steam ahead, with trusted guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Zach Jones backing up Sting on bass, with a sound somewhere between the Police and The Dream of the Blue Turtles tour, with soul-jazz undertones but without losing the English trio's edge. Sting, incidentally, sings beautifully, effortlessly, in the high registers characteristic of his songs. And incredibly, the Forum delivers a clean sound, rarely heard in the arena on the outskirts of Milan. The middle section is a bit weaker; "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" is the Sting we don't like, but "Fields of Gold" and "Shape of My Heart" remain two unchallenged songs. Sting then pays homage to Italy with a duet with former Amici star Giordana Angi, who has become a fixture in his career and is invited on stage for a duet in Italian on "Her Love," which becomes "Amore," sung in Italian.

But Sting still has more bullets to fire. And they're bullets that knock you out. "Walking on the Moon" and "So Lonely" arrive, which becomes a long jam with room for a Bob Marley reference in "No Woman No Cry," a fitting reminder of who mixed reggae with rock in the late '70s. Then comes the Middle Eastern foray of "Desert Rose" and the gem from Synchronicity, "King of Pain." "Every Breath You Take" is accelerated and has a delightful rock edge, followed by another classic, perhaps the Police classic par excellence, "Roxanne," with Sting abandoning his trademark aplomb and transforming the chorus into a "Milan, Milan" chant, as if he were Springsteen or Bono.

The old charmer (said with affection) closes, as always, on a romantic note, with the Andalusian-tinged arpeggio of "Fragile." And at that point, all we can do is applaud a splendid seventy-year-old who has learned to throw his talent and coolness in our faces without the arrogance of the past.

(c) Rolling Stone by Niccolò Borella

Sting is celebrated at the Assago Forum, from the Police to today...

The tour began in 2019 and encompasses the best of a career spanning five decades. His hits with the Police are also present, covering about a third of the setlist.

The live performance with the former Police member is now a regular occurrence for Italian audiences, having seen Sting perform as recently as last summer on the three dates of his My Songs Tour. The performance at the Assago Forum is therefore unique, but relative to the winter concert season, although the setlist is virtually identical, faithful to his career best, divided between hits with the trio (1/3) and solo performances (2/3). Twenty-one (twenty-two at most) songs in total, with Message in a Bottle opening the concerts and Roxanne usually closing them for the past four years (at the Mediolanum, the delicate "Fragile" was the closing act).

Accompanying the musician (who plays bass, but also guitar) is an impeccable live band that includes, among others, Dominic Miller and Zach Jones, on guitar and drums, respectively. Guests on stage, and this is no surprise, include his son Joe Sumner for "King of Pain," and once again former Amici member Giordana Angi for the duet "For Her Love" (which, when re-arranged in Italian, becomes "Amore").

Some songs famously include snippets of others: in So Lonely, Sting slips in Bob Marley & the Wailers' "No Woman No Cry," in Every Breath You Take, his part in Dire Straits's famous "Money For Nothing" is included, and Shape of My Heart contains a snippet of "Lucid Dreams" by the late Juice WRLD, who sampled Sting's iconic song for this very song, earning him widespread acclaim.

Sting is still in great shape: his t-shirt is still tight on his biceps, his voice is that of a 72-year-old who isn't afraid of the higher registers and makes up for his (few) lapses with experience, ease, and teamwork with a band of excellent instrumentalists.

Speaking of My Songs 2023, our Umberto Scaramozzino commented on the date at Sonic Park in Stupinigi. In his less-than-enthusiastic review, he highlights the ups and downs of a concert that was "a bit disorienting, which on the one hand demoralizes those who believed Sting's magic would remain the same forever, but on the other, demonstrates the value of an immense artist who perhaps can even afford to transcend his role as a performer."

This year, Sting has made headlines for his performance of "Russians" in response to the war in Ukraine, and for some controversial statements about the meaning of being in a group. Is being in a band "teenage stuff"? But how old was the British musician when he joined Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland? However, he recently addressed the issue again, speaking of a hypothetical Police reunion, in a decidedly more subdued tone.

My Songs is Sting's 2019 album, featuring rearranged versions of solo and trio songs. His latest, The Bridge, was released in 2021 and was reviewed on these pages by Valerio Di Marco. For the historic trio, you can find Stefano Solventi's review of Reggatta de Blanc on SA.

(c) Sentireascoltare by Edoardo Bridda