Why sting is not prog?

salmacis wrote: Can't believe this thread; Sting's music is typical of that horrid ultra sophisticated, 'coffee table' music from the 1980s, much like the stuff Steve Winwood and Phil Collins churned out....Prog??

No, I disagree, and I don't understand that quite some people think that Sting didn't make any proper album after The Dream Of The Blue Turtles anymore. He's very eclectic, and though he sticks very much to the song format, he does some very interesting things, musically.

I agree with Stonebeard the Great

MikeEnRegalia wrote: Moogtron III wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ using traditional song structures is not a criteria against prog. NOT using them is common in prog, but not necessary ... don't be so rigid! Well, I'm not so sure about that. It's of course the old question: "What is prog and what is not" and criteria are hard to find. Still... I get the feeling that any band / artist who makes music which I'd call prog, is from time to time abandoning the song structures, I mean, breaking rules... For me, Sting really is a songwriter, not a prog musician. He restricts himself very much to the song structure. Yeah, he's the one who's rigid, not me   . He uses unusual time signatures, serious Jazz influences ... I'm not saying that he's prog, but if there is something like "Progressive Pop" then String would be a perfect example. IMO Progressive Pop could even be defined as music which stays close to traditional principles of popular music, but combines that music with really progressive elements.

Progressive pop? Okay, I can agree with that  . 

Well you can tie it up in diferent ways, you can make all sorts of knots. You can play Cats Cradle, and even tie things up with it........sounds pretty prog to me!

 

Sorry?..Whats that?............Ohhhhh.........Sting!

It's (mostly) good stuff, but I wouldn't say it was prog. I preferred his earlier solo work which had defintie jazz influences in it (and players on it!).
Think I'd agree with Moogtorn's assessment of him.^^

I think most of us don't perceive his music as prog because he still ties himself a lot to the song format. Granted, he uses a lot of influences, like classical music (Russians), Kurt Weil music (Sister music), jazz (The Dream Of The Blue Turtles), calypso (Love Is The Seventh Wave), country music, even hip hop, etcetera etcetera, but they're still songs.

I think many prog fans like Sting, though. I know I do, I like his music a lot! He has a sense of melody, incredible, and his lyrics are imaginative, and he always surrounds himself with great musicians and producers!

The Police were a jazz/reggae band in the disguise of a punk band when they were first signed to a major record label. They basically remained that until their second album, Regatta De Blac, when they fuzed a more overtly pop style into the mix. After awhile, they abandoned the punk aspect almost entirely and mixed some electronica into the mix. They only approched prog a few times, with songs like "Spirits in the Material World" "Omegaman" and "Synchronicity 2." They really were never a prog rock band. Sting was just a very well-taught musician and theorist and knew how to write an interesting and sometimes complex song.

Nah. Maybe a slight prog type sound/influence here and there. Nothing
more.

Pop, very good pop, but nothing more.

Alan Pfeifer wrote:

For that matter, I've always considered the Police to be an Art Rock band.  They obviously have far better chops than most of their contemporaries.

Many bands have much better chops than their contemporaries but that doesn't mean they are Prog.

Iván