Ten Summoner’s Tales

Sophisti-pop indeed, but not annoying in its sophistication and intelligence. Sting has always written nuanced, educated lyrics, and he continues to do so here. This album is perfectly named, actually, since he's telling stories like a minstrel character in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The anachronistic Sting would've fit right in with those pilgrims, telling them stories about seven brothers killing one another over a single woman, about the farmer who in his desperation practices and ultimately fails at witchcraft to make the rains come, about a man who betrays his best friend by stealing his woman, only to find a warm welcome in Hell, and about a doomed sea voyage foretold by a boy.