Sting released The Dream of the Blue Turtles

The Dream of the Blue Turtles Sting

Released: June 1, 1985 Peak: 2 US, 3 UK, 4 CN, 13 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.6 UK, 10.1 world (includes US and UK), 13.54 EAS Genre: rock with jazz elements

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free [4:14] Love Is the Seventh Wave [3:30] Russians [3:57] Children’s Crusade [5:00] Shadows in the Rain [4:56] We Work the Black Seam [5:40] Consider Me Gone [4:21] The Dream of the Blue Turtles [1:15] Moon Over Bourbon Street [3:59] Fortress Around Your Heart [4:48] Total Running Time: 41:40 The Players: Sting (vocals, guitar, keyboard, double bass) Kenny Kirkland (keyboards) Branford Marsalis (saxophone, percussion) Darryl Jones (bass guitar) Omar Hakim (drums) Dolette McDonald, Janice Pendarvis (backing vocals)

Rating: 4.221 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album While Sting’s first solo album can certainly be viewed as closing a chapter on his stint with the Police, his former group never officially disbanded. After the monstrous success of 1983’s Synchronicity, the group just didn’t reconvene. While the Police were always marked by their spin on “white reggae,” Sting sets out here to put his spin on pop-driven jazz. To that end, he “raided Wynton Marsalis’ band for his new combo – thereby instantly consigning his solo debut, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, to the critical shorthand of Sting’s jazz record.” AM This “is partially true…but that gives the impression that this is really risky music.” AM In reality, he has assembled a group of “revivalists just developing their own style, and then had them jam on mock-jazz grooves – or, in the case of Branford Marsalis, layer soprano sax lines on top of pop songs.” AM While his songs could be dismissed as little more than jazz-tinged pop, this should also be assessed as a collection that goes deeper than the average lyrical themes for commercial-ready hits. Only two songs (“Consider Me Gone,” “Fortress Around Your Heart”) deal in the conventional love song mode AM while most of the songs address weighty topics. The flirtation with jazz and the serious-minded nature of the lyrics leads some to assess Sting as pretentious. AllMusic.com’s Stephen Thoms Erlewine says, “Sting cries out for the respect of a composer, not a pop star, and it gets to be a little overwhelming when taken as a whole…He proves that he’s subtler and craftier than his peers, but only when he reins in his desire to show the class how much he’s learned.” AM While Sting may well have earned the “pretentious” label over the course of his career, it’s eye-rolling to see him attacked for trying to stretch himself as an artist. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

If You Love Somebody Set Them Free Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: 5/28/1985 as a single, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 3 BB, 2 CB, 3 RR, 1 AR, 39 AC, 17 B, 26 UK, 18 AU, 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 36.80 streaming About the Song: On If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, “one of his greatest solo singles,” AM Sting avoids the conventional love song, preferring “to consider love in the abstract.” AM

Love Is the Seventh Wave Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: 8/9/1985 as a single, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 17 BB, 20 CB, 16 RR, 19 AR, 20 AC, 41 UK, 57 AU, 9 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.20 video, 16.12 streaming

Russians Sting

Writer(s): Sting/Prokofiev Released: 11/29/1985 as a single, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 16 BB, 16 CB, 13 RR, 34 AR, 12 UK, 11 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 17.0 video, 37.62 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: In “Russians,” Sting raises the question about whether the people in a country considered the enemy have the same love for their children.

Children’s Crusade Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.38 streaming About the Song: On “Children’s Crusade,” Sting explores the tragedy of children dealing with war.

We Work the Black Seam Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: June 1986 as a single, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 25 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.97 streaming About the Song: Sting addresses the effect of coal mining in “We Work the Black Seam.”

Consider Me Gone Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 21 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.68 streaming

The Dream of the Blue Turtles Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 37 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.30 streaming About the Song: “The meandering instrumental title track)” AM barely clocks in over a minute and is the least substantial track on the album.

Moon Over Bourbon Street Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: 2/7/1986 as a single, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 44 UK, 22 CO, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 17.72 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: On “Moon Over Bourbone Street,” Sting turns in his take on Anne Rice’s book Interview with the Vampire and the notion of wandering “the streets of New Orleans as the vampire Lestat.” AM

Fortress Around Your Heart Sting

Writer(s): Sting Released: August 1985 as a single, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985) Peak: 8 BB, 7 BA, 10 CB, 6 RR, 32 AC, 12 AR, 49 UK, 72 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Not only Sting stretch himself musically by integrating elements of jazz into pop music, but he largely eschewed conventional subject matters for pop songs. “Only twice does he delve into straightforward love songs – the lovely measured Consider Me Gone and the mournful closer, Fortress Around Your Heart.” AM

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 8/14/2025.