Great Songs from My Favorite Year in Music: 1985, Part 55

Sting - "Fortress Around Your Heart"



(Single Release: October 1985)
I've had inner conflict about Sting for years. Having been a fan of the Police, I was on board immediately in 1985 for Sting's solo debut, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. With its jazz-centric sound, complete with a band fronted by Branford Marsalis, it was yet another bridge between my dad's fusion jazz leanings and the kids' popular fare. For that reason, I have fond memories of the album. Plus, I actually liked the music. I bought Sting albums up until 1993's Ten Summoner's Tales, but after that, the devils on my shoulder have outshouted my better angels, inciting my anti-Sting sentiments. Hearing this song again, some 25+ years later, I was reminded again of what I liked about it. But, the accompanying video reminded of the larger-than-life persona of the performer, and what has turned me off to the concept of Sting in recent years. This video is ludicrous, especially for a well-written song about divorce. For some reason, an unseen woman sends out a suited envoy to approach Sting and his Hobbit-like assistant in an abandoned warehouse / factory. They are there to supposedly buy a song from this renegade, ronin songwriter, but Sting asserts, "One song...and I'll choose it." HA-RUMPH! I've heard that this filmic representation of Sting's egotism is not too far from the mark, including an apocryphal story in which Sting goes to a restaurant and stops the maitre'd from seating him until all of the patrons turned in his direction to recognize him. Ozzy Osbourne famously said on his MTV show, after reciting a litany of horrible things he's done and experienced, "It could have been worse. I could have been Sting." However, despite my recent dislike of what Sting has become, I still like a lot of those early tracks. "Fortress Around Your Heart" is probably my favorite single from the debut album and thus certainly merits a spot on this list.