Various Artists The Concert for New York City
Columbia
www.columbiarecords.com

The righteousness of the cause cannot be denied. The stunning display of star power should make the senses reel. So why does The Concert for New York City seem so, well, flat?

Perhaps the two-disc, 32-track set can't adequately convey the intense emotions that undoubtedly ran through the Madison Square Garden audience only a few weeks after the September 11 attacks. Whatever the case — and despite the Backstreet Boys — genuine moments of deep emotion do occasionally give this set some life.

It's the Brits who provide that vitality. David Bowie, who opens the set with a subdued “America” and a soaring “Heroes” sounds choked with emotion from his first note. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards provide the concert's most memorable moment by resurrecting “Salt of the Earth,” a great Stones nugget preceded by Richards's assertion that New York City will survive the World Trade Center attacks. Who could disagree? Richards knows a little something about surviving.
▪ Rating out of 5: 2.5

Sting All This Time
A&M
www.sting.com

Recorded live at Sting's home in Tuscany, Italy, on September 11, 2001, the hit-filled All This Time will surely please those who love his low-key, adult-oriented music of the past decade.

Although the opening song, “Fragile,” sounds pensive and meditative — the musicians heard about the World Trade Center attacks moments before performing — the band's smooth-jazz sound mars a set of Police and Sting solo hits. The syrupy sound smothers the obsession of “Every Breath You Take” and severely lessens the anguish and tension that made “Roxanne” such a lightning rod for the Police.

It's as though Sting decided that emulating Kenny G would be just the thing to shake up his old chestnuts. For someone of Sting's prowess, that's a crying shame.
▪ Rating (out of 5): 2

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