Bring on the Night

When this first came out 20 years ago I wasn't convinced Sting was as good as some (and he) would have us believe. After watching it, however, I had no doubts that this guy was a musical genius. Arrogant at times, but more often confident, he gambled his future on going solo, departing from perhaps the best rock group of its or any other time, the Police, and then rolled the dice again by allowing a film crew to capture the evolution of his new band from its inception. Shot on location primarily in and around Paris, the documentary-music-concert is full of revealing footage, showing the master at work as he directs his accomplished charges down a new path. The video is also filled, thanks to the wonderfully adroit editing of director Michael Apted, with light and spontaneous moments, banter and jockeying, as the musicians get to know themselves both as professionals and as people. In addition, candid and sometimes unpredictable interviews with Sting, the players, the band's manager, photographer, and others are strategically spliced into the body of the work. Fortunately free of the tantrums or heated exchanges so common in today's reality TV, this is nonetheless as authentic a portrait of music life behind the scenes as exists anywhere. The triumphant culmination is the concert where Sting unveils the band as well as his new material to an enthusiastic French audience. There are some surprises along the way, a questionable shot or two, but overall this is a real treat and one of its kind.

The version of "I Burn for You" is outstanding - Omar Hakim is incredible on drums in this version. I much prefer the video version of the song to the one on the "Bring on the Night" CD. Also, the scenes showing the component parts of "Children's Crusade" and how they fit together provide a whole new appreciation for the song. I also enjoy the lighter moments in the movie - for example, showing the entire band eating meals and joking around with each other is refreshing. With all of the garbage being released on DVD these days (see the bargain bin at any large volume discount store) - I cannot believe Bring on the Night has not been released on DVD yet! Please do so soon!

This is not a revealing doco. It's a celebration of the artist, Sting. On this tour he manages to round up some fine Jazz musicians and slot them right into his creative process. A few insightful moments are delivered but in the end it has nothing new to offer but a free peak into the workings of another creative mind in progress.

They don't get much better than this. This is one of those films that after viewing, you want to thank the producers for capturing and preserving the events for all of us to repeatedly enjoy.

I came to this project knowing little of Sting and his music and being more familiar with the work of the Saxophonist, Brandford Marsalis, of the renown New Orleans Marsalis music family. I later learned that Sting was receiving much of the same criticisms Mr. Marsalis and his fellow musicians were receiving for joining in on this project of merged rock/jazz/blues/funk idioms. However, as we all know, the critics travel at a slower speed than the artists and often require time to catch up. One need only reflect on Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess,' 'Charlie Parker with Strings,' or any other project that breaks from traditional established patterns.

Twenty years later, this is still some of the best music made. It rocks in the full sense of the word. This group of personnel were only together for a relatively short period of time, but fortunately, we have this event and period captured on video. When the pianist in this film, Kenny Kirkland, past away at such a young age in 1998, I was reminded of the great work of all the musicians in this film.

This may be one of if not THE best rock documentary ever! While most "rock-umentaries" just show a long, drawn-out concert, this one goes from Sting's leaving The Police, to forming an entirely brand new band, to Sting's first solo concert. Some people criticize this movie because some of the interviewees are blunt, pretentious, offensive, or whatever. Well, I'm sorry, do you want a truthful documentary or do you want fiction? If you want to see the making of a REAL rock band, this is a must see film. And if you don't like the music, then seriously, there must be something wrong with you!