''The Bridge'' is the fifteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

, released on 19 November 2021 through

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

, Cherrytree Music Company and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. It is his first rock-oriented album since 2016's ''

57th & 9th ''57th & 9th'' is the twelfth solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Sting, his first rock album in 13 years, released on 11 November 2016. The album sold over 600,000 copies worldwide in 2016 and contains " The Empty Chair" which earned ...

''. The album marks the return of

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ens ...

on saxophone and clarinet, as well as

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusio ...

on drums.

Background

Sting wrote the album "in a year of global pandemic, personal loss, separation, disruption, lockdown and extraordinary social and political turmoil".

Singles

"If It's Love", the first single from the album, was released on 1 September 2021.

Reception

Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri of ''

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

'' wrote "Sting's new release ''The Bridge'' has a strong pop-rock vibe that defined his

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and early solo years, but some of its best songs have Celtic and jazz influences." Mark Kennedy of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

wrote "''The Bridge'' is a moody and varied collection in an unmoored time, with nods to Scripture, ancient allegories, and malevolent characters. It's a strong album from a singer-songwriter who sees warning signs ahead." Fiona Shepherd of ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' wrote "Sting is also in sprightly mood on ''The Bridge'', whistling along on the blithe single If It's Love, as decent a pop tune as he has produced in some time. This lockdown production nods to his diverse musical tastes, from mellow roots track The Book of Numbers with its plangent bass twang to the slick soaring saxophone (from Branford Marsalis no less) on Harmony Road to the fiddle flourish of Captain Bateman, which is revisited as a jazzy scat bonus track called Captain Bateman’s Basement." John Shand at ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' says that the album has Sting "bundling up his established interests in pop, R&B, folk and a dash of jazz – which could also be described as treading musical water", and describes Sting as "an artist who still sounds in his prime." Michael Gallucci of

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

describes the album as "Sting's least fussy and most satisfying album in years."

Track listing

Personnel

*Sting: Vocals, Bass Guitar (1, 5, 6, 12 and 13), Fretless Bass Guitar (3, 7 and 8), Double Bass (9), Guitar (2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 13), Keyboards (3,7 and 8) *

Dominic Miller Dominic James Miller (born 21 March 1960) is a British guitarist. He has worked most of his career as a sideman and guitarist for, among others, Julia Fordham, Eddi Reader and notably Sting. He has also released several solo albums. Career Mi ...

: Guitars (1-10) *

Martin Kierszenbaum Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American record executive and record producer. He founded Cherrytree Records (or The Cherrytree Music Company) in 2005, a record label and management company through w ...

: Drum programming (1-3, 5-7 and 13), Keyboards (2, 5, 6, 8 and 13), Synthesizer (1, 2, 8, 12 and 13), Organ (1, 3 and 13), Piano (13), Guitar (2), Percussion (13) *Frédéric Renaudin: Synthesizer (1, 7 and 9) *

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American drummer. A member of punk rock band the Vandals since 1989, Freese has also been a member of new wave band Devo since 1996. He was previously a member of hard rock band Guns N' Roses ...

: Drums (1, 2 and 5) *

: Drums (8,9 and 12) *Donal Hodgson: Drum programming (3, 7 and 8), percussion programming (2) *Maya Jane Coles: Drum programming (4), Synthesizer (4) *Gavin Brown: Guitar (1) *

: Saxophone, clarinet (5) * Peter Tickell: fiddle (7 and 8) * Julian Sutton:

Melodeon Melodeon may refer to: *Melodeon (accordion), a type of button accordion *Melodeon (organ) The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reed aerophone, free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal ...

(7) *Gene Noble: Backing vocals (1-4 and 6) *Melissa Musique: Backing vocals (2-4 and 6) *

Jo Lawry Jo Lawry is an Australian singer and musician. Lawry's debut album, ''I Want to Be Happy'', was released in 2008. ''Down Beat'' magazine gave it 4.5 out of 5 and selected it as one of the "Best CDs of the 2000s". Music career Jo Lawry was rai ...

: Backing vocals (8) *Laila Biali: Backing vocals (8) *

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

: Handclaps (2)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge, The 2021 albums Albums impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Sting (musician) albums A&M Records albums Interscope Geffen A&M Records albums