The Last Ship (album)

Last updated

The Last Ship
The Last Ship album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Sting
Released20 September 2013
Genre Rock, jazz, folk, blues, Celtic, sea shanty
Length45:24
Label A&M, Cherrytree
Producer Sting, Rob Mathes
Sting chronology
Live in Berlin
(2010)		The Last Ship
(2013)		 57th & 9th
(2016)
Singles from The Last Ship
  1. "Practical Arrangement"
    Released: 15 July 2013
  2. "And Yet"
    Released: 13 August 2013 [1] [2]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 66/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Consequence of Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Daily Express 2/5 [6]
The Daily Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
New York Daily News Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]

The Last Ship is the eleventh studio album by English musician Sting, released on 20 September 2013 in Germany [12] [13] and on 24 September 2013 in the UK and US. It contains songs written for and inspired by the musical The Last Ship , which was then in production and would premiere in June 2014. The Last Ship is the first full-length LP of original material released by Sting since his 2003 album Sacred Love . [14]

Contents

The album, like the musical, takes inspiration from the closing of the shipyards in and around the historic shipbuilding town of Wallsend, where Sting grew up. The album features guest artists with roots in the northeast of England, including Brian Johnson from AC/DC, Jimmy Nail, The Unthanks, The Wilson Family, and Kathryn Tickell. [15]

Background

The album is inspired by the musical of the same name, which premiered in June 2014, and whose songs were written by Sting. The play explores the themes of homecoming and self-discovery, drawing upon Sting's memories of growing up in the shipbuilding town of Wallsend, along with his reflections on the complexity of relationships, the passage of time and the importance of family and community. [16]

Of the album's twelve songs and the musical's roughly twenty songs, only six are common to both (although the deluxe version of the album includes another three, and the "super deluxe" version includes another four). In some cases, the differences are due to changes to the musical after all the album had already been recorded, [17] such as the song "What Say You Meg?" being written to replace "Practical Arrangement". [18]

Commercial performance

The Last Ship debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, [19] and No. 6 on the Top Rock Albums, [20] selling 20,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 90,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016. [21]

Formats

The album is available as both a digital and physical release in two configurations: a standard 12-song version (also available on vinyl) and a 2-disc deluxe version with 5 additional tracks. Moreover, a 2-disc super deluxe edition with 20 tracks and special packaging is available.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sting, except where noted

Standard and vinyl edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Last Ship"Sting3:51
2."Dead Man's Boots" 3:30
3."And Yet" 3:53
4."August Winds" 3:18
5."Language of Birds"Sting, Rob Mathes 3:30
6."Practical Arrangement"Sting, Mathes3:20
7."The Night the Pugilist Learned How to Dance" 4:13
8."Ballad of the Great Eastern"Sting, Mathes, Dominic Miller, Kathryn Tickell, Jo Lawry, Peter Tickell, Ira Coleman 5:15
9."What Have We Got?" (featuring Jimmy Nail)Sting, Jimmy Nail, K. Tickell, P. Tickell, Julian Sutton, Lawry3:35
10."I Love Her But She Loves Someone Else"Sting, Mathes3:42
11."So to Speak" (featuring Becky Unthank) 4:07
12."The Last Ship (Reprise)" 3:20
Deluxe version bonus disc [22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Shipyard" (featuring Jimmy Nail, Brian Johnson and Jo Lawry)Sting, Mathes, K. Tickell, P. Tickell, Sutton, Lawry6:01
2."It's Not the Same Moon"Sting, Mathes2:55
3."Hadaway"Sting, Lawry, K. Tickell, P. Tickell, Sutton3:18
4."Sky Hooks and Tartan Paint" (featuring Brian Johnson)Sting, Lawry, K. Tickell, P. Tickell, Sutton3:34
5."Show Some Respect" 4:48
Super deluxe package bonus disc [22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Shipyard" (featuring Jimmy Nail, Brian Johnson and Jo Lawry)Sting, Mathes, K. Tickell, P. Tickell, Sutton, Lawry6:01
2."It's Not the Same Moon"Sting, Mathes2:54
3."Hadaway"Sting, Lawry, K. Tickell, P. Tickell, Sutton3:18
4."Jock the Singing Welder" 2:49
5."Sky Hooks and Tartan Paint" (featuring Brian Johnson)Sting, Lawry, K. Tickell, P. Tickell, Sutton3:36
6."Peggy's Song" (featuring Rachel Unthank) 2:39
7."Show Some Respect" 4:52
8."Practical Arrangement" (Full original duet, featuring Jo Lawry)Sting, Mathes4:35

Personnel

Technical

Charts and certifications

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References

  1. ↑ "Stings neue Single 'And Yet' liefert Vorgeschmack auf 'The Last Ship'" (in German). Universal Music Group. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "The lyric video for Sting's latest single, "And Yet," from his new album The Last Ship is available now - check it out!". sting.com. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Last Ship Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic . Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Last Ship - AllMusic review". AllMusic . Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Hardy, Tony (26 September 2013). "Album Review: Sting – The Last Ship". Consequence of Sound . Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Townsend, Martin (22 September 2013). "CD review: Sting – The Last Ship". The Daily Express . Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Brown, Helen (20 September 2013). "Sting, The Last Ship, review". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (19 September 2013). "Sting: The Last Ship - review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Farber, Jim (24 September 2013). "'The Last Ship,' music review". New York Daily News . Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. ↑ Catchpole, Kevin (10 October 2013). "Sting: The Last Ship". PopMatters . Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  11. ↑ Decurtis, Anthony (24 September 2013). "The Last Ship". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "'The Last Ship (Deluxe)' von Sting". iTunes Store. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "Sting – We are excited to share the news that a brand new album of..." facebook.com/sting. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Sting to Release a New Album in September". The New York Times . 4 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Sting to release first new original album in 10 years, 'The Last Ship'". Daily News . New York. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "STING'S THE LAST SHIP – New Album From the 16-Time Grammy® Award Winner". Sting.com. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Sting's musical "The Last Ship" headed for Broadway this fall". CBS News. 12 February 2014.
  18. ↑ "The Last Ship (Benefit Shows)". Sting.com. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard. 12 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "Top Rock Albums". Billboard. 12 October 2013.
  21. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 28 September 2016.
  22. 1 2 "The Last Ship – Album Tracklistings!". Sting.com. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
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  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sting – The Last Ship" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  27. ↑ "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
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  30. ↑ "Sting: The Last Ship" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
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  32. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Sting – The Last Ship". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
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  34. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 39, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
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  36. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sting – The Last Ship". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
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  39. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
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  47. ↑ "Rapports Annuels 2013". Ultratop. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
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