Sting “The Dream of the Blue Turtles” released on this date, June 1st, 1985. I have mixed feeling about today’s pull: on the one hand I obviously used to like it (I bought it in ‘85) but on the other hand I find Sting to be rather earnestly pretentious (if that’s possible): on “Russians” Sting gives us a historical and current events lesson to the rhythm of a funeral dirge (actually the theme is from Sergei Prokofiev). “Children’s Crusade” is an unabashed heart-tugger, complete with mournful sax solos, as he sings of the destruction of the WWI generation by war and modern youth by heroin. Sting also explores the plight of mine workers and the perils of modernity on “We Work the Black Seam.” So much consciousness-raising! Pivoting a bit, Sting goes on a N’Orleans jazz bender with “Shadows in the Rain” and pulls inspiration on “Moon Over Bourbon Street” from Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire (which my friends and I voraciously devoured around this time in the mid-80s. Vampires=always cool). He sorta name-checks himself during the fadeout on “Love is the Seventh Wave” (“Every breath you take, every move you make, every cake you bake…”), a subtle insistence that The Police didn’t really break up? Because the best track on the album, “Fortress Around Your Heart,” is most reminiscent of The Police.

The album really is a snapshot of mid-80′s pop music: the trend of blending world music flavors and musicians into the Top 40, So. Many. Saxophones., Cold War references, etc. It resonated though with fans and the music industry. The Dream of the Blue Turtles went to #2 on the US Billboard charts, #3 in the UK and was nominated for 4 Grammy awards, including Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.