''Duets'' is a compilation album by English musician

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

. It was released on 19 March 2021 through

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

Background

''Duets'' compiles 17 collaborations spanning from 1992's " It's Probably Me" with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

from the ''

Lethal Weapon 3 ''Lethal Weapon 3'' is a 1992 American buddy cop action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen. The sequel to ''Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), it is the third installment in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film se ...

'' soundtrack to new songs, recorded remotely, with

Melody Gardot Melody Gardot (; born February 2, 1985) is an American jazz singer. At the age of 19, Gardot was hit by an SUV and sustained a head injury. Music played a critical role in her recovery. She became an advocate of music therapy, visiting hospita ...

Zucchero Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), known professionally as Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his primary school teacher used to ...

and Gashi. The standard "

My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed ...

", recorded by Sting and

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

as the theme song for the 2005 Japanese movie ''

Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites ...

'', was released as a single on 11 March 2021. "Englishman/African In New York", a reworking of Sting's "

Englishman in New York "Englishman in New York" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Sting, from his second studio album '' Nothing Like the Sun'', released in October 1987. Branford Marsalis played soprano saxophone on the track, while the drums were played by ...

" recorded with African artist Shirazee was released as a non-album digital-only single on 19 March 2021. Shirazee had previously covered the song as "African in New York" with Sting's approval. Sting and Shirazee released a music video and performed the song on ABC's ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''. An interactive website was launched to complement the album, with details about each song, photos, as well as newly recorded video commentaries from Sting. The album was originally scheduled to be released in November 2020, but was delayed due to manufacturing delays caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Several titles, such as "Simple" in performance with

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

, "Message in a Bottle" with All Saints, "Spirits" with

Pato Banton Pato Banton (born Patrick Murray; 28 January 1961) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname Pato Banton from his stepfather: its first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo", ...

from the film '' Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'' and "Always on Your Side" in duet with

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

, are not included in the album.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote "Collectively, these duets showcase Sting The Polymath, a cultured and worldly individual with an ability to synthesize his diverse interests into smooth, jazzy, mature pop." Emma Harrison of ClashMusic.com called the album "a solid return...spanning an array of genres including worldbeat, jazz, classical, blues, rock and new-age". Gary Graff of

cleveland.com ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

wrote that the songs "speak to Sting's well-documented appetite for creative diversity. And daring." Eoghan Lyng of CultureSonar wrote "''Duets'' shows the singer/songwriter at his most inventive." Rachel Brodsky of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' calls the album "a welcome opportunity to revisit Sting's lengthy collaborative CV". Alexander Baechle of ''Riff Magazine'' wrote "''Duets'' portrays Sting as a conduit for passionate performances. On many of the songs, his contribution is understated and uncertain, serving to push the featured artist forward. Yet the fact that each song is of such polished and refined quality speaks to Sting's subtle knack for engineering holistic, arty pop songs. Though he sacrifices some amount of the spotlight, the songs, the artists and listeners benefit."

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Sting 2021 compilation albums A&M Records compilation albums Sting (musician) compilation albums