Was Sting Primarily A Bass Player...?

[interp]

I saw him interviewed on the Stephen Colbert show about a week ago and he said his strongest motivations for doing what he's done musically were for the "fame and the girls". He also played a song from his new release. I forget the song title but I thought it was very derivative of his Police era work. ( 'derivative' as used here can be interpreted to mean both "sounds like" and "not as good" ) It wasn't awful and the backup band were good players but I think the most impressive thing to me about it was the fact that he's pushing on and continuing to write and tour at age 65.

Best thing to me from that live performance was drummer Vinnie Colaiuta!

I'm pretty sure this is the same bass Sting played on the recent Stephen Colbert performance. Is that a totally thrashed Fender Telecaster bass? The picture is actually from his most recent performances with that same band on the Later With Jools Holland show.

It's a 1952 or 1953 (I believe) Precision. The Precision headstock was shaped this way until about 1957.

 

[Chico Ruger]

He has enjoyed a long, successful and still viable career as a singer, song-writer, multi-instrument musician, and actor in dozens of stage, screen and TV appearances. Quite an enviable career IMHO.

 

[bassstrangler]

Kinda seems odd to knock sting's bass playing when he's likely made more money than many of us combined (and lost more as well, apparently).

I know he's made more money, charted more hits, and lost more money while playing bass, compared to me playing anything.

I wasn't knocking his playing, just seems he doesn't play bass anymore.

 

[Herrick]

He played both BG and DB in the Police and split the keyboard work with Stewart Copeland. I hate to say it, but Sting has yet to top what he did in the Police. I have some live recordings from their first tours and they were just on fire.

The little I've heard of his solo stuff does not encourage me to listen to any of it in full. I watched a VH-1 documentary on Sting and all I can remember is a bunch of dreary synth-laden stuff. He's definitely a good singer with a unique voice though.

 

[ihixulu]

I wasn't knocking his playing, just seems he doesn't play bass anymore.

Huh? Every time I see a picture of him on stage he's plunking away at his old Tele P.

FWIW, I'm not a huge fan of his solo stuff and the Police are a bit overrated IMO. That said, I appreciate the musicality and the attention they paid to the space, texture and rhythms of their songs. His restraint as a bass player was a big part of that. He was never a flashy player. He knows how to stay in the pocket and serve the song.

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

The story i heard was that "Don't Stand So Close" is somewhat autobiographical:
Sting was a teacher accused of impropriaties with a student, forced to lean on his musical skills after being barred from teaching.
The Police WAS Copeland's band. He eventually got jealous that the tunes Sting wrote became singles and his tunes didn't. (And Andy Summers wrote "Mother", so we know how that worked out).
Of course, i could be wrong.

 

[bassstrangler]

Sting is a great player and The Police are incredible. It just seems that after they went away he became annoying and didn't seem to play bass much. I've seen him on TV over the years and seems he's plunking away on a lute or some kind of weird classical guitar. My original comment was for the most part tongue planted firmly in cheek. But, if it came down to it I bet he doesn't play bass much.

Phil Collins is an awesome drummer, but he rarely plays.

 

[felixxx]

This is very close to how I felt (except I quite like Andy Summer's guitar approach too). I always felt like it was Copeland's band but Sting, being the singer and alpha personality, rose to the top.

Copeland was actual band leader, so you would be right.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Sting has composed some of the most unbelievably melodic bass lines.

 

[sblueplanet]

My favourite bassline ever is on Walking On The Moon. So simple and also unforgettable. Sting can be the virtouso if and when he feels like it but first and foremost he sees himself as a songsmith and lets the song dictate which instrument he uses to express it.

 

[Ewo]

Not intending to derail, but regarding Copeland:

This theme song for the series is credited to Copeland. I really dig everything about it--the rhythm, the bass part (wonder who that was...), the melodies, the horn chart (ain't that bari part in the breakdown cool?), the tinkly piano parts...

 

[morgansterne]

of sting's top twenty charting hits, only ten of them were with the police.
source

 

[74hc]

I wasn't knocking his playing, just seems he doesn't play bass anymore.

Okay, sorry. I will take back what I said.

Sting has played multiple instruments since the beginning of police. Though his bass is what dominates and what everyone sees him as. He has played guitar and piano on many of his tracks.

If he has given up playing the bass, can I have his '51?

 

[EdO.]

FWIW, I'm not a huge fan of his solo stuff and the Police are a bit overrated IMO. That said, I appreciate the musicality and the attention they paid to the space, texture and rhythms of their songs. His restraint as a bass player was a big part of that. He was never a flashy player. He knows how to stay in the pocket and serve the song.

IMO some of his best writing was his solo stuff. Dramatic , deep, and engaging . The Police were first and foremost a pop band that understood how to make minimalism work . Brilliant musicians all. Overrated? Hardly but I'll agree with your last sentence .

 

[Herrick]

The story i heard was that "Don't Stand So Close" is somewhat autobiographical:
Sting was a teacher accused of impropriaties with a student, forced to lean on his musical skills after being barred from teaching.
The Police WAS Copeland's band. He eventually got jealous that the tunes Sting wrote became singles and his tunes didn't. (And Andy Summers wrote "Mother", so we know how that worked out).
Of course, i could be wrong.

According to the interview posted on the first page, Sting was The Songwriter. But even if that's the case and he wrote 98% of the songs, I doubt he decided which chords Summers would play. Summers playing & tone were a huge element that made the band what it was. He wasn't just a standard rock guitarist.

And of course there's Copeland's drumming. He's one of those drummers even non-drummers love. That's how recognizable his talent is. And his drums always sound freaking awesome. Just a cool dude.

 

[honestjohnny]

The story i heard was that "Don't Stand So Close" is somewhat autobiographical:
Sting was a teacher accused of impropriaties with a student, forced to lean on his musical skills after being barred from teaching.
The Police WAS Copeland's band. He eventually got jealous that the tunes Sting wrote became singles and his tunes didn't. (And Andy Summers wrote "Mother", so we know how that worked out).
Of course, i could be wrong.

It was Sting's idea to replace the previous punk (limited ability) guitarist with Summers. Copeland was a jazz musician, who was inspired by Punk and you can hear that influence in So Lonely, which was written by Copeland.
Personally, I like the Police's music especially once you get past the singles.
As for Sting's solo stuff, I'm not impressed with a few exceptions like the Brand New Day, which has some nice cuts and shows some variety. I think they had fun on that one.

 

[electracoyote]

Yes, Sting was chief songwriter ("The one who wrote the hits") and a multi-instrumentalist. Many of the early Police songs he wrote on guitar, and they were probably much simpler in their original form. Andy Summers had something of a jazz background and often wanted to improve upon the basic chord progression by adding sustains, extensions, etc. to the more basic chords Sting was using. That's why you hear that big atmospheric sound and the tension/resolution in the chord progressions on a lot of that material. And Summers is kind of an effects guy too, adding to the aura.

Smart of Sting to see the value in what Summers was doing. A Police song wasn't complete until it got the Summers treatment. It helped make The Police more unique and was an important factor in pushing them over the top. Summers very much admired Sting's pop sensibilities and jarring tenor and felt this was his opportunity at commercial success, but it may not have happened without his guitar influence. The same can be said of Copeland's drumming.

Andy Summers' autobiography is a great read BTW. Humorous and informative.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

He just did a really good interview with Howard Stern. Sting picked up the bass because the first band he played with needed a bass player. He started on guitar though. Also he used to be a school teacher. Also he did get the nickname because of a black and yellow sweater and one of the guys started calling him Sting.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

He has enjoyed a long, successful and still viable career as a singer, song-writer, multi-instrument musician, and actor in dozens of stage, screen and TV appearances. Quite an enviable career IMHO.

Hear here! I enjoyed seeing The Police when they were brand new. Sting played outstanding, tasteful bass. He sang beautifully, and played the classical guitar with trained excellence. I've followed Sting his entire career and think he was meant to do it all. He's quite a renaissance man. One of my favorite characters in Dune is Sting.

I wish I had accomplished 1/4 of what he has in the entertainment world. Some of us are bass players. Some do it all.

I started playing bass when I switched from electric guitar because I had the opportunity to work with a very gifted guitarist. He now owns a recording studio in San Francisco. Before that I had my own bands as rhythm guitarist/singer. Now that I'm older, I do both singles as a guitarist and sit in with bands as a seasoned bass player. I feel that starting on guitar gave me the musical background I needed to be a good bass player.

 

[ERIC31]

I definitely liked The Police but had no use for his post breakup music. It never spoke to me like his earlier work.

That being said, I'd love to see him playing that Fender fretless P-Bass he used back in the day!