Rocker Sting felt the need to revamp some of his biggest hits for a new album because his voice has aged and improved over time like a fine wine.
The former The Police star has reimagined a string of early tunes for his upcoming project, titled My Songs, because he wanted to put a new twist on the tracks, now his vocals have more “texture”.
Discussing Every Breath You Take, his 1983 release with The Police, he said, “My voice sounds different than when I made that record. It’s got a deeper tone, it’s got more richness, more harmonics, like wine. I think it’s improved, but it’s very different.”
Unlike so many other ageing rockers, whose vocals aren’t as strong as they once were, Sting, 67, makes sure his remain in tip-top condition by constantly exercising them.
“I take my voice seriously, I look after it…,” he explained. “It’s a muscle, so if you let it atrophy, it’ll go downhill, but I’ve managed to keep it up, and I still have high Cs, but the texture of it is different.”
My Songs also features revamped versions of classics like Fields of Gold, Message In A Bottle, and Englishman In New York, as well as live renditions of Roxanne and Synchronicity II.
“We weren’t treating the original recordings as holy relics or museum pieces…, we were just having fun with the songs,” he told The Associated Press.
Also included on the album is his 1993 single Shape of My Heart, which has been sampled by a host of younger artists, such as rapper Nas and R&B singer Monica.
“I’m always intrigued by that,” Sting shared of having his songs covered by other musicians. “I’m always pleased by what I hear because they hear something in that lovely, descending bass line that makes for reflection. That pleases me. And there have been some fabulous versions.”
The Brit was particularly happy to hear hip-hop star Juice WRLD’s mega hit Lucid Dreams, which features a sample of Shape of My Heart.
“I was very impressed by what he put on top of (my version),” he gushed. “It’s a really good song.”
Sting’s My Songs is set for release on 24 May.