This being my favorite time of year, I’m stoked that Sting is issuing his “Winter” themed album, “If On A Winter’s Night…”.  It sounds like this is the kind of album (I hope)  my daughter will sit by the fire and enjoy with me  for years to come.

Weaving through all the songs on Sting’s latest album “If On A Winter’s Night…” are the themes of winter, ghosts and spirits, religion and the pull of home back to loved and missed ones. The musicians and singers complement the songs impeccably – the Northumbrian pipes of Kathryn Tickell are so evocative of the the northeast and are an instant reminder to older fans of his classic 1991 album “The Soul Cages”, an album that drew heavily on his roots.

Standout tracks include “Christmas At Sea”, a poem written by Robert Louis Stevenson that is combined with the gaelic song “Thograinn Thograinn” and provides one of the most evocative songs that Sting has recorded. “Soul Cake” is a very catchy song that is guaranteed to etch its way into your subconscious after the first listen and is the most immediate track on the album; “The Snow It Melts The Soonest” is a hauntingly beautiful northumbrian track; “The Burning Babe” contrasts a macabre tale with a jolly tune to great effect, and Sting combines his own lyrics to a piece of Bach on the melancholic “You Only Cross My Mind In Winter”.

Taken with traditional Christmas songs such as “Gabriel’s Message” and the “Cherry Tree Carol”, some reworkings of older songs such as “The Hounds of Winter” and “Lullaby To An Anxious Child”, and more obscure pieces from centuries past such as “Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming” and “Now Winter Comes Slowly” means that Sting delivers a thoughtful and beautifully judged seasonally themed album without once having to mention reindeer, snowmen or Santa Claus. (© Sting.com)

Click Here to Order If On A Winter’s Night…