Sting - Mercury Falling - an album of meaning
Sting by Michel Comte - 1994
The album as I see it
Along with many other musical influences, I was brought up on The Police, so when Sting went solo I followed him with interest and enjoyed his musical development. This album, Mercury Falling was released in 1996 and is probably my favourite.
It's an outstanding album full of carefully worded and wonderfully crafted songs, which tell interesting stories along the way, with four of the tracks being released as singles in the UK. The first was 'Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot' and this one in particular stands out for me. When it was released in February of that year I thought it was wonderful, telling you how, even in the darkest times, you should allow your soul to guide you through your life.
The following singles 'You Still Touch Me', 'I Was Brought To My Senses' and 'I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying' were equally as good and I was hooked - I had to buy the album - and it didn't disappoint. I don't think there's one duff track on the whole album and though it's great the first time you listen, I found it was one of those albums that just grows and grows on you.
It's an absolute classic and I still play it now. The opening words, 'Mercury falling, I rise from my bed,' are sung in only the way Sting can and it just gives me a feeling of warmth and comfort, even though the subject matter of both this and other songs on the album aren't all that cheery. Even now as I write this my heartbeat has quickened, as I think of how much this album means to me.
Along with many other musical influences, I was brought up on The Police, so when Sting went solo I followed him with interest and enjoyed his musical development. This album, Mercury Falling was released in 1996 and is probably my favourite.
It's an outstanding album full of carefully worded and wonderfully crafted songs, which tell interesting stories along the way, with four of the tracks being released as singles in the UK. The first was 'Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot' and this one in particular stands out for me. When it was released in February of that year I thought it was wonderful, telling you how, even in the darkest times, you should allow your soul to guide you through your life.
The following singles 'You Still Touch Me', 'I Was Brought To My Senses' and 'I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying' were equally as good and I was hooked - I had to buy the album - and it didn't disappoint. I don't think there's one duff track on the whole album and though it's great the first time you listen, I found it was one of those albums that just grows and grows on you.
It's an absolute classic and I still play it now. The opening words, 'Mercury falling, I rise from my bed,' are sung in only the way Sting can and it just gives me a feeling of warmth and comfort, even though the subject matter of both this and other songs on the album aren't all that cheery. Even now as I write this my heartbeat has quickened, as I think of how much this album means to me.
Support in the darkest times
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I said earlier that my favourite track on here was 'Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot' and there's a bigger reason for that than it just being a great song - it came to mean something very special to me. In 2003 I lost a very dear loved one to cancer and believe it or not this particular song helped me through the grieving process. In the lyrics Sting talks about doctors being unable to heal and no medicines being able to make people well again and this part especially struck a chord. I couldn't tell you how many times I've played this track and how many times I've cried my heart out to it - I've even started to tear up now! But it goes on to say how important it is to follow your soul, in effect, towards the future and to trust and believe in yourself and this is what this song helped me to do. I can't be grateful enough for the support it's given me and the life I've been able to live afterwards.
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In the end
By Piotr Drabik
You may not be a Sting fan, you may however like good songs, interesting lyrics and a variety of musical styles and influences. If you feel you're a proper music fan and you've never tried this album before please do. I personally can't recommend it enough and would heartily suggest you trying it out. In fact you can even hear some of it on this page if you'd like... Go on, give it a whirl - you never know you may end up feeling the same as me.
There are a couple of videos here selected from the Mercury Falling album
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