An open letter to Sting...

The life of journalists in Hungary is not easy, we know that, but irony aside, in two days world stars of such caliber arrived on the stage of the Papp László Sportaréna that I almost went from one experience to another, because on Wednesday The Cure gave a bombastic concert to their domestic fans, and then a day later Gordon Sumner, aka Sting, arrived in Budapest. To whom I wrote an open letter, let's just take everything in order.

Sting is almost coming home to us, and although I call myself a huge fan of The Police, his solo work – apart from the early ones – is not that close to my heart. I admit, it's not a bad thing that a real bass player follows the Cure, because Simon Gallup's chords are still pounding in my head, so there was something to compare during the evening. I don't think I need to go into much detail about Sting's work, since we are talking about one of the most prominent icons of the pop industry, who has won 17(!!!) Grammy Awards during his career, sold more than a hundred million records, and pocketed who knows how many other titles. Not to mention that the 71-year-old world star is doing incredibly well, although it is true that he didn't have to spend 25 years in the non-stop work of loading goods in the Kerepetarcsa. By the way, Sting is still touring with songs from the My Songs album, and he already came to us a few years ago, then with a band that had not been reduced in terms of budget - since Josh Freese was replaced behind the drums by Zach Jones this time.

Thursday's damp evening in Budapest was warmed up by Sting's son, Joe Sumner, whose tone and style are also clearly his father's. The guy's songs are rock, a little different from mass pop, but they weren't that interesting. After the short detour, we didn't have to wait long and at three-quarters of an hour, Sting and his band took the stage, of which I would like to highlight his constant musical partner, Dominic Miller. The concert began with the Police's 1979 megahit, Message in The Bottle, then continued with Englishman In New York from the second solo album, Nothing Like The Sun, and then continued with another Police song, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. From about this point on, I knew that although I love The Police, this wasn't going to be my night either. The whole thing was simply so weak after The Cure that it hurt. I've liked Sumner for a long time, but I have to say that the difference was the piano playing, even though Sting is in bomb form despite his age of 71. You can really tell that he's bursting with energy and he sings really well - and his best friend, the legendary Fender bass, also plays brilliantly. But somehow it's all very slow, even though the opening songs are my absolute favourites. I somehow felt that this is where my real troubles would start...

Sting changed the setlist compared to the previous tour and in the last round he replaced a lot of Police songs with his own bland, completely insignificant songs. I remember how surprised I was myself at how much Police they played in Budapest last time. And the Police were one of the best New Wave bands. The Police albums, which were developed from the basics of reggae and ska, are simply brilliant, you can only talk about them in superlatives, but the bunch of new Sting songs after the aforementioned Every Little are anything but really good, or novel, or phenomenal. The three songs copied from The Bridge album are almost unmentionable, forgettable compositions. Which simply has no place in the repertoire of a star of such volume. It is noticeable that the rather mixed audience often could not tolerate the Police's rawness, which is why they shortened the program considerably and led the group into even more sugar-coated waters. Fortunately, If i Ever Lose My Faith in You improved the situation a lot, as the hit from Ten Summoner's Tale evoked Sting's pop, but still more unique work. Along with Fields of Gold. Then came another Police song, the playful Spirits in the Material World, followed by harmonica interludes from Brand New Day, and then a little indulgence, Shape of My Heart, presented in the style of Craig David's Rise and Fall with vocalist Gene Noble, a great singer. The song was almost dripping with syrup.

The forgettable What Could have Been was followed by Whenever I Say Your Name, which he, along with his other vocalist, the incredibly good Melissa Musique, shoved into the faces of the audience visiting the full hall. Fortunately, the long-awaited Police hits came, such as Walking on the Moon, So Lonely, into which they also smuggled a little Bob Marley, and then those socializing on Juventus Radio could also rejoice, as Desert Rose came for dessert, then the brilliant King Of Pain, which he pushed out together with his son Joe, who has a physique reminiscent of Hungarian football managers. This was followed by his most played composition of all time on the radio, Every Breath You Take, smuggled here from Synchronicity, which also closed the main act.

And now comes the promised open letter! “Dear Sting! As your old fan, let me ask you to split your concerts, which you have played professionally, into two. Let there be an acoustic, symphonic tour of Sting songs and a concert series showing your braver, more experimental, more musical self from the Police, because this concert of yours, here in this small country on Thursday evening, although very professional and perfect, was still so soulless that it is a shame to go to your performances every year again and again. Maybe two bagpipers cannot fit in one inn. So please, forgive me for this criticism, because I only want to earn money for you by serving you two audiences. Those with more refined ears and faces yearning for more mainstream music. Greetings! András.”

My problem with Sting is the same as with Phil Collins; as the band members who provided the framework around him disappeared and he went solo, they became more and more flabby and slobbery, a lot. But Sting is a musical genius! There is much, much more to him even today than what I could see from him now. You really can't get involved in his production, the puritanical stage spectacle is great, the band is great, but still too pop and - what I have the biggest problem with him - completely average, that is, considering his newer songs. While The Cure party remains in my mind as a truly eternal and memorable concert, I won't even remember it tomorrow. But Roxanne and Fragile, which is full of political content and supports Ukraine, were good for the finale. Fortunately, the news of Sting's criticism of Russian aggression will not reach Hungarian politicians anyway, as Fradi played on Thursday night... And I hope that next time I will be able to see the other side of Sting again, because despite the criticism, I will be a regular visitor to his concerts.

(c) Magyar Hang by Zimon András