The Very Best of Sting & The Police

The Very Best of... Sting & The Police
Greatest hits album by Sting, The Police
Released November 1997
Genre New wave, rock
Length 63:03
Label A&M
Producer Hugh Padgham, Sean "Puffy" Combs
Sting, The Police chronology

Mercury Falling
(1996)		 The Very Best of... Sting & The Police
(1997)		 Brand New Day
(1999)
Re-release
The Very Best of.... Sting & The Police (2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]

The Very Best of... Sting & The Police is a compilation album issued by Sting, and released by A&M Records.[3] The album originally featured one new track, a remix of the 1978 song "Roxanne" by rap artist Sean "Puffy" Combs. The album was reissued in 1998 by PolyGram International[4] with "Russians" removed and 3 additional tracks, "Seven Days", "Fragile", and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", being added.

In 2002 it was again re-released by Universal[5] with several track changes: the songs "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot", "Russians", and "Roxanne '97 (Puff Daddy Remix)" are omitted, with the songs "Brand New Day", "Desert Rose", and "So Lonely" in their place.

Track listing

A&M (1997)

  1. "Message in a Bottle" – 4:49 from Reggatta de Blanc
  2. "Can't Stand Losing You" – 2:58 from Outlandos d'Amour
  3. "Englishman in New York" – 4:25 from ...Nothing Like the Sun
  4. "Every Breath You Take" – 4:13 from Synchronicity
  5. "Walking on the Moon" – 4:59 from Reggatta de Blanc
  6. "Fields of Gold" – 3:40 from Ten Summoner's Tales
  7. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:20 from Ghost in the Machine
  8. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" – 4:14 from The Dream of the Blue Turtles
  9. "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot (Edit)" – 4:29 from Mercury Falling
  10. "Russians" – 3:57 from The Dream of the Blue Turtles
  11. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:29 from Ten Summoner's Tales
  12. "When We Dance (Edit)" – 4:17 from Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994
  13. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03 Zenyatta Mondatta
  14. "Roxanne" – 3:12 from Outlandos d'Amour
  15. "Roxanne '97" (Puff Daddy Remix) – 4:33 Previously unreleased

PolyGram International (1998)

  1. "Message in a Bottle" – 4:49 from Regatta de Blanc
  2. "Can't Stand Losing You" – 2:58 from Outlandos d'Amour
  3. "Englishman in New York" – 4:25 from ...Nothing Like the Sun
  4. "Every Breath You Take" – 4:13 from Synchronicity
  5. "Seven Days" – 4:39 from Ten Summoner's Tales
  6. "Walking on the Moon" – 4:59 from Regatta de Blanc
  7. "Fields of Gold" – 3:40 from Ten Summoner's Tales
  8. "Fragile" – 3:54 from ...Nothing Like the Sun
  9. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:20 from Ghost in the Machine
  10. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" – 4:09 from Zenyatta Mondatta
  11. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" – 4:14 from The Dream of the Blue Turtles
  12. "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot (Edit) from Mercury Falling
  13. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:29 from Ten Summoner's Tales
  14. "When We Dance (Edit)" – 4:17 from Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994
  15. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03 from Zenyetta Mondetta
  16. "Roxanne" – 3:12 from Outlandos d'Armour
  17. "Roxanne '97" (Puff Daddy Remix) – 4:33 Previously unreleased

Japanese Version Bonus Single

  1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (Japanese Version)"

Universal (2002)

  1. "Message in a Bottle" – 4:50
  2. "Can't Stand Losing You" – 3:00
  3. "Englishman in New York" – 4:28
  4. "Every Breath You Take" – 4:12
  5. "Seven Days" – 4:39
  6. "Walking on the Moon" – 5:03
  7. "Fields of Gold" – 3:40
  8. "Fragile" – 3:54
  9. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:21
  10. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" – 4:08
  11. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" – 4:15
  12. "Brand New Day" – 6:22
  13. "Desert Rose" Feat Cheb Mami – 4:47
  14. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:30
  15. "When We Dance (Edit)" – 4:18
  16. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:00
  17. "Roxanne" – 3:10
  18. "So Lonely" – 4:47

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 22
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[7] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] 8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 8
German Albums (Official Top 100)[10] 18
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 26
Chart (1998) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 17
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16] 4
Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 1
US Billboard 200[20] 46
Chart (2008) Peak
position
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[21] 60

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[22] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[23] Gold 25,000x
France (SNEP)[24] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[25] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26] Gold 7,500^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[27] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ The Very Best of Sting & The Police at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Berger, Arion (22 October 2002). "The Very Best of Sting & The Police (2002)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. ↑ 1997/A&M version on AllMusic
  4. ↑ 1998/PolyGram International version on AllMusic
  5. ↑ 2002/Universal version on AllMusic
  6. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "Sting & the Police: The Very Best Of" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "Top 40 Albums - 38 / 2002 - Hitlisten". Hitlisten.nu. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 9, 2002". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  18. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  19. ↑ March 2002 "2 March 2002 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  20. ↑ "Sting – Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  23. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Sting & The Police – Very Best Of" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Sting & The Police in the field Interpret. Enter Very Best Of in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  24. ↑ "French compilation certifications – Sting & The Police – The Very Best of Sting & The Police" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  25. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting & The Police; 'The Very Best of Sting & The Police')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  26. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Sting & The Police – The Very Best of Sting & The Police". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.
  27. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Sting & Police; 'Very Best of')". Hung Medien.
  28. ↑ "British album certifications – Sting & The Police – The Very Best of Sting and The Police". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Very Best of Sting and The Police in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  29. ↑ "American album certifications – Sting and The Police – The Very Best of Sting and The Police". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Preceded by
Escape by Enrique Iglesias		 UK number one album
2 March 2002 – 15 March 2002 		Succeeded by
The Essential Barbra Streisand
by Barbra Streisand