Streetlight Records

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''All This Time'' is a live album and concert film by Sting, recorded and filmed on September 11, 2001. It was recorded at Il Palagio in Italy, and features live versions of Sting's songs from his Police and solo career. The album and video get their name from the song of the same name from the album ''The Soul Cages''. - Wikipedia

Sting’s post-Police jazz affectations are no surprise; they’ve beenin full view since his first solo album, 1985’s The Dream of the Blue Turtles,and with each successive album, he has pushed his world and jazz inclinationsfarther to the forefront. The good news is that Sting is a decent practitionerof that blended style, and he consistently hires first rate players to bringthe point home. The bad news is that he keeps trying to retrofit the squarepeg of his punk/pop/reggae back catalog into the round jazzy hole of his currentsonic infatuation.

All This Time comes with the additional emotional baggage of being the recordeddocument of the concert Sting had planned for webcast on September 11, and whichnow stands as a tribute to the lives that were lost in that day’s terroristattacks. Once again, there is a tremendous dichotomy between Sting’s originalintentions and what actually transpired.

In all honesty, Sting’s solo output lends itself handily to the jazzy arrangementsthat he subjects them to on All This Time, particularly the poignant andappropriate "Fragile" and "When We Dance." After all, hehas been writing in this vein for over 15 years, so it only seems natural todeepen the shading and move from jazzy inflection to actual jazz/pop. But whenSting tries to force his Police work into that mold, he comes off like a crossbetween Joe Jackson at his most self-important and Bill Murray’s Nick theLounge Singer. Especially odious are the broad strokes he uses to repaint "Roxanne,"which he should have retired after the brilliantly naked guitar/vocal versionfrom The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball. In response to the plaintiveplea, "you don’t have to put on the red light," Sting tossesoff the callous Sinatra-lite comment, "She did anyway." With one ill-conceivedad lib and arrangement, Sting manages to trivialize and marginalize the desperationand passion of "Roxanne," something even Eddie Murphy couldn’tdo with his cartoony cover in "48 Hours."

It’s clear from All This Time that Sting has an abiding loveof jazz and a respectful talent for playing it. He should spare a little ofthat reverence for his own sizable pop catalog and stick to arranging new material.