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After two albums of muted, mature jazz-inflected pop, the last being an explicit album about death, Sting created his first unapologetically pop album since the Police with Ten Summoner's Tales. The title, a rather awkward pun on his given last name, is significant, since it emphasizes that this album is a collection of songs, without any musical conceits or lyrical concepts tying it together. And, frankly, that's a bit of a relief after the oppressively somber The Soul Cages and the hushed though lovely, Nothing Like the Sun. Sting even loosens up enough to crack jokes, both clever (the winking litany of celebrity pains of "Epilogue [Nothing 'Bout Me]") and condescending (the sneeringly catchy cowboy tale "Love Is Stronger Than Justice [The Munificent Seven]"), and the result is his best solo record. In places, it's easily as pretentious as his earlier work, but that's undercut by writing that hasn't been this sharp and melodic since the Police, plus his most varied set of songs since Synchronicity. True, there isn't a preponderance of flat-out classics -- only the surging opener "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," the understated swing of "It's Probably Me," and the peaceful ballad "Fields of Gold" rank as classics -- but, as an album, Ten Summoner's Tales is more consistently satisfying than anything else in his catalog.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Eric Clapton, ComposerLyricist - Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Kamen, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, Recording Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - DOMINIC MILLER, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Sting, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hugh Padgham, Producer, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
After two albums of muted, mature jazz-inflected pop, the last being an explicit album about death, Sting created his first unapologetically pop album since the Police with Ten Summoner's Tales. The title, a rather awkward pun on his given last name, is significant, since it emphasizes that this album is a collection of songs, without any musical conceits or lyrical concepts tying it together. And, frankly, that's a bit of a relief after the oppressively somber The Soul Cages and the hushed though lovely, Nothing Like the Sun. Sting even loosens up enough to crack jokes, both clever (the winking litany of celebrity pains of "Epilogue [Nothing 'Bout Me]") and condescending (the sneeringly catchy cowboy tale "Love Is Stronger Than Justice [The Munificent Seven]"), and the result is his best solo record. In places, it's easily as pretentious as his earlier work, but that's undercut by writing that hasn't been this sharp and melodic since the Police, plus his most varied set of songs since Synchronicity. True, there isn't a preponderance of flat-out classics -- only the surging opener "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," the understated swing of "It's Probably Me," and the peaceful ballad "Fields of Gold" rank as classics -- but, as an album, Ten Summoner's Tales is more consistently satisfying than anything else in his catalog.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:52:20
- Main artists: Sting
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: A&M
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 1993 UMG Recordings, Inc.
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