Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984-1994 - Sting (CD 1994)

If you're going to have just one album by this master musician, let it be this one. Covering the music that he's done from 1984 to 1994, it's a compilation along the lines of a 'Best of' album, but with a little bit more, with a new version of an old hit, and two new songs.

From the end of the Police, and his leaping out to start a solo career, Sting is one of those artists who has the bravery to force himself to change; not only does he seem to have an uncanny ability to be just a step ahead of the current craze, and then when that has passed on, he's able to still hang onto his own style and not be dated at all. That takes not a little bit of talent, and a lot of courage.

Best of all, his work is clean and crisp, never too loud, and with lyrics that make you pause and think. I've seen folks in their fifties grooving along to Sting along with the teenage crowd. And when you see him perform he's smiling and happy, and all of that gets in touch with his audience.

When We Dance Not released until this album, this one is my favorite cut. Facing the choice of two suitors, one rich, one poor, which way will it go? We're all romantics, we know where the choice is going, we hope. It's lovely and sad and never fails to give me a pause to think.

If You Love Somebody Set Them Free I love this song. Written as a sly retort to Every Breath You Take, it lacks the moodiness and borderline stalking, and has a happy bouncy measure to it. Brass by Wynton Marsalis and plenty of boogie to get you going.

Fields Of Gold An anthem to love and joy, it's written in a soothing 3/4 time and with hints of a ballad from Chaucer's time. It's got references to nature and endless summer days, and it's really a sweet break.

All This Time One of the happy songs from Soul Cages it's one of those odd songs that has plenty of references to dead, and the dying of the year, but it still remains a happy song. Acceptance of change and finding peace with it, but it's still something that certainly isn't easy. The beat and style evokes Sting's time with the rest of the Police.

Fortress Around Your Heart Moody, a bit sad, it's all about love and what do you do when the relationship is more struggle than happiness. It's a good tune, and one of the first ones that was a hit when Sting went solo.

Be Still My Beating Heart Taken from Nothing Like the Sun, it's a reflective, quiet ballad, with moody, haunting words and melodies. It's a little bit dark, and introspective, and reminds that love has just a hint of fear to it as well.

They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo) Showing Sting's personal crusade with Amnesty International, it's dedicated to the Disappeared, the victims of Chiles's policy of treating all undesirables with imprisonment, torture and often execution without trial. It's tragic, and the saddest of all of Sting's songs. Ruben Blades gives backup vocals here.

If I Ever Lose My Faith In You With a dash of funk here, and a touch of orchestral work, it's another love song. A great song for when you need some cheering up.

Fragile More melancholy here, it's about another victim of oppression, Ben Linder, a Peace Corps worker who was murdered by the Contras. One of the best things about Sting's work, is that he gets us to think when we listen, rather than feeding us sappy ballads or songs that we'll forget in a few years.

Why Should I Cry For You? This is another song that rips me up on the inside. Evoking seas and sailing, it's a song about mourning and bitterness, and dealing with loss. It's one of the most perfect songs that Sting has ever done. Everyone who has ever had to deal with a difficult parent will hear echoes in this one.

Englishman In New York Inspired by that grandest of all expatriates, Quentin Crisp, this is a slightly zany, funny song about that Queen of cities, New York, and the many sorts of denizens within. With a touch of barbed wit and induendo, it's a happy little song about how to make home wherever you happen to be.

We'll Be Together This one is a new version of another hit. More driving beat, and danceable rhythms, it's another get-up-and-dance song. The video wasn't bad either.

Russians Sting in a set of liner notes somewhere admits to lifting a bit from Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite for some of the background here. Written in the time of the Cold War, it's a good summing up the fears of us adults during that time. The lyrics are a bit simplistic, but it's still good.

This Cowboy Song Winding up with another new release, we get a touch of Western fun, and a bit of the moodiness of heartbreak and being alone. It's got a bit of depth to this one, and is worth it for this one alone.