Before he embarked on a solo career, Sting spent some time as the bass player and lead singer forRock and Roll Hall of Fame trio The Police.

Sting is celebrating the 35th anniversary since the release of his album “Nothing Like the Sun” with a new expanded edition of the album that is only available as a digital download.

The 26 track package includes the original 12 songs from the album plus 14 new track – 12 of which have never been available in a digital format – and feature B-sides, remixes, alternate versions, and instrumentals.  The album also includes the hit songs “We’ll Be Together”, “Fragile”, and “Englishman in New York”.

The 17 time Grammy Award winning rocker first released the album in 1987 and was adopted from William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130 – (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”.

“Nothing Like the Sun” was released on the heels of the three time platinum album “Dream of the Blue Turtles” and was the first of his “themed” albums.  In the liner notes Sting himself notes, “I look back on this album, and I realize that the record is about my mother, although I didn’t see it at the time. It’s about mothers and daughters, mistresses and wives, sisters… Every song has one of these themes. It surprised me.”  Sting’s own mother died in 1986, shortly before recording began.

Sting also invited some All Star guests to appear on the album including fellow Police member Andy Summers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopler, Branford Marsalis, Gil Evans, and Manu Katche.  A multi-instrumentalist; Sting himself provided the vocals on the album while playing bass, double bass, and Spanish guitar.

The original “Nothing Like the Sun” went on to be certified double platinum by the RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America – for selling two million copies in the United States and went on to top the charts in two countries – his homeland of the United Kingdom and Japan.  The album went on to be named the Best British Album of the Year at the 1988 Brit Awards.

The tracklisting for the expanded anniversary issue of “Nothing Like the Sun”:
“The Lazarus Heart”
“Be Still My Beating Heart”
“Englishman in New York”
“History Will Teach Us Nothing”
“They Dance Alone”
“Fragile”
“We’ll Be Together”
“Straight to My Heart”
“Rock Steady”
“Sister Moon”
“Little Wing”
“The Secret Marriage”
“Conversation with a Dog”
“If You There”
“Up from the Skies”
“Someone to Watch Over Me”
“Ghost in the Strand”
“Englishman in New York” – Ben Liebrand Mix
“Fragile” – DJ Monk’s Extended Vocal Remix
“Fragile” – DJ Monk’s radio mix
“Fragile” – DJ Monk’s Hard Rain Dub version
“Fragile” – Bedroom Rockers remix
“We’ll Be Together” – extended mix
“We’ll Be Together” – alternate version
“We’ll Be Together” – instrumental

feature photo credit: courtesy of UMe