| Nothing Like the Sun | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 October 1987[1] | |||
| Recorded | March–August 1987 | |||
| Studio | AIR Studios (Montserrat) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:45 | |||
| Label | A&M 75021-6402-2 | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Sting chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Nothing Like the Sun | ||||
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Nothing Like the Sun (stylised as...Nothing Like the Sun) is the second solo studio album by the English musicianSting. The album was originally released on 16 October 1987 onA&M (worldwide) as a double LP and single CD. The album explores the genres ofpop rock,soft rock,jazz,reggae,world,acoustic rock,dance-rock, andfunk rock. The songs were recorded in March–August 1987 atAIR Studios, inMontserrat, assisted by record producersBryan Loren andNeil Dorfsman. It features high-profile guest guitarists, including formerPolice memberAndy Summers,Eric Clapton,Mark Knopfler, andHiram Bullock, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Sting's early work.
On release, the album was received favourably and in 1989 was ranked No. 90 onRolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties".[7] "We'll Be Together", "Be Still My Beating Heart", "Englishman in New York", "Fragile", and "They Dance Alone" were all released as singles.
It won Best British Album at the 1988Brit Awards.[8] In 1989 the album received threeGrammy nominations includingAlbum of the Year while the album's second single ("Be Still My Beating Heart") was nominated forSong of the Year andBest Male Pop Vocal Performance.[9]
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 theConspiracy of Hope Tour on behalf ofAmnesty International, which brought Sting to parts ofLatin 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 inChile, tortured and murdered by themilitary dictatorship of the time, who danced theCueca (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. Elsewhere on the album, "Englishman in New York", in honour ofQuentin Crisp, continues thejazz-influenced music more commonly found on Sting's previous album, as does "Sister Moon".
For this album, theNew England DigitalSynclavier system was Sting's primary tool for writing, composing and arranging tool. He spent three months inNew York gathering material for the next album, organising the ideas he had accumulated over the past year into finished songs on the Synclavier before entering the studio.[10] The songs were more arranged than before, with the musicians simply layering their parts on top of Sting's Synclavier.[11] AtAIR Studios in Montserrat, Sting was recording the album with two 32-trackdigital tape recorders, allowing them to create multiple slave reels with different elements for a song. However, he found it difficult having too many options to choose from, and not hearing all the recorded parts until the mixing stage.[10]
The title comes fromShakespeare's Sonnet No.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?"[12]
The album's first single and biggest hit, "We'll Be Together" sported a prominentdance beat andfunk overtones; it reached No. 7 on theBillboard Hot 100 charts in late 1987 and even crossed over to the R&B charts.[citation needed]
The album also inspired aSpanish/Portuguese counterpart, the 1988 mini-albumNada 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. The Brazilian CD and Vinyl[13] edition ofNothing Like the Sun also contained "Fragile" in Portuguese ("Frágil") as the tenth track (between "Rock Steady" and "Sister Moon").[14]
Three years after its release on both the album and in single form, "Englishman in New York" was remixed in mid-1990 by Dutch producerBen Liebrand. Providing a stronger dance beat, as well as an extended introduction, the song was a hit in clubs and reached number 15 in the UK singles chart. The maxi-single also included a dance remix of "If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free)" as a B-side.
Nothing Like the Sun was one of the first fullydigital audio recordings (DDD) to achieve multi-platinum status.[citation needed]
In celebration of its 35th anniversary, an expanded edition of the album was released on October 13, 2022. This digital-only release features the original 12 songs on the album, plus 14 bonus tracks that consist of B-sides, remixes, alternate versions, and instrumentals.[15]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [16] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [17] |
| Los Angeles Times | [18] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [19] |
| Q | [20] |
| Rolling Stone | [21] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [22] |
| The Sacramento Bee | [23] |
| Smash Hits | 6+1⁄2/10[24] |
| The Village Voice | B[25] |
Nothing Like the Sun was praised by many critics.Billboard calledNothing Like the Sun "an exceptionally rich two-record set that shows Mr. Sumner expanding musically, emotionally, and politically."[26]Cashbox felt that the album was "expansive, weighty, [and] ambitious throughout".[27]
In a review forRolling Stone,Anthony DeCurtis wrote: "...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. His mistress's eyes may be nothing like the sun, but on this fine new album Sting's intrepid talent shines on brightly."[21] In 1989, the album was ranked number 90 onRolling Stone's list of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties".[7]
In a retrospective review,AllMusic editorStephen Thomas Erlewine described...Nothing Like the Sun as "one of the most doggedly serious pop albums ever recorded" and noted the presence of only one uptempo song ("We'll Be Together"), with the remaining tracks being "too measured, calm, and deliberately subtle to be immediate". He found that it succeeds as "a mood piece – playing equally well as background music or as intensive, serious listening", and that while slightly overlong, "it's one of his better albums."[16]
There were harsher assessments elsewhere.Robert Christgau ofThe Village Voice observed a "more relaxed" Sting on the album but deemed it "pretentious" on the whole,[25] whileGreg Kot of theChicago Tribune felt that Sting's "nuanced singing and literate lyrics" are "weighed down by ponderous music."[17]Trouser Press critic Ira Robbins disparaged the album as "self-important" and "a tedious, bankrupt and vacuous cavern of a record."[28]
In the United States, the album debuted at number 54 on the USBillboard 200 chart on the week of 31 October 1987 and eventually peaked at number nine in its third week of release. The album spent a total of 52 weeks on the chart. On 24 October 1991, the album was certifieddouble platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over two million copies in the United States.
In the UK, the album debuted and peaked at number one on theUK Albums Chart. In the second week the album dropped to number three. It spent a total of 42 weeks on the chart. The album was certified platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
All tracks are written by Sting, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Lazarus Heart" | 4:34 |
| 2. | "Be Still My Beating Heart" | 5:32 |
| 3. | "Englishman in New York" | 4:25 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | "History Will Teach Us Nothing" | 4:58 |
| 5. | "They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)" | 7:16 |
| 6. | "Fragile" | 3:54 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "We'll Be Together" | 4:52 |
| 8. | "Straight to My Heart" | 3:55 |
| 9. | "Rock Steady" | 4:27 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Sister Moon" | 3:46 | |
| 11. | "Little Wing" | Jimi Hendrix | 5:04 |
| 12. | "The Secret Marriage" | Hanns Eisler, Sting | 2:03 |
| Total length: | 54:45 | ||
Weekly charts[edit] | Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | — | 100,000[59] |
| Belgium (BRMA)[60] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Brazil | — | 125,000[61] |
| Canada (Music Canada)[62] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[63] | 2× Platinum | 600,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[64] | Platinum | 500,000^ |
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[65] | Gold | 10,000* |
| Italy | — | 460,000[66] |
| Japan (Oricon Charts) | — | 221,000[67] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[68] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[69] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| Portugal (AFP)[70] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[71] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[72] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[73] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[74] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
| Yugoslavia | — | 50,000[75] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
