Reissued and remastered, along with the rest of Sting's back catalogue, this greatest hits collection was originally released in 1994.
At that point in time Sting was on the crest of a commercial wave of popularity - 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You' and 'Fields Of Gold' from the previous year's 'Ten Summoner's Tales' album and the collaboration with Bryan Adams on Rod Stewart, 'All For Love' (thankfully absent here), were all big worldwide hits.
Not only that but the new track from this collection, 'When We Dance', became the biggest hit of his solo career to date. It also kicks off this randomly-assembled selection, which predictably enough concentrates on the heavy sellers.
'Fields Of Gold' is still Mr Sumner's greatest solo moment, a glorious ode to lost love. The jazzy 'Englishman In New York' is also a fine four-and-a-half minutes, as Sting depicts the life of the marvellously eccentric Quentin Crisp in a series of seemingly mundane cultural differences.
Clever chap that he is, there's a wealth of hidden meaning buried within lines like "You drink coffee/I'll take tea my dear".
Like many of his contemporaries, Sting has produced some bland moments - stand up 'It's Probably Me' and 'This Cowboy Song'.
However, generally the fare is pretty good with the strident 'If You Love Someone Set Them Free' saving the album from being solely about the ballads. Talking of which, why no 'Shape Of My Heart'?
Overall, though, a solid introduction to the Geordie songsmith.
