Down to Two & One

The first CD today is from a group that has visited Manila, Panic at the Disco. Its latest finds the group reduced in number to two original members, but with the music stronger than ever. As for ex-Policeman Sting, there isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been said about the certified Music Hall of Fame-r. On the CD, he orchestrates his golden hits.

Panic at the Disco — Vices & Virtues. While its previous CD brought it a wider audience, some stalwart fans felt the sunnier ambiance took away from the original, darker, more rock-oriented music that first got the group noticed. With only two original members fronting the current version of the band, the music on the CD should make all comers happy. The Ballad of Mona Lisa, Memories, Ready to Go and Sarah Smiles are my immediate favorites. If one isn’t familiar with its music at all, think Fall Out Boy; a dense, textured approach to rock and pop that truly deserves a listen.

Sting — Sting Live in Berlin. Accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, this is a specially packaged CD/DVD of last year’s Symphonicities tour that has Sting backed by a band and full orchestra. Sure, it has been done before, but the Police and Sting hits that were given the treatment are wonderfully reinvented in the process. Guests like Branford Marsalis on Englishman in New York showcase just how special the whole affair was. Fields of Gold, King of Pain, Fragile, Shape of My Heart are all accounted for, while the DVD has When We Dance, one of my all-time favorites from Sting’s “library.”