Sting has gotten very serious...

For his first Parisian performance, Tuesday night at the Olympia, Sting had a whole pharmacy set up in front of him: a few throat sprays, cups filled with various orange drinks, and even a steaming cup of herbal tea. "My voice isn't great tonight," he apologized mid-concert, "and in French, please," before launching into 'Roxanne,' one of his old hits with the band Police. "So I'm counting on you to sing this Mont Blanc of my career."

The Olympia, packed until May 30, didn't hold back, reserving the same welcome for his oldest compositions: 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Walking on the Moon,' in a comical jazz version. Jazz is quite a story with Sting. "I think I've reached a certain understanding of his aesthetic, enough to have a common language with those who practice it," he says in his autobiography, "Broken Music."

As a result, since going solo, the fifty-year-old has continued to inject jazz sounds and tics into his pop. Sometimes, it's successful, as with "Englishman in New York." Other times, it's a struggle... Fortunately, there remain a few hits like "Fields of Gold," "Fragile," and even "Desert Rose," fragments of the talent of a formidable melodist who, by refusing to take the easy way out, has sunk into a regrettable seriousness. Sting in concert tomorrow evening and until May 30 at the Olympia, 28 Boulevard des Capucines, Paris 9.

(c) Le Parisien by Sebastian Catroux