The long awaited Sting @ Durham Cathedral was interesting and at times quite fascinating. It is debatable if there was any jazz content apart from the cameo, non-playing appearance by his former associates from 30 plus years ago (see photo on previous post) but that didn't detract from the music which was distinctly folk-based and Northern folk at that.
For me the outstanding moments were the fiddling duels between Kathryn Tickell and her fellow fiddler whose name I didn't catch - surprise! surprise! none of the musicians were named in the credits, perhaps THAT was the jazz influence.
Sting came across as a warmer person than he sometimes does which I am sure stemmed from his return to once familiar settings but I felt his voice deserved better than a lot of the material to hand.
Still, to his credit, it's the first hour-long TV program I've stuck with until the end for many a long day. That was something the Quentin Crisp program the night previous failed to achieve!
Lance.
5 comments :
I missed the first half of the prog last night. Some of your bloggers might like to see it on:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pl1cf/Stings_Winter_Songbook/
My analogy is that Sting is a bit like Superman
Not a bird, not a plane - its Superman
Not Jazz, not Folk - its Sting
hmm.. it didn't do much for me Lance, but then it wasn't my kinda music. I also think his voice wasn't adaptable to that sort of material. I thought his visits to his roots also his meeting with his past buddies just lent fodder to the programme. Having said all that I have always liked Sting, but somehow this didn't float my boat! I agree about the Quentin Crisp prog, I switched it off halfway through!
Liz
Well Liz I can see where you are coming from however, for those of us who were on the scene at the time, the visits to the roots were more than mere 'fodder'. How well I remember that room in the Gosforth Hotel (not to be confused with the Gosforth Park Hotel - chalk and cheese springs to mind) and the memories it brought back.
As regards the music in the cathedral, not entirely my tastes either but once it got into its stride I found it compelling and as stated in my review, not least because of Kathryn Tickell.
It was an ambitious undertaking but, personally, I think it worked.
When I said fodder Lance it was merely an observation. It was in no way meant to lessen the impact of those early heady days. As a matter of fact those were the bits I enjoyed most, but to me they seemed almost like "fill ins" for the Cathedral stuff, when in actual fact they were a story, and a worthwhile story at that, in themselves
Liz
Couldn't agree more - it would be a worthwhile project and I seem to recall just such an idea being mooted some years ago but I don't think it ever quite took off. Maybe sometime...
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