Ten Summoners’ Tales (1993)
Sting continues to knock his music out of the park with his fourth studio solo album, Ten Summoner’s Tales. After opening up on his last record and getting very personal, Sting gets back to writing fantastic pop/rock/jazz fusion songs. Once again soaring as high as he ever did, Sting maintains relevancy in the 1990s when music was going through a major style change.
Ten Summoner’s Tales is as dynamic as anything Sting has released to date. You have you conventional radio hit pop songs like If I Ever Lose My Faith In You that beg to be sung along to. Following that you have the bouncy and lyrically fun Love Is Stronger Than Justice. The latter song setting the tone for the rest of the album with its heavy hammond organ influence and upbeat musical arrangements. She’s Too Good For Me and Saint Augustine In Hell follow suit very well with shuffling percussion and offbeat jazz drums respectively. The spoken word middle eight bridge in the latter is unlike anything Sting has done before. It takes the song on a complete roller coaster ride and establishes itself as one the best in his catalog.
The most popular song from the album and the standout single, Shape of My Heart, should be a radio hit that everyone is familiar with. With a dreamy and somber atmosphere created, you can feel this song touching your emotions. Re-employing the Spanish guitar instrumentation from previous album singles, Sting writes a timeless love song that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Seven Days is written with a gentle basslines and plucked guitar strings. Starting off rather mellow, the song picks up into this beautiful powerhouse. There are not enough good things to say about this track. Like the three albums before, there are just a few songs that fall slightly short. Songs like Fields of Gold and Something the Boy Said are beautiful and fantastic songs, but they don’t feel nearly as important as the rest. You can debate that they are needed on the record to provide balance, but I don’t find myself wanting to re-listen to them. Despite that, Ten Summoner’s Tales emerges as one of Sting’s greatest records.
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Highlight Songs:
Seven Days
Shape of My Heart
Saint Augustine in Hell
Love Is Stronger Than Justice
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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
Absolutely worth owning. Like mentioned earlier, this is one of Sting’s greatest records he has ever released and it should be loved and played endlessly. Ten Summoner’s Tales is dynamic and has something for everyone to love. Go and get it, son!
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Overall Rating:
4.5 Stars
