Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Sting (vocals, guitar, bass); Cheb Mami (vocals); | | Andy Summers (guitar); Branford Marsalis (saxophone); Kenny Kirkland, | | David Sancious (keyboards); Darryl Jones (bass); Stewart Copeland, Vinnie Colaiuta, Omar Hakim (drums); Mino Cinelu (percussion). | | Producers include: The Police, Nigel Gray, Hugh Padgham, Sting, Kipper. | | During two decades in the music business, Sting has always been about genre-busting. The Police imbued their reggae-influenced brand of rock music with a truly literary lyrical sensibility, distancing themselves from the Tolkien-tinged meandering which tended to pass for "thoughtful lyrics" in the seventies. The ill-advised sci-fi garb of SYNCHRONICITY notwithstanding, they brought vibrancy, imagination, and intelligence into the dumbed-down world of arena rock. THE VERY BEST OF STING & THE POLICE represents their work with unquestionably classic cuts such as "Message In A Bottle," "Can't Stand Losing You," and "Every Breath You Take." | | On his own, Sting moved into the even headier realms, assembling a supergroup of young jazzers and further indulging the bookworm within. "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" and "Englishman In New York" display the mellower, calmer Sting. You want erudite? The album's only co-writing credit is "Russians," based on a little something by Prokofiev. Closing with the hugely successful Puff Daddy remix version of "Roxanne," THE VERY BEST OF STING & THE POLICE provides an overview of his progression from schoolmaster to rock icon and back again. |
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