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...Nothing Like the Sun

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For the Anthony Burgess novel, see Nothing Like the Sun: A Story of Shakespeare's Love Life.

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Allmusic [1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Los Angeles Times[3]
Rolling Stone [4]
Robert Christgau(B) [5]

…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?"

The album won Best British Album at the 1988 Brit Awards.

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 the 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, 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 The Police guitarist Andy Summers. Elsewhere on the album, "Englishman in New York", in honour of 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 from 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. "The Lazarus Heart" was supposed to be the theme song to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.[6]

Side one

  2. "The Lazarus Heart" – 4:34
  4. "Be Still My Beating Heart" – 5:32
  6. "Englishman in New York" – 4:25

Side two

  2. "History Will Teach Us Nothing" – 4:58
  4. "They Dance Alone" – 7:16
  6. "Fragile" – 3:54

Side three

  2. "We'll Be Together" – 4:52
  4. "Straight to My Heart" – 3:54
  6. "Rock Steady"  – 4:27

Side four

  2. "Sister Moon"  – 3:46
  4. "Little Wing" (Jimi Hendrix) – 5:04
  6. "The Secret Marriage" (Hanns Eisler, Sting) – 2:03

B Sides

  1. "Ghost In The Strand" ("Englishman In New York" 7"/ Maxi Single)
  2. "Ellas Danzan Solas" ("They Dance Alone" Maxi Single)
  3. "If You There" ("They Dance Alone" 7")
  4. "Conversation With A Dog" ("We'll Be Together" 7"/ Maxi Single)
  5. "Someone to Watch Over Me" ("Englishman in New York" 3-inch CD single)
  6. "Up from the Skies" (Jimi Hendrix cover with Gil Evans and His Orchestra, "Englishman in New York" 3-inch CD single)

Singles

  • 1987 – "We'll Be Together" #7 US
  • 1988 – "Englishman in New York" #84 US #51 UK
  • 1988 – "Be Still My Beating Heart" #15 US
  • 1988 – "Fragile" #70 UK
  • 1988 – "They Dance Alone" #94 UK
  • 1990 – "Englishman in New York" (Remix) #15 UK

Personnel

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[8] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[10] 2× Platinum 689,200[9]
Germany (BVMI)[11] Platinum 500,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) — 221,000[12]
Netherlands (NVPI)[13] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[14] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[15] 2× Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Charts

Decade-end charts

Chart (1980–89) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[40] 19

References

  1. ^ ...Nothing Like the Sun at AllMusic
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (7 March 1993). "Feeling A Sting". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Willman, Chris (11 October 1987). "Burning sting". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ By Anthony DeCurtis (22 January 1997). "Nothing Like The Sun | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  5. ^ "CG: Sting". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  6. ^ http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-who-framed-roger-rabbit
  7. ^ Nothing Like the Sun credits, Discogs.
  8. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sting – Nothing Like the Sun". Music Canada.
  9. ^ "Les Albums Double Platine". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  10. ^ "French album certifications – Sting – Nothing Like the Sun" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  11. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting; 'Nothing Like the Sun')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  12. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Sting – Nothing Like the Sun" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Nothing Like the Sun in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  14. ^ "Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979-1990". Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano.
  15. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Nothing Like the Sun')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  16. ^ "British album certifications – Sting – Nothing Like the Sun". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Nothing Like the Sun in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  17. ^ "American album certifications – Sting – Nothing Like the Sun". Recording Industry Association of America.
  18. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ^ "austriancharts.at Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  20. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-20
  21. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  22. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  23. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1988" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  24. ^ スティング-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of ...Nothing Like the Sun by Sting". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 31 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "charts.org.nz Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  26. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  27. ^ "swedishcharts.com Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  28. ^ "Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  29. ^ "Chart Stats - Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 21 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ a b "allmusic ((( Nothing Like the Sun > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  31. ^ "Album Search: Sting" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Albums of '87". RPM. 26 December 1987. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  33. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1987 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  34. ^ "日本で売れた洋楽アルバム (Top-ten international albums on the Japanese Oricon Year-End Charts)". 12 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 1 January 2007 suggested (help)
  35. ^ a b "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  36. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1988". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  37. ^ "日本で売れた洋楽アルバム (Top-ten international albums on the Japanese Oricon Year-End Charts)". Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2007. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 1 January 2007 suggested (help)
  38. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  39. ^ "Billboard.BIZ". billboard.biz. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  40. ^ "Austriancharts.at - Bestenlisten - 80-er album" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  • Liner notes to the album.
Preceded by UK number one album
24–30 October 1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Japanese Oricon Weekly number-one album
26 October 1987 		Succeeded by
Naturally by Naoyuki Fujii

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