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The Soul Cages

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Entertainment WeeklyC[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
Robert Christgau(dud) [5]

The Soul Cages is the third full length studio album released by Sting. Released in 1991, it became his second No. 1 album in the United Kingdom.[6] It spawned four singles: "All This Time", "Mad About You", "Why Should I Cry For You" and "The Soul Cages". The last won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

Overview and concept

The Soul Cages is a concept album focused on the death of Sting's father. At the time, Sting had developed a writer's block shortly after his father's death; the episode lasted several years, until Sting was able to overcome his affliction by dealing with the death of his father through music. The first song written for The Soul Cages was "Why Should I Cry for You", and Sting has stated the rest of the album flowed quite easily after that first hurdle was overcome. Most of the songs have motifs related to sailing or the seas (Sting's father, according to Sting's autobiography, Broken Music, had always regretted not becoming a sailor.) There are also references to Newcastle, the part of England where Sting grew up.

Album opener "Island of Souls" tells the story of Billy, the first son in a family line of riveters. As he watches the ships his father create set sail, Billy dreams of taking his father along with him to escape by sea; his dreams become more prevalent as his father is injured and given three weeks to live. "All This Time" chronicles Billy's desire to bury his father at sea. The middle section of the record focuses mainly on the town Billy lives in and its people, before the highly introspective "Why Should I Cry For You". Musically, a mournful Northumbrian Pipe motif at the end of "Island of Souls" returns to open "The Wild Wild Sea", where Billy loses his way in a tempest only to find himself steered to safety by the spirit of his father. In another fantastical narrative on the album's eponymous track, Billy's father is being held captive by a demonic fisherman, with whom Billy wagers his life in a drinking game in a bid to set his father's soul free. Finally, the album ends with the moody, slightly-enigmatic "When The Angels Fall", which serves as a final thesis on the Catholicism which so heavily influenced Sting's upbringing; particularly regarding his father's spiritual beliefs. Musically, the song acts as a full stop for both the album’s content and Sting's own personal torment, with the song’s fluctuating tonality finally resolving to a firm and secure G major, marking a return to “home” (in this case, the home key of the earlier, conceptually significant, track “All This Time”) and providing an overwhelming sense of acceptance, redemption and subtle-nostalgia; beautifully realised in the album’s closing “lullaby” motif. The character of Billy is referred to in the third person for the first three songs and in the first person for the last three songs.

In an interview with Charlie Rose aired on December 10, 2010, Sting mentions that he is working on a "mood piece", a musical project and book in collaboration with Pulitzer winner Brian Yorkey. The work will be based on an album he released many years ago concerning the loss of his father, growing up in Newcastle and witnessing the passing of the shipbuilding industry there. He admitted being scared of the prospect of pulling it all together but expressed confidence in it working out. This project has since been confirmed as the upcoming musical 'The Last Ship': set in Newcastle during the 1980s and featuring new material composed by Sting. Although the project is in its early stages of development, playwright and collaborator Brian Yorkey confirmed Sting has already written a number of new songs for the project.[7]

Packaging

At the time this album appeared, the music industry was starting to shift away from using CD longboxes. Sting, a committed environmentalist, wanted to eliminate the amount of cardboard waste caused by the longbox. The original packaging was a fourfold cardboard case that could be modified to look like a longbox, and folded back into a jewel box sized CD package for home storage. In Germany, the CD was only sold in jewel cases, as longboxes were not common there. The cover painting was a commissioned work by the Scottish artist Steven Campbell.

Until the release of Symphonicities in July 2010, The Soul Cages was the only studio album by Sting not to feature a photograph of himself on the cover.

Track listing

All songs written by Sting.

  1. "Island of Souls" – 6:41
  2. "All This Time" – 4:54
  3. "Mad About You" – 3:53
  4. "Jeremiah Blues (Part 1)" – 4:46
  5. "Why Should I Cry For You" – 4:54
  6. "Saint Agnes and the Burning Train" – 2:43
  7. "The Wild Wild Sea" – 6:41
  8. "The Soul Cages" – 5:52
  9. "When the Angels Fall" – 7:48

Some pressings erroneously list "Why Should I Cry For You" before "Jeremiah Blues (Part 1)". As of 2011 a part 2 of "Jeremiah Blues" has not yet been released.

Additional tracks
  1. "Vengo del sur" (Spanish Version of "Why Should I Cry For You")—Bonus track for Spanish edition
  2. "Muoio per te" (Italian Version of "Mad About You")—Bonus track for German and Italian edition

Credits

Singles

  • "All This Time" (1991) – #5 US Hot 100, #1 US Mainstream Rock, #1 US Modern Rock, #9 US Adult Contemporary, #22 UK Singles Chart
  • "Mad About You" (1991) - #56 UK Singles Chart[6]
  • "Why Should I Cry For You" (1991)
  • "The Soul Cages" (1991) – #7 US Mainstream Rock, #9 US Modern Rock, #57 UK Singles Chart

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[9] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[10] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[11] Gold 26,040[11]
France (SNEP)[13] Platinum 451,400[12]
Germany (BVMI)[14] Platinum 500,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) — 185,820[15]
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[16] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[18] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Charts

Chart precession and succession

Preceded by German Media Control Chart number-one album
1 – 21 February 1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK number one album
2 – 8 February 1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Swiss Music Chart number-one album
3 – 10 February 1991 		Succeeded by
Innuendo by Queen
Preceded by
Cambio by Lucio Dalla
 Italian FIMI Chart number-one album
10 – 22 February 1991
Preceded by
Het beste uit de Top 40 van '90 by Various artists
 Dutch Mega Chart number-one album
16 February 1991
Preceded by
The Very Best of Elton John by Elton John
 European Top 100 number-one album
16 – 23 February 1991
Preceded by Canadian RPM number-one album
2 March – 6 April 1991 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r19164
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (1993-03-07). "Feeling A Sting". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-10-01. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Browne, David (1991-02-01). "The Soul Cages Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-05-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Will, Chris (1991-01-20). "STING "The Soul Cages"". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-10-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Robert Christgau review
  6. ^ a b Sting in the UK Charts, The Official Charts.
  7. ^ Michaels, Sean (2011-09-02). "Sting gets on board The Last Ship musical". The Guardian. London.
  8. ^ The Soul Cages credits, discogs.
  9. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Sting – The Soul Cages" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  10. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sting – The Soul Cages". Music Canada.
  11. ^ a b "Sting" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  12. ^ "Les Albums Platine". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  13. ^ "French album certifications – Sting – The Soul Cages" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  14. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting; 'The Soul Cages')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  15. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  16. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Soul Cages')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  17. ^ "British album certifications – Sting – The Soul Cages". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Soul Cages in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  18. ^ "American album certifications – Sting – The Soul Cages". Recording Industry Association of America.
  19. ^ "australian-charts.com Sting - The Soul Cages" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  20. ^ "austriancharts.at Sting - The Soul Cages" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  21. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-20
  22. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Sting - The Soul Cagesn" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  23. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  24. ^ "Album Search: Sting" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  25. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1991" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2011-10-12.
  26. ^ スティング-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of The Soul Cages by Sting". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2011-08-31. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "charts.org.nz Sting - The Soul Cages" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  28. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Sting - The Soul Cages" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  29. ^ "swedishcharts.com Sting - The Soul Cages" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  30. ^ "Sting - The Soul Cages - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  31. ^ "Chart Stats - Sting - The Soul Cages" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-10-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ "allmusic ((( The Soul Cages > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  33. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1991". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  34. ^ "RPM 100 Albums (CDs & Cassettes) of 1991". RPM. 1991-12-21. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  35. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1991 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  36. ^ 1991年 アルバム年間TOP100 "Oricon Year-end Albums Chart of 1991" (in Japanese). Retrieved January 1, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  37. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1991". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  38. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  39. ^ "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1991". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
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