Sting 3.0 Live

Sting – 3.0 Live

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Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Alt-Reggae
Year: 2025
Label: A&M Records – 602475803522, Cherrytree Records – 602475803522
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Record Store Day, Limited Edition, Stereo, 180g

Sending out an SOS.

Sometimes through sheer luck and good fortune all the stars align to place one in the right space at the right time.

April 2025, Sting releases Sting 3.0 Live. May 2025, I’m sitting in a hi-end audio store in Paris with Monsieur Francois St Gerard (and his posse of passionate French and Brazilian friends) at 1am when “DJ Francois” grabbed Sting 3.0 and hit play on a Helix One/Schroder/Analog Relax 700 MC via Boulder phono fed into glorious Phasemation Single Ended amps for Stenheim 5 SE speakers to punch out into the night air.

Now as an Englishman in New York, Sting has had a few of us wrapped around his fingers since the 1980’s bass player took the stage. I’ve enjoyed his albums and compositions including his Jazz fusions and solo work and often play them at shows.

After a stunning organic wine and food pairing at Cave Petillance (in wine and food terms absolute “fields of gold”) the proprietor packed a few extra bottles, closed shop and hauled back with us to Francois’s pad where he started a vinyl session around 11PM. Somehow Francois always manages to find great music pairings with wine and whisky.

Whether the evening’s wine and food had any effect on the listening mood is a moot point. We were there to enjoy a warm Parisian evening with friends who gather to share music and occasional tipples.

Francois ran some vertical listening tests across a few vinyl rigs in store as we worked our way through the matching gear and wines in perfect synchronicity.

The vertical wine tasting list meant we all ended up close to horizontal by 2am, but that aside I was in a super relaxed state to enjoy the Sting live concert album.

I believe there was a message in the bottle of 2018 Vosne Romanee 1st Cru Les Braux Monts from Domaine Michel NOELLAT. My friend in Australia who knows a lot about wine said I was enjoying some of the best France has to offer and the message I got was Vive La France! (man do they know how to cook over there!).

I went easy on the alcohol as I didn’t have seven days to recover before my next flight, and I didn’t want to wake up feeling I’d woken somewhere in a desert feeling dehydrated (its there if you look for it 😉)…

The rest of the evening was a string of hits from 17-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sting.  STING 3.0 LIVE was released worldwide on April 25, available on CD and on 180g vinyl, with the exclusive Record Store Day Deluxe Edition on April 12 (US only).

Recorded on the acclaimed “STING 3.0” World Tour with guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas the recording is excellent and is from a stage viewpoint with excellent dynamics.

After all this time finally several of Sting’s greatest hits, including “Be Still My Beating Heart,” have been released as a live version. The exclusive, limited-edition Record Store Day Deluxe Edition 2-LP set features all up 17 tracks showcasing live versions of fan favorites and chart-topping singles including never-before-released live tracks such as “Be Still My Beating Heart,” “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart),” “Never Coming Home,” and “Can’t Stand Losing You.”

Apologies if this review has driven you to tears but it’s probably me.

With all these puns, George will surely shoot me for this review…

C’est la Vie!

Tracklist

Message In A Bottle

Englishman In New York

Fields Of Gold

Seven Days

All This Time

Driven To Tears

Synchronicity II

Every Breath You Take

Roxanne / Be Still My Beating Heart

I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)

It’s Probably Me

Never Coming Home

Tea In The Sahara

Fortress Around Your Heart

Wrapped Around Your Finger

Produced by Martin Kierszenbaum and recorded by Howard Page with additional engineering by Tony Lake, this new live collection spans Sting’s career. STING 3.0 LIVE was mixed by Robert “Hitmixer” Orton and mastered by Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering.

Shape Of My Heart

Can’t Stand Losing You

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