Sting – A Winter’s Night – Live DVD
Around this time every year, the market is saturated with Christmas albums done by well known recording artists. From rock to country, jazz and R&B, it’s highly probably that your very own favorite performer released a “seasonal album” at some point in their career. Hell, even Bob Dylan put one out this year.
Not to be outdone, British rock icon Sting has recently released his own seasonal recording titled If on a Winter’s Night. Thankfully Sting didn’t go the typical route of covering the same ol’ yuletide fare that countless of other artists have done over the years. He dug deep and unearthed ancient carols, folk-songs and lullabies from the British Isles. It’s an intriguing collection that challenges the listener with, at times, dark imagery and a somber mood.
If you’re looking for sugary-sweet holiday music, look elsewhere. But if you want thought-provoking and an ultimately rewarding meditation on the winter season, be sure to pick this album up.
On a related note, Sting is also releasing a live performance of the new album on DVD titled Sting: A Winter’s Night… Live from Durham Cathedral. Filmed this past September near his hometown of Newcastle, Sting performs the bulk of “If on a Winter’s Night” along with some extra material not on the album including “Ghost Story”, “Bethelehem Down” and “I Saw Three Ships”.
Deutsche Grammophon will be releasing the 2-DVD set on November 24. Purchase it here via CDUniverse.
And be sure to catch a special edition of this concert as part of the Great Performances series on PBS on Thanksgiving night (Thursday, November 26, 9pm EST, local schedules may vary).




Here’s the tracklist:



