I feel extremely fortunate on many levels to have experienced this show for myself. This tour was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see two of the finest songwriters and performers in rock history sharing a stage together – and they delivered in spades at this show. I have read some critics describing Sting and Paul Simon as an ‘odd couple’. I disagree. Both are superb songwriters who have explored an incredibly diverse range of genres. Both are brilliant and instantly recognisable vocalists. Both are dynamic live performers. And both have had long and successful careers – they come from an era when artists were able to follow their own natural creative path, without being run into the ground before they even had a chance to show their musical versatility, as is invariably the case in the modern industry. Most importantly, the basis of their success has always been on what really counts – their music.
When I first became a fan of Sting over twenty years ago, he was recording and touring with a very special line-up. Sting himself on bass and vocals, Dominic Miller on guitar, David Sancious on keyboards and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. For me, they are just the perfect Sting band. Quite apart from being world class musicians in their respective fields, the four of them have a certain chemistry. They recorded Ten Summoner’s Tales together, which is one of my all-time favourite albums. I believe they played their last show together in 1994. I was delighted, then, that some 15 years later all four of them got back together and have been touring ever since.
Now augmented by backing vocalist Jo Lawry and Peter Tickell on fiddle, as evidenced by the show I witnessed on 15th April, this line-up is now stronger than ever. The On Stage Together show consisted of interweaving sets by both artists with contributions from various members of each of their bands. Some songs, such as ‘Fields of Gold’, were converted into duets. This particular example worked beautifully and was one of the highlights of the evening for me. Sting’s cover of Paul’s ‘America’ was sublime, as was Paul’s interpretation of the vocal on Sting’s ‘Fragile’.
’So Lonely’ was the opening song of Sting’s first solo set. This got everybody on their feet. Vinnie Colaiuta adds so much ‘spring’ to this song – there is something about the tone he gets out of the drums which sets him apart from literally every other drummer out there. The use of one of Paul Simon’s horn players was an interesting addition to this song! This was followed by ‘When the World is Running Down’, which was a real thrill for me. Having never seen this line-up live before, hearing David Sancious’ keyboard solo in person was a special moment. ‘Englishman in New York’ was yet another highlight that got everyone singing. I love the new inversions that Sting has brought into ‘Shape of My Heart’, and the instrumental break which has been doubled in length. ‘Driven to Tears’ was properly loud, with some furious soloing from Peter Tickell on fiddle. This part of the set closed with ‘Walking On the Moon’, which again got everyone singing. Notable throughout Sting’s sets was Vinnie’s almost unbelievable ability to play these very quick but incredibly advanced drum fills. If there were any minor tremors in London that night, then there’s the man to blame. Quite astonishing.
Using an excellent duet of ‘Mrs Robinson’ as a switchover, Paul then took over for his first solo set. I was massively impressed with him and his band. As is also the case with Sting, it is wonderful how, at the age of 73, Paul’s ability to perform has not diminished in any way. His voice is as strong as it ever was. He offered up five excellent performances including ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ (everyone singing along once again), ‘Graceland’ and ‘Dazzling Blue’, a song from his newest studio album So Beautiful Or So What.
‘Fragile’ was the switchover song before Sting’s second set, and after his beautiful interpretation of ‘America’, the band immediately launched into ‘Message in a Bottle’. Everyone singing along again and up and dancing. This was followed by yet more brilliance from Vinnie, with his press roll intro to ‘The Hounds of Winter’, which I’m pretty sure he could have continued for at least the next week or two if he wanted to. Jo Lawry’s incredible backing vocal was very much in evidence here. Then we had ‘Roxanne’, which, apart from demonstrating quite plainly that I can’t sing anywhere near as high as Sting, morphed into a rendition of Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’. ‘Desert Rose’ closed this part of the set, and was followed by another beautiful duet on ‘The Boxer’.
Then it was Paul’s turn to get everyone up and dancing. I was seriously impressed by Paul’s bass player, particularly on ‘You Can Call Me Al’. Brilliant. This part of the set allowed Paul’s band to show off their world class abilities a little more. It was a great build-up to the climax of the show. ‘Every Breath You Take’ once again worked brilliantly as a duet, and then of course we had ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. Sting’s vocal on this is sublime. He puts everything into it and takes the song to some other level.
Annoyingly however, with the O2 being the kind of venue that it is, I made a dash for it at this point to get to the tube and train to take me back to Richmond. But the show left me buzzing. I’m still buzzing. It was quite incredible, not least because I finally got to see that wonderful Sting line-up live after all these years. And quite plainly, they are still just as special together, if not more so than they ever were previously. I very much hope to see them again at some time. But this show really was something else. Indeed, the Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine was there that night and he described it on Twitter as the best show he has seen in years. Yes, Jeremy. I can see why.
Mike's Musical Musings 