Brandon's Buzz

Another slow-ish week on tap, although one of the true seminal recordings of the ’90s returns to print in a triumphant new deluxe edition re-release, and that’s more than enough cause for celebration. Behold:

Never one to shy away from his own ambitious nature, the legendary Sting returns this week with Symphonicities, a gorgeous new record of orchestral reworkings of some of his best-loved recordings. To his credit, he largely shies away from the iconic hits — at very least, give the man credit for seemingly being smart enough to understand that he managed to nail tunes like “Every Breath You Take” and “Fields of Gold” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger” the first time, and that there was no need to mess with perfection — in favor of deeper album cuts, but if it has been a while since you’ve given “Roxanne” or “Englishman in New York” your full attention, this record may just be up your alley.

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Melissa Etheridge — “Fearless Love” (from Fearless Love) —

You know, somewhere in all the save-the-world semantics that have monopolized much of her material for the last decade, it seemed as though Miss Melissa had misplaced entirely that rare ability she has always had to write those clean, catchy-as-hell (yet refreshingly adult) melodic pop songs. Consider that foolishness rectified.