Falling somewhere between the pop sensibilities of Ten Summoner's Tales and the searching ambition of The Soul Cages, Mercury Falling is one of Sting's tighter records, even if it fails to compel as much as his previous solo albums.
Though he doesn't flaunt his jazz aspirations as he did in the mid-'80s, Mercury Falling feels more serious than The Dream of the Blue Turtles, primarily because of its reserved, high-class production and execution.
Building from surprisingly simple, memorable melodies, Sting creates multi-layered, vaguely soul-influenced arrangements that carry all of the hallmarks of someone who has studied music, not lived it.
Of course, there are many pleasures in the record -- for all of his pretensions, Sting remains an engaging melodicist, as well as a clever lyricist.
There just happens to be a distinct lack of energy, stemming from the suffocating layers of synthesizers.
Mercury Falling is a record of modest pleasures; it's just not an infectious, compulsive listen.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hounds of WinterSting | Sting | Play | 05:26 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 2 | I Hung My HeadSting, Gordon Sumner | Sting | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | Let Your Soul Be Your PilotSting | Sting | Play | 06:43 | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| 4 | I Was Brought to My SensesSting | Sting | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | You Still Touch MeSting | Sting | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | I'm So Happy I Can't Stop CryingSting | Sting | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | All Four SeasonsSting | Sting | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | La Belle Dame Sans RegretsDominic Miller, Sting | Sting | Play | 05:16 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 9 | ValparaisoSting | Sting | Play | 05:27 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 10 | Lithium SunsetSting | Sting | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 48 mins | 110 MB | |||||
| 48 mins | 292 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vinnie Colaiuta | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 2 | B.J. Cole | Guest Artist, Pedal Steel |
| 3 | The East London Gospel Choir | Vocals |
| 4 | Lance Ellington | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 5 | Wayne Jackson | Trumpet |
| 6 | Kenny Kirkland | Guest Artist, Keyboards |
| 7 | Shirley Lewis | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 8 | Andrew Love | Saxophone |
| 9 | Branford Marsalis | Guest Artist, Saxophone |
| 10 | The Memphis Horns | Guest Artist |
| 11 | Dominic Miller | Composer, Guitar |
| 12 | Simon Osborne | Engineer |
| 13 | Hugh Padgham | Engineer, Producer |
| 14 | Gerry Richardson | Organ (Hammond) |
| 15 | Sting | Composer, Guitar (Bass), Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 16 | Gordon Sumner | Composer |
| 17 | Kathryn Tickell | Northumbrian Smallpipes, Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Tony Walters | Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |