How Sting’s ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales’ Was Different Than His Previous Albums

Music stars often see their careers ebb and flow over time. After all, the industry moves at such a rapid pace that it’s difficult to keep the momentum going year after year. For instance, Sting has somehow managed to keep fans coming back for more for over 40 years. But his fourth album, 1993’s Ten Summoner’s Tales, marked a departure from what came before.

Sting began his career as The Police frontman in the late 1970s

Sting first broke through in the music business as the frontman for The Police in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The band released such iconic songs as “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” and “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” before landing their first number-one hit with 1983’s “Every Breath You Take.” Soon thereafter, Sting went solo.

His first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, features hits like “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free” and “Fortress Around Your Heart.” Sting’s next two albums kept the hits coming with songs like “We’ll Be Together,” “Be Still My Beating Heart,” and “All This Time.” But the release of Ten Summoner’s Tales in 1993 saw Sting take a very different approach to his music.

Why Sting’s ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales’ was a shift for his career

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, this fourth album saw Sting take a step back from his own perspective. Previous albums …Nothing Like the Sun and The Soul Cages were largely inspired by the deaths of his mother and father, respectively. But wringing such personal subjects for creative material became draining, leading Sting to mix it up for Ten Summoner’s Tales.

“To me, it worked as a piece of therapy,” Sting told VH1. “I needed to make the record to exorcise a certain amount of feelings. And having done that, I didn’t feel the need to have to do it again because I feel very content and very happy at the moment. So I wanted make a record that would reflect that sense of contentment. I didn’t want to write about myself necessarily. So I made up stories about other people. Sometimes frivolous, sometimes romantic, sometimes funny.”

What is Sting doing now?

With a legendary career that has spanned more than 40 years (so far), Sting reportedly carries an estimated net worth of roughly $400 million. Much of that stems solely from the massive royalties he receives for “Every Breath You Take.” And yet, he continues to deliver what fans want most: new music.

In the 2020s so far, Sting released Duets featuring collaborations with such artists as Eric Clapton, Mary J. Blige, Annie Lennox, and Julio Iglesias. He promptly followed that 2021 release with The Bridge – featuring singles “If It’s Love” and “Rushing Water” – the very same year. In 2022, Sting worked with Swedish House Mafia on the dance song “Redlight.”