Sting spent this year releasing and touring an unconventional collection of his own songs - and now, he's reissuing it with a bonus disc of live material.
My Songs found the venerable singer-songwriter revisiting his catalogue - both solo and with The Police - on an album that included revisited versions of his greatest hits. Some were remixed, some were re-recorded, but all showcased the influence of the man born Gordon Sumner for several decades running. Indeed, beyond chart-toppers like The Police's "Message In a Bottle" and "Every Breath You Take," there was a new spin on "Shape Of My Heart," a moody fan favorite interpolated on rapper Juice WRLD's No. 2 hit "Lucid Dreams" in 2018, as well as Dave Audé's remix of "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," marrying Sting's original 1985 vocal with a retro-style disco beat. (It in fact topped Billboard's dance chart last month.)
The initial My Songs release featured a few physical and digital editions with bonus live content, and this new special edition of the album features all that material plus more, all recorded over the summer as Sting toured the album across Europe and North America. (He's next taking the My Songs show to Las Vegas in 2020 for a 16-date residency at Caesars Palace.) Now, fans get 11 tracks from the summer tour plus another five from a two-night run at the Olympia Theater in Paris in 2017. (Of those tracks, "Roxanne" featured on the standard album released earlier this year, while Police favorites "Synchronicity II," "Next To You" and "Spirits In The Material World" were included on deluxe editions of that album. "I Can't Stop Thinking About You," from Sting's 2016 album 57th & 9th, is the final new live track.) An extended mix of "Desert Rose" also closes the first disc of the new My Songs: Special Edition.
For those who already purchased the album earlier this year, a 2LP vinyl and digital album, My Songs Live, will feature the 11 songs from this year's tour. It's all coming out this Friday, November 15.
My Songs: Special Edition (Cherrytree/A&M/Interscope, 2019)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP (My Songs Live): Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (TBD)
Disc 1 (1-14 released on Cherrytree/A&M/Interscope B0030097-02, 2019)
- Brand New Day
- Desert Rose
- If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
- Every Breath You Take
- Demolition Man
- Can't Stand Losing You
- Fields Of Gold
- So Lonely
- Shape Of My Heart
- Message In a Bottle
- Fragile
- Walking On The Moon
- Englishman In New York
- If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
- Desert Rose (Dave Audé Extended Remix) *
Disc 2: Live From The My Songs Tour, 2019 (except *)
- Introduction/Message In a Bottle
- Englishman In New York
- Brand New Day
- Wrapped Around Your Finger
- Seven Days
- King Of Pain
- So Lonely
- Desert Rose
- Every Breath You Take
- Russians
- Fragile
- Roxanne *
- Synchronicity II *
- Next To You *
- Spirits In The Material World *
- I Can't Stop Thinking About You *
Tracks 12-16 recorded live at The Olympia, Paris, 4/12-13/2017. Track 12 released on My Songs standard edition; Tracks 13-15 released on My Songs deluxe edition (Cherrytree/A&M/Interscope B00330174-02, 2019)
Bill says
I purchased the deluxe single CD when it came out, and while I enjoy the new studio versions, the bonus live tracks were only so-so. So for me, I will pass.
Brian from Canada says
Are these recordings different from the new CD My Songs Live, or is it a repackaging with a Target exclusive track added to disc one while the live recordings are shifted to disc two with the Live album?