Rating: 
Summary: Sting Inside
Review: "Sting Inside" has incredible music. The duet with Mary J. Blige is enough reason for me to want this DVD, although several of the songs are worthwhile. "The Book Of My Life" has an unusual style and rhythm that I especially enjoyed. The title song, "Inside", is very moving."Sting Inside" has 15 songs and a bonus track, "Every Breath You Take". "The Shape Of My Heart" is a two minute snippet of Dominic and Sting in Malibu. I don't count it as a song, even though I enjoyed it immensely. "Every Breath You Take" is recorded in Malibu during rehearsal and is the full length song. The other 15 songs are shown played in concert at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. The video quality of the concert is tremendous, very clear. The video quality of the interviews is a little softer, but still very good. I found the audio quality to be excellent. The default setting is 2.0. You have to go into the setup menu to get Dolby Digital 5.1, which I find a little annoying. There is little direct access to songs through the track numbers. Here is a song listing by track number: Track Number / Songs
1) Send Your Love
2) Inside
3) Dead Man's Rope
4) Shape of My Heart / Never Coming Home
5) Like A Beautiful Smile
6) Forget About The Future / That Sinking Feeling
7) This War
8) Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) / All Would Envy
9) Sacred Love
10) The Book Of My Life
11) Walking On The Moon
12) Roxanne
13) Whenever I Say Your Name Extras: Every Breath You Take; Commentary In this concert, Sting uses percussion and programmed drums. I don't have strong feelings about that. I think it fits what he's trying to do with the music. I was curious to hear what Sting said about drummers, based on another review. Here it is part of it, taken out of context:
"Not having a drummer allows colors to emerge that the sonic range of drums tend (sic) to obliterate. I love drummers, I like loud, rock n'roll music, but in the rehearsal period, that's all you hear. The acid test for whether a song is a good song or not is whether you can break it down into a simple rendition. If it still works like that, it's a good song, as far as I'm concerned. It's a very good transition stage between the recording, the big show with the drummer." For me, "Sting Inside" did not create the feeling of actually being at the concert. There are interviews (sometimes several minutes long) between every track until "Walking on the Moon". The very end of one of my favorite songs, "Inside", was cut off when the DVD went to the next track. These contributed to a choppy feeling at times. I prefer to have the option to just watch the concert. I watch music DVD's over and over again. I will get tired of hearing Sting talk about finding lyrics under a rock. I'm tempted to take away a star because of it, but I'd have to give it back based on the great price. I like the "All This Time" DVD because I felt that I got a glimpse of Sting the person. In "Sting Inside", I think Sting took even more of a risk in letting the world see him as a person. I say "risk", because I see enough of Sting to decide if I like him or not. For some people, this may color whether they like the music. I recommend "Sting Inside" for anyone who wants to see more of what goes on behind the scenes and "inside" Sting, and also for the great music.
Rating:
Summary: Sting Inside
Review: "Sting Inside" has incredible music. The duet with Mary J. Blige is enough reason for me to want this DVD, although several of the songs are worthwhile. "The Book Of My Life" has an unusual style and rhythm that I especially enjoyed. The title song, "Inside", is very moving. "Sting Inside" has 15 songs and a bonus track, "Every Breath You Take". "The Shape Of My Heart" is a two minute snippet of Dominic and Sting in Malibu. I don't count it as a song, even though I enjoyed it immensely. "Every Breath You Take" is recorded in Malibu during rehearsal and is the full length song. The other 15 songs are shown played in concert at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. The video quality of the concert is tremendous, very clear. The video quality of the interviews is a little softer, but still very good. I found the audio quality to be excellent. The default setting is 2.0. You have to go into the setup menu to get Dolby Digital 5.1, which I find a little annoying. There is little direct access to songs through the track numbers. Here is a song listing by track number: Track Number / Songs
1) Send Your Love
2) Inside
3) Dead Man's Rope
4) Shape of My Heart / Never Coming Home
5) Like A Beautiful Smile
6) Forget About The Future / That Sinking Feeling
7) This War
8) Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) / All Would Envy
9) Sacred Love
10) The Book Of My Life
11) Walking On The Moon
12) Roxanne
13) Whenever I Say Your Name Extras: Every Breath You Take; Commentary In this concert, Sting uses percussion and programmed drums. I don't have strong feelings about that. I think it fits what he's trying to do with the music. I was curious to hear what Sting said about drummers, based on another review. Here it is part of it, taken out of context:
"Not having a drummer allows colors to emerge that the sonic range of drums tend (sic) to obliterate. I love drummers, I like loud, rock n'roll music, but in the rehearsal period, that's all you hear. The acid test for whether a song is a good song or not is whether you can break it down into a simple rendition. If it still works like that, it's a good song, as far as I'm concerned. It's a very good transition stage between the recording, the big show with the drummer." For me, "Sting Inside" did not create the feeling of actually being at the concert. There are interviews (sometimes several minutes long) between every track until "Walking on the Moon". The very end of one of my favorite songs, "Inside", was cut off when the DVD went to the next track. These contributed to a choppy feeling at times. I prefer to have the option to just watch the concert. I watch music DVD's over and over again. I will get tired of hearing Sting talk about finding lyrics under a rock. I'm tempted to take away a star because of it, but I'd have to give it back based on the great price. I like the "All This Time" DVD because I felt that I got a glimpse of Sting the person. In "Sting Inside", I think Sting took even more of a risk in letting the world see him as a person. I say "risk", because I see enough of Sting to decide if I like him or not. For some people, this may color whether they like the music. I recommend "Sting Inside" for anyone who wants to see more of what goes on behind the scenes and "inside" Sting, and also for the great music.
Rating: 
Summary: No Drummer.........!!
Review: As as avid Sting fan of many years standing and a musician/drummer in various bands I have always considered the drumming dynamic of Stings music just as important as his lyrics, guitars and arrangements. He has utilised some of the best drummers in the world on his recordings to date and they contribute considerably to his success and my enjoyment. Imagine my dismay when I viewed this DVD to find only programmed drum parts and just a live percussionist!!!. In the opening dialog Sting openly admits having dropped drums and drummers because "they get in the way of the song". A very bland performance compared to his previous recordings - if I'd known there was no drummer from any review or even from the outer cover of the DVD I would have thought twice before purchasing this recording. Sound and picture quality are great but the DVD has been put at the bottom of my play list
Rating:
Summary: Description From Yahoo
Review: DVD - Released to tie in with the "Sacred Love" album, INSIDE: THE SONGS OF SACRED LOVE features a mixture of old and new Sting material, as well as some classic renditions of songs from his original band, The Police. Audio commentary is provided by Sting throughout, as well as interviews, and a sparkling 5.1 Surround Sound mix. Tracks include "Send Your Love," "Walking On The Moon," "This War," "Roxanne," and many more.
Rating: 
Summary: not good enough
Review: Great behind the scenes look at the making of a generally O.K. CD. The 'live' (staged) performances sound fantastic and one questions why these versions of the songs (many of which are better in this 'live' format) never made the CD? Sacred Love could have easily been a very good CD if this was the case. As with Sting's A & E special a couple years ago, it was rather interesting to hear Sting's thoughts on the creative process and the way in which his work is brought to light. Given the low price of this CD and excellent production quality, I'd dare say this is a 'must have' for any Sting fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Talks too much!
Review: Great if not outstanding musically! However, if your looking for a concert followed by his thoughts and inspirations - not! Sting thinks he must interlace his music with the spoken word - which greatly takes away from this otherwise incredible work. You begin to drift into that magical place and then the concert cuts away - in the middle of the song - to listen to his thoughts on the tune!
Had it been any other musician - I would have shut the damn thing off and asked for my money back.
Rating:
Summary: Talks too much!
Review: Great if not outstanding musically! However, if your looking for a concert followed by his thoughts and inspirations - not! Sting thinks he must interlace his music with the spoken word - which greatly takes away from this otherwise incredible work. You begin to drift into that magical place and then the concert cuts away - in the middle of the song - to listen to his thoughts on the tune!
Had it been any other musician - I would have shut the damn thing off and asked for my money back.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible!!!
Review: If you're a Sting fan or just a fan of great music, this DVD is for you. I've seen Sting in concert 3 times. This tops anything I've ever heard. Crystal clear picture and sound, insightful interviews (not too long), and priceless music. This DVD has 17 songs on it. And if I had to pick a favorite, I could not. Although, the rendition of Dead Man's Rope almost made me cry (and I'm a grown man) lol. There are also 3 songs I've never heard on this... That Sinking Feeling, All Would Envy, and Like a Beautiful Smile. All good, but the latter being awesome. This is a no brainer... just buy it. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Much better than the album
Review: On the back of this DVD Sting is quoted saying that he hopes there is an improvement in these different versions over those of Sacred Love the album. There's a great improvement, these versions sound much more human and fresh, with a lot of subtleties thrown in that aren't noticed on the over-produced album. Send your love, inside, book of my life, never coming home, dead man's rope, are all much improved. Whenever I say your name is not that different from the album version, but still is slightly better here. And there's a really good song, Like a Beautiful Smile, that isn't included on the album (at least the international version).
In terms of quantity of interesting songs this is Sting's best performance since Ten Summoner's Tales, there are at least 7 worth while songs on Sacred Love, something that can't be matched by BND or Mercury Falling.
It doesn't get 5 stars because there are three long annoying songs that are pure generic filler: Stolen Car, Forget about the future and Sacred Love.
My personal recommendation would be to buy this instead of the album and if you can do as I have and burn the songs you like from this DVD on a regular cd.
Rating:
Summary: not good enough
Review: Sting is perhaps one of the most accomplished pop/rock singer/ songwriters in today's musical scene. In addition to his phenomenal record of success, he has the badge of originality, deservedly earned by taking chances into unchartered directions. Given that, Inside the Songs of Sacred Love DVD is a disappointment on several levels. First of all, the format of filming behind-the-scenes juxtaposed against later performances with candid interviews spliced in for effect, has become a tried but not-so-true approach. It was revolutionary when first initiated in Bring on the Night some 20 years ago, but has now become stale from over use. Even some of Sting's comments from All This Time are repeated here, almost verbatim. Further, as is his wont, although Sting provides us with entertaining re-arrangements of his past compositions, such as Roxanne and Walking On the Moon (to name only a few), it is not enough to save the overall package. The new material, which this DVD is intended primarily to showcase, is simply too mediocre. Rather than fresh and stimulating, it is redundant and even formulaic. Perhaps in an attempt to capture the hip-hop market, it contains some selections which can only be called R & B jams (including a duet with Mary Blinge). Sting has also placed no restraint on excessive lyrics, substituting blitzkreig for his usual eloquence. There's an anti-war song that is nothing more than journalism (to use one of Sting's own criticisms of such work), a number called Stolen Car whose chorus sounds like a Madonna rant, a self-promoting selection, Book of Life, to highlight his recent memoirs, and a rambling, amateurish blues ballad for the title song, Sacred Love. To be sure, the playing and production are superb and there are some moments when the excellent musicianship make this a worthwhile listen, but otherwise there is not much that is new or intriguing here. Sting's exaltation of love should be re-named "Down to the Night Club," for that's all this is. In becoming too comfortable and satisfied, the Man has sacrificed his normally compelling edge, the root of his genius.
|
