The Very Best of Sting & The Police

The Very Best of... Sting & The Police
Greatest hits album by Sting and The Police
Released	November 1997
Genre	New wave, rock
Length	63:03
Label	A&M
Producer	Hugh Padgham, Sean "Puffy" Combs
Sting chronology
Mercury Falling (1996) The Very Best of... Sting & The Police (1997) Brand New Day (1999)
The Police chronology
Live! (1995) The Very Best of... Sting & The Police (1997) The Police (2007)
Re-release
The Very Best of.... Sting & The Police (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

The Very Best of... Sting & The Police is a compilation album issued by Sting, and released by A&M Records.^[3] The album originally featured one new track, a remix of the 1978 song "Roxanne" by rap artist Sean "Puffy" Combs. The album was reissued in 1998 by PolyGram International^[4] with "Russians" removed and 3 additional tracks, "Seven Days", "Fragile", and "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", being added.

In 2002 it was again re-released by Universal^[5] with several track changes: the songs "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot", "Russians", and "Roxanne '97 (Puff Daddy Remix)" are omitted, with the songs "Brand New Day", "Desert Rose", and "So Lonely" in their place.

Track listing

A&M (1997)

1. "Message in a Bottle" – 4:49 from Reggatta de Blanc
2. "Can't Stand Losing You" – 2:58 from Outlandos d'Amour
3. "Englishman in New York" – 4:25 from ...Nothing Like the Sun
4. "Every Breath You Take" – 4:13 from Synchronicity
5. "Walking on the Moon" – 4:59 from Reggatta de Blanc
6. "Fields of Gold" – 3:40 from Ten Summoner's Tales
7. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:20 from Ghost in the Machine
8. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" – 4:14 from The Dream of the Blue Turtles
9. "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot (Edit)" – 4:29 from Mercury Falling
10. "Russians" – 3:57 from The Dream of the Blue Turtles
11. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:29 from Ten Summoner's Tales
12. "When We Dance (Edit)" – 4:17 from Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994
13. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03 Zenyatta Mondatta
14. "Roxanne" – 3:12 from Outlandos d'Amour
15. "Roxanne '97" (Puff Daddy Remix) – 4:33 Previously unreleased

PolyGram International (1998)

1. "Message in a Bottle" – 4:49 from Regatta de Blanc
2. "Can't Stand Losing You" – 2:58 from Outlandos d'Amour
3. "Englishman in New York" – 4:25 from ...Nothing Like the Sun
4. "Every Breath You Take" – 4:13 from Synchronicity
5. "Seven Days" – 4:39 from Ten Summoner's Tales
6. "Walking on the Moon" – 4:59 from Regatta de Blanc
7. "Fields of Gold" – 3:40 from Ten Summoner's Tales
8. "Fragile" – 3:54 from ...Nothing Like the Sun
9. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:20 from Ghost in the Machine
10. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" – 4:09 from Zenyatta Mondatta
11. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" – 4:14 from The Dream of the Blue Turtles
12. "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot (Edit)" from Mercury Falling
13. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:29 from Ten Summoner's Tales
14. "When We Dance (Edit)" – 4:17 from Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994
15. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03 from Zenyetta Mondetta
16. "Roxanne" – 3:12 from Outlandos d'Armour
17. "Roxanne '97" (Puff Daddy Remix) – 4:33 Previously unreleased

Japanese Version Bonus Single

1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (Japanese Version)"

Universal (2002)

1. "Message in a Bottle" – 4:50
2. "Can't Stand Losing You" – 3:00
3. "Englishman in New York" – 4:28
4. "Every Breath You Take" – 4:12
5. "Seven Days" – 4:39
6. "Walking on the Moon" – 5:03
7. "Fields of Gold" – 3:40
8. "Fragile" – 3:54
9. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:21
10. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" – 4:08
11. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" – 4:15
12. "Brand New Day" – 6:22
13. "Desert Rose" Feat Cheb Mami – 4:47
14. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:30
15. "When We Dance (Edit)" – 4:18
16. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:00
17. "Roxanne" – 3:10
18. "So Lonely" – 4:47

Personnel

• Sting – main performer
• The Police – track performers
• Roxanne '97 [Puff Daddy Remix]:
  • Pras – rap vocals
  • Full Force – background vocals

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6]	22
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[7]	17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8]	8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9]	8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10]	18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11]	5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12]	26

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13]	4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]	14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	17

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16]	4
Irish Albums (IRMA)[17]	4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18]	4
UK Albums (OCC)[19]	1
US Billboard 200[20]	46

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[21]	60

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[22]	Gold	35,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[23]	Gold	25,000^*
France (SNEP)[24]	2× Gold	200,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[25]	Gold	250,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[26]	Gold	7,500^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[27]	Gold	25,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[29]	Gold	500,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. The Very Best of Sting & The Police at AllMusic
2. Berger, Arion (22 October 2002). "The Very Best of Sting & The Police (2002)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
3. 1997/A&M version on AllMusic
4. 1998/PolyGram International version on AllMusic
5. 2002/Universal version on AllMusic
6. "Australiancharts.com – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
8. "Ultratop.be – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
9. "Sting & the Police: The Very Best Of" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
10. "Officialcharts.de – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
11. "Charts.org.nz – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
12. "Swedishcharts.com – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
14. "Ultratop.be – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
16. "Top 40 Albums - 38 / 2002". Tracklisten. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
17. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 9, 2002". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
18. "Italiancharts.com – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
19. March 2002 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
20. "Sting – Awards: AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
21. "Spanishcharts.com – Sting & the Police – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
22. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
23. "Austrian album certifications – Sting & The Police – Very Best Of" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Sting & The Police in the field Interpret. Enter Very Best Of in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
24. "French compilation certifications – Sting & The Police – The Very Best of Sting & The Police" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
25. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sting & The Police; 'The Very Best of Sting & The Police')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
26. "New Zealand album certifications – Sting & The Police – The Very Best of Sting & The Police". Recorded Music NZ.
27. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Sting & Police; 'Very Best of')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
28. "British album certifications – Sting & The Police – The Very Best of Sting and The Police". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Very Best of Sting and The Police in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
29. "American album certifications – Sting and The Police – The Very Best of Sting and The Police". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH