Sting Announces New Solo Career-Spanning ’25 Years’ Box Set

Sting will summarize his post-Police solo work with a new box set called ’25 Years,’ to be released on Sept. 27.

Technically arriving twenty-six years after his initial solo release ‘The Dream Of The Blue Turtles,’ the new retrospective set has three CDs of material spanning from ‘Turtles’ to last year’s ‘Live In Berlin.’ A bonus DVD features 10 tracks recorded live in New York City in 2005 on the ‘Broken Music’ tour of smaller venues, prior to Sting's much-publicized Police reunion tour.

’25 Years’ unfortunately falls short on any real rarities – offering only the unreleased live tracks on the DVD and nine newly remixed tracks. There are a number of Sting B-sides, live tracks and other assorted tracks that have been released through the years; for the most part, they’re sadly absent from this track listing.

The new box set was curated by Sting himself, and he writes the introduction for the set, which comes housed in a “comprehensive” book with rare photos and complete lyrics.

More than 25 years after his solo career began, it’s hard to argue with the intended spirit of the box, which the press release terms as “a compelling tribute to the restless spirit of an artist who continues to evolve and explore new musical territory."

When considering Sting’s recent solo output, the exploratory nature of the material proves that his creativity remains actively engaged.