Songs from the Labyrinth (Music by John Dowland)
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Free Music Notes for Songs from the Labyrinth (Music by John Dowland)
Free Music Review: Disappointing
Hit: 1 Stars
Wow! Was this CD a surprise disappointment. Unless you love medieval England songs, avoid this CD like the plague. I have all of Stings CD's and love every one of them, but this one must have been purely for his amusement, because it is sure not a crowd pleaser.Free Music Review: Sting sings Dowland
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is so good I have one for myself and have given it as gifts numerous times. And I'll do it again.Free Music Review: Wonderful
Hit: 5 Stars
It is a wonderful recording of Elizabethan music, very faithful to the music.
There are very few Elizabethan recordings and this is a refreshing addition and it is great that this recording has been made.
Free Music Review: For those who know nothing of period music
Hit: 1 Stars
Amazon's review states that ". . . it's important to remember that music of this period was routinely heard as a casual diversion in private homes, even more often than at Court. It was considered a crucial social skill to be able to join in with an adequate degree of skill, but not everyone was able to negotiate the perilous melodic twists and turns typical of the era's music."
Therein lies the problem, although the reviewer doesn't seem to notice. If the listener has to keep a disclaimer in mind while listening, then it's acknowledged there's something wrong (and, indeed, there is).
Yes, music was heard in the home as a "casual diversion" before the invention of sound recording. The best was available only to those who could afford to pay for live performance. The best is now available to anyone who has the price of a cd, or who listens over internet radio. What reason is there, then, to listen to someone whose performance is amateurish and incomprehending (unless you enjoy weird novelty acts)? Sting doesn't have the vocal range, fluidity, or background knowledge needed to sing this music, and someone should have been brave enough to tell him so.
Sting is superb when he stays within his purview, but here he is like Barbra Streisand trying to sing Led Zeppelin - an embarrassment. For those who are familiar with music of this period, his performance is cringeworthy. For those who have no way of realizing that, it will be merely an oddity.
Free Music Review: Very interesting (idea) . . . but a flop
Hit: 2 Stars
I'd like to echo what many others have been saying:
Wish I had bought a Sting album, and a separate Dowland CD - this is neither. I really like most of Sting's music, and really like Dowland's lute music. This just doesn't do justice to either of them - I wouldn't go so far as to say "awful", but "almost awful" will do. Sting's voice is not even close to being suited to this music. I don't mind the readings from Dowland's letters so much (even though they seem unrelated to the music); his voice seems much more suitable to these.
There is not enough lute, and way to much of Sting's "unusual" vocalization, which tends to overpower and distract from the elegant simplicity of the lute's tones. The lute player seems quite competent.
I had heard one track ("Fantasy") online, and was hoping the rest of the album would be similar.
If you're still tempted, make sure you listen to a couple of samples from tracks that have Sting's vocals in combination with the lute. I think you'll see what I mean.