Sting and Religion: The Catholic-Shaped Imagination of a Rock Icon by Evyatar Marienberg

Abstract

Reviewed by: Sting and Religion: The Catholic-Shaped Imagination of a Rock Icon by Evyatar Marienberg Aaron J. West Sting and Religion: The Catholic-Shaped Imagination of a Rock Icon. By Evyatar Marienberg. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021. [xvii, 215 p. ISBN 9781725272255 (hardcover), $36; ISBN 9781757272262 (paperback), $29; ISBN 9781725272279 (e-book), price varies.] Bibliography, permissions. Evyatar Marienberg has written a revealing and well-researched book exploring the influences of Catholicism and spirituality on the music of one of popular music's most compelling and literate icons, Sting (born Gordon Matthew Sumner). Marienberg is an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His prior texts are largely centered around religion and spirituality, particularly Catholicism, and this is his first [End Page 401] book addressing a musical topic. Admittedly, religious influences on music are a complex subject for any author and made even more so when involving a complex and private artist such as Sting. Marienberg relies on prior scholarship, primary source material, and an important interview with Sting conducted by the author in 2017 in support of defining and illuminating Sting's remarkable spiritual journey and how it is reflected in his music. Furthermore, the author states that Sting himself read and presumably approved drafts of the book and the research leading to it. In his introduction, Marienberg posits Sting and Religion as a potential model for future studies involving popular artists and spirituality, stating that "studying in great detail both the religious culture surrounding an artist, with special emphasis on the religious culture she or he was exposed to during childhood … can help us to understand both the artist's background … and the artist's output. This book suggests one possible model for doing this" (p. x). Indeed, Sting and Religion is a worthwhile starting point for exploring the religious influences, experiences, and musical/spiritual intersections of popular music's most influential artists. At the beginning of chapter 1, Marienberg plainly states his intentions: "Does Sting use the Bible in his work, and if he does, how?" (p. 1). Marienberg begins this discussion with a short lyric analysis of "Carrion Prince," a very early example of Sting's writing for the band Last Exit. Formed in Newcastle in 1974, three years before the Police, Last Exit was a jazz fusion group featuring the syncopated funk beats and electrified instruments prevalent in the mid-1970s. Sting took advantage of the opportunity to write for this group, whose members were certainly eager to perform new and original material. As Marienberg demonstrates, "Carrion Prince" contains a remarkable number of biblical references that "only a person with a knowledge of the New Testament can write or understand" (p. 2). Marienberg provides an instructive summary of how many of these lyrics refer to the infamous Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. In 1979, Sting reused much of "Carrion Prince" for "Bring on the Night," recorded by the Police for Reggatta de Blanc. Most importantly, Sting omits almost all religious references in "Bring on the Night" while retaining references to T. S. Eliot and possibly Norman Mailer. Regretfully, Marienberg does not discuss this sudden shift from sacred to secular as a potentially revealing example of why Sting integrated so few Biblical references into his lyrics for the Police. Possibly the best example of Sting's sacred lyrics being reused and reworked for his writing for the Police is "O My God." This tune, written around 1975 for Last Exit, features lyrics that are unquestionably Christian. In 1977, while working with Strontium 90, an early assemblage of Police members Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, Sting reused the lyrics to "O My God" for the emphatically secular song "Three O'Clock Shit." Sting's editing and deleting of spiritual lyrics from prior songs immediately after joining the Police deserves more attention. Nevertheless, Marienberg does provide a fine overview of the numerous biblical references in Sting's works. Most notably, he offers a detailed analysis of Sting's musical The Last Ship, presenting valuable analyses of this rarely discussed work throughout the book. In chapter 2 ("Religion Surrounding Gordon Sumner: Part 1"), Marienberg begins a series of remarkably detailed...