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Loved Sting`s debut solo effort, "Dream of the Blue Turtle" which was new, sassy and full of jazzy undertones. Also loved Sting in his earlier avatar as frontman for "Police" which produced classics like, "Roxanne", "Every Breath You Take" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger." Can`t say the same, unfortunately, for the songs on `Brand New Day`. A couple of albums down the road and it`s all starting to sound ominously repetitive. To be fair, Sting`s recent songs make for easy listening. But, it`s candy pop with little variation and even less innovation.

The title track `Brand New Day` and most of the other songs on the album sound like rehashes of earlier songs. It`s really all quite dismal. One wishes that Sting would return to the days of his first album where songs like the "Fortress Around Your Heart" and the title track, "Dream of the Blue Turtle" had something by way of creativity. The one saving grace of Sting`s latest effort is the catchy, "Desert Rose" with Cheb Mami lending his voice and some ideas to an otherwise undistinguished album.

Rating: If you want some nice, soothing pop music to listen to, this is the right album for you. Personally, I think Sting needs to go back to "Dream Of The Blue Turtle" to refresh his memory about how good he was and how good he can be.