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Ten Summoner's Tales

Ten Summoner's Tales is the fourth solo studio album by English musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his family name, Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the summoner. Released in 1993, it explores themes of love and morality in a noticeably upbeat mood compared to his previous release, the introspective The Soul Cages released in 1991 after the loss of both his parents in the 1980s.

Ten Summoner's Tales
Studio album by
Sting
Released1 March 1993[1]
RecordedJune–December 1992
StudioLake House, Wiltshire, England
Genre
Length52:31
Label
ProducerSting, Hugh Padgham
Sting chronology
The Soul Cages
(1991) 		Ten Summoner's Tales
(1993) 		Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994
(1994)
Singles from Ten Summoner's Tales
  1. "It's Probably Me"
    Released: 23 June 1992[2]
  2. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
    Released: 1 February 1993[3]
  3. "Seven Days"
    Released: 12 April 1993[4]
  4. "Fields of Gold"
    Released: 7 June 1993[5]
  5. "Shape of My Heart"
    Released: 23 August 1993[6]
  6. "Love Is Stronger Than Justice"
    Released: 24 September 1993[7]
  7. "Nothing 'Bout Me"
    Released: 14 February 1994[8]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The Buffalo News[10]
Calgary HeraldB+[11]
Chicago Tribune[12]
Entertainment WeeklyA[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
Music Week[15]
Q[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[18]
The Sacramento Bee[19]
USA Today[20]

This album contains two US hits; "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 while "Fields of Gold" got to No. 23.[21]

Ten Summoner's Tales was shortlisted for the 1993 Mercury Prize. In 1994, it was nominated for six Grammy awards including Album of the Year (losing to Whitney Houston‘s The Bodyguard), winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ("If I Ever Lose My Faith in You") and Best Long Form Music Video, while "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" was also nominated for Record and Song of the Year.

A laser disc and VHS of the album were released, containing live performances of all songs on the album at Lake House.

A promotional disc was made where Sting discusses some of the songs on the album. There was also an unofficial live album produced during the Ten Summoner's Tales era, entitled Meadowlands of Gold, which contained 13 tracks performed at the Meadowlands Arena on February 26, 1994, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The songs consisted of tracks from the album, and a few songs by The Police plus a cover of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life".

In February 2023, it was announced that Ten Summoner's Tales would be re-released and digitally expanded, with multiple songs not previously heard or available to download.[22]

Background

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The album was recorded at Lake House, Wiltshire, mixed at The Town House, London and mastered at Masterdisk, New York.[23] The cover of the album was photographed at Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, featuring Hrímnir, an Icelandic horse Sting owned for a period.

A long form 'performance' video of the entire album was filmed at Sting's Lake House property. The audio used is partly from the album and partly recorded as played by the band during the filming. This film was released in conjunction with the album. The video went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Video in 1994, and was directed by Doug Nichol and produced by Julie Fong.

On 11 August 1994, a compact disc of Ten Summoner's Tales became the first item ever securely purchased over the Internet, for $12.48 plus shipping.[24] There was also an interview disc released for the album, in which Sting talks about all tracks on the album.

The second track on the album, "Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)", was named as a homage to the films Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven. According to the interview disc, the idea came to Sting when he wanted to write a song in the 7/4 time signature. The song "Seven Days" is also noted for the sophisticated playing of drummer Vinnie Colaiuta in the 5/4 time signature.

The international-exclusive track "Everybody Laughed But You" was excluded from Canadian and American pressings of the album. However, US singles from the album included the song, as well as a version of the song with different lyrics titled "January Stars".

The singles for Ten Summoner's Tales also give credit to Fernandes Guitars, as Dominic Miller played a Fernandes P-Project Acoustic Electric Nylon guitar throughout the album.

1998 re-release

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Ten Summoner's Tales was remastered and re-released in 1998. The new CD issue included a bonus video track of "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You". It also featured the song "Everybody Laughed But You", which was excluded from the original 1993 release in the US and Canada. The song did appear on the original release in the UK, Europe, Japan and other territories, and on the single "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You". The instrumental track for "Everybody Laughed But You" was also used with an alternate lyric and released as "January Stars" on the singles "Seven Days" and "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You".

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Sting, except "It's Probably Me" written with Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen, and "Shape of My Heart" written with Dominic Miller

No.TitleLength
1."Prologue (If I Ever Lose My Faith in You)"4:30
2."Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)"5:12
3."Fields of Gold"3:42
4."Heavy Cloud No Rain"3:39
5."She's Too Good for Me"2:30
6."Seven Days"4:40
7."Saint Augustine in Hell"5:05
8."It's Probably Me"4:57
9."Everybody Laughed but You"3:53
10."Shape of My Heart"4:38
11."Something the Boy Said"5:13
12."Epilogue (Nothing 'Bout Me)"3:39
Total length:52:31

Notes:

  • Narration on "Saint Augustine in Hell" performed by David Foxxe.
  • "Everybody Laughed But You" does not appear on most vinyl pressings or on the original US and Canadian versions of the album.
  • Pressings of the album that do not include "Everybody Laughed But You" (and so only have 11 tracks) omit "Prologue" from the title of "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You".

Personnel

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Production

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  • Sting – producer
  • Hugh Padgham – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Andrew Bradfield – assistant engineer
  • Pete Lewis – assistant engineer
  • Simon Osborne – assistant engineer
  • Roger Lian – digital editing
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine, USA)
  • Danny Quatrochi – personal technical assistant
  • Richard Frankel – art direction, design
  • Norman Moore – art direction, design
  • Kevin Westenberg – photography

Soundtrack appearances

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A different version of "It's Probably Me", featuring Eric Clapton, was featured in the opening titles of Lethal Weapon 3. (This version was available as a single.) The song "Shape of My Heart" was featured in the end credits of the 1994 French thriller Léon: The Professional,[26] replacing Éric Serra's "The Experience of Love" (a track that Serra eventually used in his 1995 soundtrack for the James Bond film GoldenEye). In 2011, "Shape of My Heart" was used to conclude the final episode of the seventh series of British television drama Hustle.

Accolades

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Grammy Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1994 Ten Summoner's Tales Album of the Year[27] Nominated
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical[28] Won
Best Music Video, Long Form[28] Won
"If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male[28] Won
Record of the Year[27] Nominated
Song of the Year[27] Nominated

Brit Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1994
[29]		 Ten Summoner's Tales Best British Album Nominated
Sting (performer) Best British Male Artist Won
"Fields of Gold" Best British Video Nominated

Mercury Prize

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1993 Ten Summoner's Tales Mercury Music Prize[30] Nominated

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[58] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[59] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[60] Gold 28,537[60]
France (SNEP)[61] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[62] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[63] Platinum 300,000[63]
Japan (RIAJ)[64] Gold 178,870[52]
Netherlands (NVPI)[65] Gold 50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[66] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[67] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[69] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[70] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Brit certifications for Sting".
  2. ^ "Sting with Eric Clapton - It's Probably Me". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 30 January 1993. p. 23.
  4. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 10 April 1993. p. 21.
  5. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 5 June 1993. p. 19.
  6. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 21 August 1993. p. 23.
  7. ^ "Sting - Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 12 February 1994. p. 21.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ten Summoner's Tales – Sting". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  10. ^ Violanti, Anthony (15 March 1993). "It's The Mysterious Sting, Playing A New Attitude". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  11. ^ Tremblay, Mark (7 March 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  12. ^ Kot, Greg (7 March 1993). "Feeling A Sting". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  13. ^ Moon, Tom (12 March 1993). "Ten Summoner's Tales". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  14. ^ Willman, Chris (7 March 1993). "Sting 'Ten Summoner's Tales' A&M". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  15. ^ Jones, Alan (6 March 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 20. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  16. ^ Du Noyer, Paul (April 1993). "Cheerful". Q. No. 79.
  17. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (18 March 1993). "Sting: Ten Summoner's Tales". Rolling Stone. No. 652. p. 38.
  18. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Sting". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 783–784. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  19. ^ Macias, Chris; Barton, David (30 July 2000). "On the Sting beat: The Police and beyond". The Sacramento Bee.
  20. ^ Gundersen, Edna (24 March 1993). "Sting's blithe 'Tales'". USA Today.
  21. ^ allmusic
  22. ^ "Sting | News | Sting Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Ten Summoner's Tales with Digital-only Expanded Edition..." Sting.com. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  23. ^ "Album info". Discogs.com. 26 September 1993. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  24. ^ Lewis, Peter H. (12 August 1994). "Attention Shoppers: Internet Is Open". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  25. ^ "David Foxxe". IMDb. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  26. ^ "Shape of My Heart by Sting". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  27. ^ a b c Rule, Sheila (7 January 1994). "Sting Nominated To Receive 6 Grammys". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  28. ^ a b c "Past Winners Search". grammy.com. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  29. ^ "The BRITs 1994". brits.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  30. ^ "The BRITs 1994". brits.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  31. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  32. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  33. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Archived 29 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 31 October 2011
  34. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Sting: Ten Summoner's Tales" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  36. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  37. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  38. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1993. 19. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  39. ^ "Highest position and charting weeks of Ten Summoner's Tales by Sting". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  40. ^ "Charts.nz – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  41. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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  45. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  46. ^ "Sting Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  47. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1993". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  48. ^ "The RPM Top 100 Albums of 1993". RPM. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  49. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1993". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  50. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1993 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  51. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  52. ^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  53. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1993 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  54. ^ "LOS 50 TÍTULOS CON MAYORES VENTAS EN LAS LISTAS DE VENTAS DE AFYVE EN 1993" (PDF) (in Spanish). Anuarios SGAE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  55. ^ "Hitparade.ch – Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1993". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  56. ^ "Top 100 Albums 1993" (PDF). Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 25. Retrieved 21 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
  57. ^ "Billboard.BIZ – Year-end Charts – Billboard 200 – 1993". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  58. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  59. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". Music Canada.
  60. ^ a b "Sting" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  61. ^ "French album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  62. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting; 'Ten Summoner's Tales')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  63. ^ a b "Italian Gold for Sting" (PDF). Music & Media. 23 October 1993. p. 6. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  64. ^ "Japanese album certifications – スティング – テン・サマナーズ・テイルズ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1993年3月 on the drop-down menu
  65. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Ten Summoner's Tales in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  66. ^ Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1991–1995. Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  67. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Ten Summoner's Tales')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  68. ^ "British album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  69. ^ "American album certifications – Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales". Recording Industry Association of America.
  70. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. 23 April 1994. p. 31. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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  • Stingoop.com Ten Summoner's Tales Release Details
  • Sting.com Ten Summoner's Tales Release Details on Sting's official website
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