| Ten Summoner's Tales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 March 1993[1] | |||
| Recorded | June–December 1992 | |||
| Studio | Lake House, Wiltshire, England | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:31 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Sting,Hugh Padgham | |||
| Sting chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Ten Summoner's Tales | ||||
| ||||
| Initial reviews (in 1993) | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Buffalo News |   [9] |
| Calgary Herald | B+[10] |
| Chicago Tribune | [11] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[12] |
| Los Angeles Times | [13] |
| Music Week | [14] |
| Q | [15] |
| Rolling Stone | [16] |
| The Sacramento Bee | [17] |
| Select |   [18] |
| USA Today | [19] |
| Retrospective reviews (after 1993) | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [20] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [21] |
Ten Summoner's Tales is the fourth solo studio album by English musicianSting. The title is a combined pun of his family name, Sumner, and a character inGeoffrey Chaucer'sThe Canterbury Tales, the summoner. Released in 1993, it explores themes of love and morality in a noticeably upbeat mood compared to his previous release, the introspectiveThe Soul Cages, released in 1991 after the loss of both his parents in the 1980s.
This album contains two US hits; "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" reached No. 17 on theBillboard Hot 100 while "Fields of Gold" got to No. 23.[22]
Ten Summoner's Tales was shortlisted for the 1993Mercury Prize. In 1994, it was nominated for sixGrammy awards includingAlbum of the Year (losing toWhitney Houston‘sThe Bodyguard), winningBest Engineered Album, Non-Classical,Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ("If I Ever Lose My Faith in You") andBest Long Form Music Video, while "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" was also nominated forRecord andSong of the Year.
ALaserDisc and VHS of the album were released, containing live performances of all songs on the album atLake House.
A promotional disc was made where Sting discusses some of the songs on the album. There was also an unofficial live album produced during theTen Summoner's Tales era, entitledMeadowlands of Gold, which contained 13 tracks performed at the Meadowlands Arena on February 26, 1994, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The songs consisted of tracks from the album, and a few songs byThe Police plus a cover ofthe Beatles' "A Day in the Life".
In February 2023, it was announced thatTen Summoner's Tales would be re-released and digitally expanded, with multiple songs not previously heard or available to download.[23]
The album was recorded atLake House, Wiltshire, mixed atThe Town House, London and mastered atMasterdisk, New York.[24] The cover of the album was photographed atWardour Castle in Wiltshire, featuring Hrímnir, anIcelandic horse Sting owned for a period. He bought the horse straight from his good friendÁrsæll Jónsson.
A long form 'performance' video of the entire album was filmed at Sting's Lake House property. The audio used is partly from the album and partly recorded as played by the band during the filming. This film was released in conjunction with the album. The video went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Video in 1994, and was directed byDoug Nichol and produced by Julie Fong.
On 11 August 1994, a compact disc ofTen Summoner's Tales became the first item ever securely purchased over the Internet, for $12.48 plus shipping.[25] There was also an interview disc released for the album, in which Sting talks about all tracks on the album.
The second track on the album, "Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)", was named as a homage to the filmsSeven Samurai andThe Magnificent Seven. According to the interview disc, the idea came to Sting when he wanted to write a song in the7/4 time signature. The song "Seven Days" is also noted for the sophisticated playing of drummerVinnie Colaiuta in the5/4 time signature.
The international-exclusive track "Everybody Laughed But You" was excluded from Canadian and American pressings of the album. However, US singles from the album included the song, as well as a version of the song with different lyrics titled "January Stars".
The singles forTen Summoner's Tales also give credit toFernandes Guitars, asDominic Miller played a Fernandes P-Project Acoustic Electric Nylon guitar throughout the album.
Ten Summoner's Tales was remastered and re-released in 1998. The new CD issue included a bonus video track of "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You". It also featured the song "Everybody Laughed But You", which was excluded from the original 1993 release in the US and Canada. The song did appear on the original release in the UK, Europe, Japan and other territories, and on the single "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You". The instrumental track for "Everybody Laughed But You" was also used with an alternate lyric and released as "January Stars" on the singles "Seven Days" and "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You".
All tracks are written bySting, except "It's Probably Me" written withEric Clapton andMichael Kamen, and "Shape of My Heart" written withDominic Miller.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Prologue (If I Ever Lose My Faith in You)" | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)" | 5:12 |
| 3. | "Fields of Gold" | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Heavy Cloud No Rain" | 3:39 |
| 5. | "She's Too Good for Me" | 2:30 |
| 6. | "Seven Days" | 4:40 |
| 7. | "Saint Augustine in Hell" | 5:05 |
| 8. | "It's Probably Me" | 4:57 |
| 9. | "Everybody Laughed but You" | 3:53 |
| 10. | "Shape of My Heart" | 4:38 |
| 11. | "Something the Boy Said" | 5:13 |
| 12. | "Epilogue (Nothing 'Bout Me)" | 3:39 |
| Total length: | 52:31 | |
Notes:
A different version of "It's Probably Me", featuringEric Clapton, was featured in the opening titles ofLethal Weapon 3. (This version was available as a single.) The song "Shape of My Heart" was featured in the end credits of the 1994 French thrillerLéon: The Professional,[27] replacingÉric Serra's "The Experience of Love" (a track that Serra eventually used in his 1995 soundtrack for theJames Bond filmGoldenEye). In 2011, "Shape of My Heart" was used to conclude the final episode of the seventh series of British television dramaHustle.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ten Summoner's Tales | Album of the Year[28] | Nominated |
| Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical[29] | Won | ||
| Best Music Video, Long Form[29] | Won | ||
| "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male[29] | Won | |
| Record of the Year[28] | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year[28] | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 [30] | Ten Summoner's Tales | Best British Album | Nominated |
| Sting(performer) | Best British Male Artist | Won | |
| "Fields of Gold" | Best British Video | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Ten Summoner's Tales | Mercury Music Prize[31] | Nominated |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[59] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[60] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[61] | Gold | 28,537[61] |
| France (SNEP)[62] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[63] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[64] | Platinum | 300,000[64] |
| Japan (RIAJ)[65] | Gold | 178,870[53] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[66] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[67] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[69] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[70] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[71] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Live albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Extended plays | |
| Singles |
|
| Guest singles | |
| Tours | |
| Theatre | |
| Related articles | |
| Family |
|
