…Nothing Like the Sun

Infobox Album
Name = ...Nothing Like the Sun
Type = Studio album
Artist = Sting


Recorded = March - August 1987
Released = start date|1987|10|13
Genre = Rock, Jazz, New Wave
Length = 54:45
Label = A&M
75021-6402-2
Producer = Sting, Hugh Padgham, Bryan Loren, Neil Dorfsman
Reviews =
* Allmusic rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:mwhqoaqabijp link]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|4.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/sting/albums/album/316013/review/6067824/nothing_like_the_sun link]
Last album = "Bring on the Night"
(1986)
This album = "...Nothing Like the Sun"
(1987)
Next album = "Nada como el sol"
(1988)

"…Nothing Like the Sun" is a 1987 album by Sting. The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet #130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"), which Sting used in the song "Sister Moon". He added that his inspiration for this was a close encounter with a drunk, in which Sting quoted the sonnet in response to the drunk's importunate query, "How beautiful is the moon?"

Background

The album was influenced by two events in Sting's life: first, the death in late 1986 of his mother, which contributed to the sombre tone of several songs; and second, his participation in A Conspiracy of Hope Tour on behalf of Amnesty International, which brought Sting to parts of Latin America that had been ravaged by civil wars, and introduced him to victims of government oppression. "They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)" was inspired by his witnessing of public demonstrations of grief by the wives and daughters of men missing in Chile, presumed tortured and murdered by the military dictatorship of the time, who danced the "cueca" (the traditional dance of Chile) by themselves, with photos of their loved ones pinned to their clothes. "Be Still My Beating Heart" and "The Lazarus Heart" approach the subjects of life, love and death and also featured Police guitarist Andy Summers. Elsewhere on the album, "Englishman in New York", which is an honour to the gay writer and performer, Quentin Crisp, continues the jazz-influenced music more commonly found on Sting's previous album, as does "Sister Moon". The album's first single and biggest hit, "We'll Be Together" (reportedly, not one of Sting's favorites), sported a prominent dance beat and funk overtones; it reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in late 1987 and even crossed over to the R&B charts. Overall the album's sales now stand at over 2 million, making it one of Sting's best-sellers.

The album also inspired a Spanish/Portuguese counterpart, the 1988 mini-album "Nada Como el Sol". It featured four of the songs from the album sung in either Spanish or Portuguese and in the case of "Fragile", both languages.

Three years after its initial release on both the album and in single form, "Englishman in New York" was remixed in mid-1990 by Dutch producer Ben Liebrand, apparently to increase Sting's commercial viability after a two-year absence in the charts. Providing a stronger dance beat, as well as an extended introduction, the song was a hit in clubs and reached number 15 on the UK pop charts. The maxi-single also included a dance remix of "We'll Be Together" as a B-side.

"...Nothing Like the Sun" was one of the first fully digital audio recordings (DDD) to achieve multi-platinum status. It is also Sting's biggest selling album yet with worldwide sales of 11 million copies as of 1997.

Track listing

All songs by Sting except as noted.

ide one

# "The Lazarus Heart" – 4:34
# "Be Still My Beating Heart" – 5:32
# "Englishman in New York" – 4:25
# "History Will Teach Us Nothing" – 4:58
# "They Dance Alone (Gueca Solo)" – 7:16
# "Fragile" – 3:54

ide two

# "We'll Be Together" – 4:52
# "Straight to My Heart" – 3:54
# "Rock Steady" – 4:27
# "Sister Moon" – 3:46
# "Little Wing" (Jimi Hendrix) – 5:04
# "The Secret Marriage" (Eisler, Sting) – 2:03

ingles

* 1987 - "We'll Be Together" #7 US
* 1988 - "Be Still My Beating Heart" #15 US
* 1990 - "Englishman in New York" (remix) #15 UK

Chart Trajectory

Credits

*Sting – Primary Artist, Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
*Renée Geyer – Background Vocals
*Dollette McDonald – Background Vocals
*Janice Pendarvis – Background Vocals
*Vesta Williams – Background Vocals
*Kenwood Dennard – drums
*Manu Katché – Drums
*Andy Newmark – Drums
*Gil Evans & His Orchestra (on "Little Wing")
*Mino Cinelu – Percussion, Vocoder
*Rubén Blades – Vocals, Guitar (on "They Dance Alone (Gueca Solo)")
*Mark Egan – Bass
*Hiram Bullock – Guitar
*Eric Clapton – Guitar, Background Vocals
*Fareed Haque – Guitar
*Mark Knopfler – Guitar (on "They Dance Alone (Gueca Solo)")
*Andy Summers – Guitar
*Kenny Kirkland – Keyboards
*Ken Helman – Piano
*Branford Marsalis – Saxophone

References

* Liner notes to the album.