I will update the thread if anything happens!

 

This pretty much sums up every video I've seen of people criticizing Rick.

 

The problem I have w/ Gordon Sumner is rly the timbre and staccato, godawful jazz-scat, doo-be-dooby-scooby-do-wop singing he does to your ears. It's so very cringe as to be unlistenable, rly. He has a voice even his mother can hate. If I do wanna listen to a bass player who can sing and has genuine, actual talent? Andy Bey. That is all.

 

Yeah, mate 18 Grammys with around 71 million album solo sales plus 76 million Ablum sales with the Police (totaling 150 million albums). A back catalog that includes some of the most Iconic and played contemporary songs in Music History, a humungous touring legacy
Branford Marsalis, Omar Hakim, Daryl Jones, and Kenny Kirkland in his band aside from Summers and Copeland
and...
"Sting can't sing and has no talent"... you're an absolute genius

 

if you sell 500 millions albums or if someone put your face in the rock and roll hall of fame etc etc.. does not mean anything really..
if you have 500 hundreds hits neither.. music is music.. nothing more.. or less.. humans always want to ADORE someone.. and follow someone.etc .. so.. there are millions of musicians around the world.. not everything is rock and roll.. no everything has to be pop.. or electro .. or deep dark.. or heavy etc.. one thing to notice is that ALWAYS all those big "Stars" always come from the UK or USA.. _ the rest does not exist ..

 

Hey, you can dislike something that's popular @Dimentagon! Y'know, cos opinions. I just dislike (mostly) the timbre of his voice. The (otherwise inoffensive) muzak, I can take or leave. But I can't even stand to hear him talk, rly, so objectionable is it. It doesn't make any difference to anyone, least of all Gordon Sumner. I hope that every fan of Gordon evolves their tastes and listens to Andy Bey, a contemporary who deserves some light shone on his (actual) talent. As you said; 500 gazillion sales! OMG! Does he need any more attention (this topic)?

 

You are forgetting that Gordon Sumner was a jazz musician who conquered the pop/rock world without relying on A&R focus groups, or pandering to manufactured genres. In short, he has always done whatever he wanted to do musically, without a target audience in mind. I don't think he's ever lost a single night's sleep over people not liking his music, and most of us would be proud of a 40+ year music career on their own terms, so well done to that man.

 

I'm not forgetting, @Zenarcist, as I said earlier - one of the most irritating things about his singing is the scat-a-boo-bopness of it. Trying to be objective, he has a very nasal timbre and his vocals sound like a constant sneer. It cuts against the blandness of the muzak, I guess, but it rly makes me cringe. Anyway, the point is that he's had his time and success. He doesn't need topics like this. We all should find an unknown talent to laud, not someone who has had (enough already) success!

 

I found some of the things he said in the interview very interesting. With regards to his singing, I would say it was his vocal timbre that made the Police stand out, along with their fusion of genres.

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2021

Yes, it does is the short answer. It demonstrates the relevance of social capital and if you drill down discounting qualified professional critique, it indicates your bias. By every metric Sting is both talented and competent. If you don't care for his music, that's totally irrelevant.

I will qualify that by asserting that context is important. The premise of your simplistic analogy assumes he is a simple populist pop star and unworthy because you are biased by taste, jealousy or some other emotive reasoning. This in itself assumes no substantive critical analysis of his work above its popularity which Beato discusses in his musical analysis.

Evolves their taste? Wow, your condescension, snobbery bias, and rejection of fact are duly noted. I'm not a Sting evangelist ( dont care if you like him or not) however, I saw the police for the first time on Fri 21 Mar & Sat 22 Mar, 1980 in Sydney as one of the best 3 piece bands I have ever seen. Consequently, Sting's evolution as a musician reinventing himself over the decades supports his substantial standing as a musician/composer far beyond your "taste" and apparent elitist musical snobbery.

 

Something lost on most producers, the placement of vocals in an arrangement. Generally, most music consumers don't walk around whistling guitar solos (maybe musical hooks).

 

gh

 

Last edited: Aug 12, 2022

Like I said, being popular is kind of irrelevant, my opinion's shaped by my ears @Dimentagon. But he's roughly as popular as Backstreet Boys, I hear; I wouldn't want to ignore facts. Although some way behind (amazing) Celine Dion and her Sting covers. I consider Gordon to be at least on a par with muzak crooners like Mick Hucknall, who is unfortunate to have only sold a third as many whatevers. Anyway, we're all music producers, I'd prefer to see drooling hype about future talent, not someone who has had their time in the sun. My mild criticism of Gordon is merely a personal reaction, which seems to offend some people, for some reason. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I mean, I can only think of one truly awful song by him, so that's high praise from me! I do (literally) shudder at some of his singing, which is as rare a reaction as I can think of.

 

Sting (Gordon) is a big influence for a lot of musicians included myself

 

All artists are fucking egotists. You just have to know that and accept it for yourself. That doesn't make them serial killers.
And the anecdotes about nice artists are so out of touch with reality.
We ask artists and sportsmen their opinions about politics, the world, covid, sociology and porn instead of asking real scientists or sociologists.
It's good for some artists who don't give a damn about all that because they are completely locked in their autistic world. It gives them publicity, buzz. And some of them are so out of touch that it's hilarious.
It doesn't stop us from loving some of them...
But sometimes, they should shut the fuck up.

 

If you think that Sting sucks then please, just don't stand so close to me or else I might be forced to either call the police or maybe even crack you in the chest and knock out every breath you take until you step away. Fucking AS.

 

Careful now.... you may shock the monkey

 

You've mastered guitar? Wow, Arrogant & Delusional. PS: If you're fishing young Grasshopper, at least wave the bait over the hook otherwise you just look like a fool waving their rod around craving attention.

 

Not a huge Sting fan, but I think he's really talented as were the members of the Police. If you're interested in Synchronicity and Ghost in the Machine, you MUST see this: