bob_tomato's Full Review: Sting - Broken Music: A Memoir Books
Even at this very early moment of our relationship, it is clear that there is something going on, some chemistry, some understanding, some recognition, a rapport and a tension between the amphetamine pulse of his kick drum and the shifting, rolling ground of the bass. It is like two dancers finding a sudden and unexpected harmony in the glide of their steps, or the sexual rhythm of natural lovers, or the synchronized strokes of a rowing team in the flow of a fast river. Such rapport is not common, and I realize very quickly that this guy is the most exciting drummer I’ve ever worked with, almost too exciting. I also realize that tempos will be abandoned as easily as loose baggage on that runaway train, and whatever music I shall manage to make with this whirlwind, it will not be gentle or easy, it will be a wild ride to hell and back
These first moments between Sting and Stewart Copeland bring Sting to a critical decision point in his life. This is the birth of The Police, one of several key points in Sting’s young life, all described in vivid, illuminatingly honest detail in his recently published autobiography, Broken Music: A Memoir.
Those hoping for a tell-all about Sting’s days in The Police will need to wait for another book from the author – Sting speaks of his life leading up to the formation of The Police, and their first attempts at finding fame, then skips ahead, jumping past the next several highly successful years, to bring closure to the story of his early life. In fact, most of the book is devoted to subjects other than The Police; Sting describes his life growing up near the shipyards of Wallsend, near Newcastle and the North Sea, a life of fascination with music, desperation with his parents soured relationship, frustration with his own failed relationships, and ultimately, his discovery of his true passions in life.
This will be my first introduction to the cult of the bass guitar. I have not really taken much interest in the instrument, regarding my self exclusively as a lead guitarist because I could now make passable attempts at Hendrix riffs, using this new skill to inveigle my way into the coterie of young musicians who gather in the music room most weeknights. I am the kid who can play “Purple Haze”, and this becomes my calling card. From such small beginnings reputations are made.
The entire book is written in this style, a first person present tense look at a life seen in flashback – the book begins with an admittedly strange scene – the result of a ayahuasca induced hallucination. I suggest you swallow the pill and accept Sting’s story as gospel, get past the first couple chapters and into the biography itself. (Personally, though I don’t doubt the story, I find it all a little bit too vivid, – but then, I can barely handle half doses of allergy medicine - I have no point of reference for hallucinogenic experiences).
Ultimately, the memoir is a reflection on Sting’s fractured relationships with his mother, taking another lover when Sting was a boy, and with his father, never responding to his wife’s infidelities and refusing to acknowledge his children’s accomplishments. Sting has written an entire album for both his mother (Nothing Like The Sun) and his father (The Soul Cages) – the autobiography is the first time Sting speaks in depth about the details behind his painful experiences. The book is not the moanings of yet another celebrity agonizing about how he had it rough as a child, now seeking some way to legitimize his fame, or to salve his conscience. Sting speaks most honestly about his own emotions and failures, and uses these to explain how they guided his path as a child and into his life as a struggling musician (who happened to teach as his side gig).
Sting’s familiarity with the English language serves him well, both as a lyricist and here, as an author. Sting has written many songs that speak eloquently of many different issues; in Broken Music, he does not shy away from wielding his considerable powers with the pen. The language is bold and evocative, much like the lyrics to many of his songs. Sting is an excellent writer, and the book is well worth reading just for that fact. The stories about his young life are wonderful snippets taken from a life not much different from many, many others; there is much to relate to in this book. Sting has shown that his path to fame was his response to the circumstances in his life; it was his ticket to what he hoped was a better life for himself and those he cared about.
Sting’s Broken Music: A Memoir is an excellent autobiography and a fascinating look into the young life of a developing rock icon. I recommend the book as required reading for all Sting fans, and also as recommended reading for those interested in a well-written and engaging memoir.
quotes taken from:
Sting. Broken Music: A Memoir. New York: Dial Press, 2003
ISBN: 0-385-33678-0
Hardback, 337 pages
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