Sting and Shaggy
44/876
A&M
How exactly did this happen? The year is 2018 and one of showbiz's most unlikely duets since Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe sees Northumberland songsmith Sting teaming up with It Wasn't Me hitmaker Shaggy.
The result is 44/876, the album title referencing the dialling codes of the protagonists' respective nations, rather than the number of record company executives who were required to sign off this most peculiar of projects.
The 12 tracks by the duo – who are also performed for the Queen's 92nd birthday – drip with serotonin, even when Sting's occasional bash at Caribbean patois has the effect of slathering a Chippendale cabinet with matt emulsion. But overall, it is a largely joyous and head-noddingly catchy collection. Sometimes it's best not to ask how or why.
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