Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be 50 fantastic first solo albums recorded by artists who departed—or simply took a temporary hiatus from—their respective groups, representing a varied cross-section of genres, styles and time periods. Click “Next Album” below to explore each album or view the full album index here.
STING | The Dream of the Blue Turtles
A&M (1985)
Selected by Andy Healy
As an Amazon affiliate partner, Albumism earns commissions from qualifying purchases.
With his days in The Police behind him, Sting embarked upon a little musical reinvention with his debut solo outing, the jazz-fusion inspired The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Continuing to hone his skills as a songwriter and lyricist, the move into more jazz motivated arrangements allowed for a little more flourish in the writing and recording.
Surrounded by an A-List set of musicians, Sting crafts beautifully melodic tunes around such themes as nuclear anxiety in “Russians,” the innocence lost to war and drugs in “Children’s Crusade,” relationship ties in “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” the plight of striking coal miners with “We Work The Black Seam” and even an ode to An Interview With a Vampire in “Moon Over Bourbon Street.” He even finds time to nod to his history with a rollicking reworking of The Police’s deep cut “Shadows In The Rain.”
The beauty of The Dream Of The Blue Turtles is that it shows an artist still in growth mode and every song offers a new hue being added to an evolving musical palette.
LISTEN:
