Producers: Hugh Padgham, Sting (tracks 1, 3-4, 8, 10, 14), Pete Smith, Sting (tracks 2, 5, 13), Neil Dorfsman, Sting (tracks 6-7, 9, 11-12).

Digitally remastered by Bob Ludwig and Mark Mazzetti (Gateway Mastering Studios).

All songs written by Sting.

"When We Dance" was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Early in his solo career, Sting defined himself as a man of taste, choosing to work with jazz musicians instead of rockers. Inevitably, this meant he walked the thin line between sophisticated pop and adult contemporary, but he did it with grace from 1985's Dream of the Blue Turtles to 1993's Ten Summoner's Tales. Unfortunately, Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting doesn't illustrate what a deft trick he pulled off with that quartet of albums. Naturally, Fields of Gold concentrates on his hit singles, just like any other greatest-hits collection, but Sting's material sounds surprisingly tame in this context. Sure, there is a number of great songs here -- enough to state his case as a fine songwriter or to satisfy his casual fans. Still, these songs are safe choices and all share a similarly tranquil quality, which means the collection itself becomes a little monotonous. Nevertheless, Fields of Gold performs the necessary service of rounding up all of the big hits -- "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," "All This Time," "Fortress Around Your Heart," "They Dance Alone," "If Ever Lose My Faith in You," "Fragile," and an alternate version of "We'll Be Together" -- and offering them on one disc, which is reason enough to make it worthwhile, even with its flaws. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Emerging from new wave on the wings of hits like "Roxanne" and "Don't Stand So Close To Me," the Police perfected an appealing synthesis of reggae, pop and freewheeling instrumental flourishes rooted in the power trio conventions of earlier electric blues bands.

Yet for all the elemental tension Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland brought to each arrangement, Sting's keening tenor and canny ear for melodic hooks propelled the band's popularity. As his writing skills matured through SYNCHRONICITY, Sting's need for artistic control--and a tighter rhythmic focus--necessitated a band in which he was the unquestioned leader.

FIELDS OF GOLD chronicles the work of a classic pop vocalist who is simply unwilling to rest on his laurels--a wide ranging collection of brainy power pop, with two new songs ("When We Dance" and "This Cowboy") acting as stylistic bookends. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and bassist Daryl Jones add key elements of jazz and soul to such confessional hits as "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" and "Fortress Around Your Heart," while Sting's infatuation with Brazilian music animates the tender "Fragile." As his metaphysical and political muse evolved, Sting's orchestrations grew more ambitious, from the reggaeish strings of "Englishman In New York," through the lush, keyboard-inflected R&B of "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" and the edgy funk of "We'll Be Together." FIELDS OF GOLD is a remarkably classy, consistent set of tunes.