| Product Summary | | Label: Uni/a&m | | UPC: 00075021640221 | | Release Date: 10/5/1987 | | Buy.com Sku: 60078678 | | Item#: M9G5LR | Format:  CD |
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(P) 1987 UMG Recordings, Inc.
(C) 1987 A&M Records Inc.
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Sting (vocals, guitar, bass); Fareed Haque (guitar); Ken Helman (piano); Kenny Kirkland (keyboards); Manu Katche, Andy Newmark, Kenwood Dennard (drums); Mino Cenelu (percussion, vocoder); Dolette McDonald, Janice Pendarvis, Vesta Williams, Renee Geyer (background vocals). | | Producers include: Sting, Neil Dorfsman, Bryan Loren. | | Recorded at Air Studios, Montserrat. Includes liner notes by Sting. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Personnel: Sting (vocals, guitar); Rub?n Blades, Sting International (vocals, guitar); Eric Clapton, Hiram Bullock, Mark Egan, Mark Knopfler, Andy Summers, Fareed Haque (guitar); Branford Marsalis (saxophone); Ken Helman (piano); Kenny Kirkland (keyboards); Mino Cinelu (vocoder, percussion); Kenwood Dennard, Manu Katche, Andy Newmark (drums); Renee Geyer, Vesta Williams, Janice Pendarvis, Dollette McDonald (background vocals). | | Audio Mixer: David Tickle. | | Liner Note Author: Sting International. | | Recording information: Air Studios, Montserrat. | | Photographer: Brian Aris. | | Unknown Contributor Roles: Gil Evans; Jeff Levison. | | Arranger: Sting International. | | If Dream of the Blue Turtles was an unabashedly pretentious affair, it looks positively lighthearted in comparison to Sting's sophomore effort, Nothing Like the Sun, one of the most doggedly serious pop albums ever recorded. This is an album where the only up-tempo track, the only trifle -- the cheerfully stiff white-funk "We'll Be Together" -- was added at the insistence of the label because they believed there wasn't a cut on the record that could be pulled as a single, one that would break down the doors to mainstream radio. And they were right, since everything else here is too measured, calm, and deliberately subtle to be immediate (including the intentional throwaway, "Rock Steady"). So, why is it a better album than its predecessor? Because Sting doesn't seem to be trying so hard. It flows naturally, largely because this isn't trying to explicitly be a jazz-rock record (thank the presence of a new rhythm section of Sting and drummer Manu Katche for that) and because the melodies are insinuating, slowly working their way into memory, while the entire record plays like a mood piece -- playing equally well as background music or as intensive, serious listening. Sting's words can still grate -- the stifling pompousness of "History Will Teach Us Nothing" the clearest example, yet calls of "Hey Mr. Pinochet" also strike an uneasy chord -- but his lyricism shines on "The Lazarus Heart," "Be Still My Beating Heart," "They Dance Alone," and "Fragile," a quartet of his very finest songs. If Nothing Like the Sun runs a little too long, with only his Gil Evans-assisted cover of "Little Wing" standing out in the final quarter, it still maintains its tone until the end and, since it's buoyed by those previously mentioned stunners, it's one of his better albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | Sting's double-length follow-up to his solo debut DREAMS OF THE BLUE TURTLE is very much in the same sophisticated, adult pop vein, although darker and less jazzy (notwithstanding a collaboration with Miles Davis's arranger Gil Evans on a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing"). The songs are a generally varied lot, ranging from a tribute to victims of repression in Argentina ("They Dance Alone") to a tongue-in-cheek, sort-of-reggae tribute to famous eccentric Quentin Crisp ("An Englishman in New York"). The sort-of-funk "We'll Be Together"(originally written for a Japanese beer commercial) is the most upbeat and pop-ish thing here, and was deservedly a hit single, although Sting now disdains it. |
Engineer: Rod Michaels |
Musical Guests | | Branford Marsalis | | Gil Evans | | Eric Clapton | | Hiram Bullock | | Mark Knopfler | | Andy Summers | | Mark Egan | | Ruben Blades |
| | Artist Overview | | To some, the Englishman born under the name Gordon Sumner will always be known as the bassist, songwriter, and frontman of the Police. But Sting's mega-successful solo career from the 1980s into the 21st century may even overshadow his former band's fame. Crafty lyrics and a clever hybrid of rock, jazz, pop, and world music have made him an international star, and he proudly inhabits the role of the pensive celebrity. While his former bandmates search out uncharted territory, Sting continues to pursue the spotlight with his own brand of soulful, grown-up pop. Throughout his career, Sting has also dabbled in various acting roles, appearing in films directed by numerous cinema luminaries. |
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| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 01/01/1987 | | Original Release Date : 1987 | | Catalog ID : 75021-6402-2 | | Label : A&M Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 54m : 45s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : DDD | | UPC : 00075021640221 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone - Ranked #90 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Albums Of The Eighties" survey. (November '89)
Billboard 8 of 10
Second solo album by the Policeman is...exceptionally rich...[and] shows Mr. Sumner expanding musically, emotionally, and politically... Sting excels here on vocals and bass; he's backed by a corps of fine sidemen...
Rolling Stone 9 of 10
...a powerful, often hypnotic album that blends jazz and rock styles into a thoughtful suite of twelve songs about love, politics and the meaning of the individual life... Nothing Like the Sun represents impressive growth for Sting. His voice is rich, grainy and more mature; his ideas are gaining in complexity; and musically he is stretching without straining... on this fine new album Sting's intrepid talent shines on brightly. - Anthony DeCurtis
Q Magazine 8 of 10
...These songs are sensitive, literate, intelligent, thoughtful, moving and occasionally very funny too. There aren't too many stars who can manage all that and we should value Sting for it. - Dave Rimmer
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| | Bio | | You know his face from two decades of magazine covers. You've seen his name in articles about human rights, Amnesty International, and the Rainforest Foundation. You've seen him act in at least one of his fourteen films, and possibly onstage as well. Most importantly, you know the music of Sting. His award-winning songs--including the unforgettable "Every Breath You Take" and the uplifting "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot"--have left a permanent mark on modern music. Sting has come a long way from his beginnings. The son of a milkman, he was born Gordon Sumner and raised in Newcastle, in the northeast of England. After completing teacher training college, he taught at a school where most of the other teachers were nuns. Two years later, Sting left to pursue his career as a musician. He started out playing jazz, and earned the nickname Sting by wearing a yellow and black striped jersey. Moving to London was inevitable; once there, he joined guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland to formthe Police. With Stewart's brothers Ian as the booking agent and Miles as manager, the band brought their unique blend of pop, punk, rock, and reggae to appreciative audiences far beyond the borders of the UK. In the late '70s and early '80s, the Police produced five influential albums, topping the charts with 1983's Synchronicity. Sting headed out on his own in the mid '80s, crossing musical boundaries and exploring new territory. With ten solo albums (and numerous Brit and Grammy Awards) to his credit, Sting has consistently challenged his fans and himself. Incorporating jazz and classical strains, reggae motifs, folk themes, world beat rhythms and even country to serve a highly individual voice, his music transcends genres. The wide musical net he has cast is evident in his choice of collaborators: Luciano Pavarotti, Branford Marsalis, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Stevie Wonder, Cheb Mami, James Taylor and Gil Evans are among them.
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