''Mercury Falling'' is the fifth studio album by Sting, released in 1996. The album begins and ends with the words " mercury falling." In 1997, the album earned Sting two Grammy nominations for

Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...

and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot".

Songs

The track "Twenty Five to Midnight" was excluded from the American and Canadian releases. It was included in the CD-Maxi Single of "You Still Touch Me", as the 4th track. "Valparaiso" was used during the closing credits of the 1996 film ''

White Squall A white squall is a sudden and violent windstorm at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall. It manifests as a sudden increase in wind velocity in tropical and sub-tropical waters, and may be a mic ...

''.

Track listing

All songs written by Sting except where noted.

B-sides

#"Lullaby to an Anxious Child" #"Giacomo's Blues" #"Beneath a Desert Moon" #"Moonlight" #"This Was Never Meant to Be" #"The Pirate's Bride" #"The Bed's Too Big without You"

Personnel

* Sting – vocals, bass, arrangements *

Kenny Kirkland Kenneth David Kirkland (September 28, 1955 – November 12, 1998) was an American pianist and keyboardist. Biography Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, Kirkland was six when he first sat down at a piano keyboard. After years ...

– keyboards * Gerry Richardson – Hammond organ (3) *

Dominic Miller Dominic James Miller (born 21 March 1960) is an Argentine-born guitarist. With much of his career as a sideman and guitarist for singer Sting, he has also released several solo albums. Career Miller was born in Hurlingham, Argentina to an Iris ...

– guitars, arrangements (8) * B. J. Cole – pedal steel guitar (6, 11) *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

– drums * Andrew Love – saxophones (2, 3, 5, 7, 8) * Branford Marsalis –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

(3), soprano saxophone (4) * Wayne Jackson – trumpet (2, 3, 5, 7, 8) *

Kathryn Tickell Kathryn Tickell, OBE, DL (born 8 June 1967) is an English musician, noted for playing the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle. Music career Early life Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall, then in Staffordshire, to parents who originated fro ...

– fiddle (4),

Northumbrian pipes The Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown bagpipes from North East England, where they have been an important factor in the local musical culture for more than 250 years. The family of the Duke of Nor ...

(9) *

Lance Ellington Lance Ellington (born 22 June 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. Ellington, the only son of the band leader Ray Ellington, specialises in swing and big ballads. He has worked with many artists including Sting, George Michael, Glo ...

– additional vocals (3, 4) * Shirley Lewis – additional vocals (3, 4) * Monica Reed Price – additional vocals (3, 4) * Tony Walters – additional vocals (3, 4) * East London Gospel Choir – choir (3, 4) * Graeme Perkins – vocal session coordinator (3, 4)

Production

* Sting – producer *

Hugh Padgham Hugh Charles Padgham (born 15 February 1955) is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 199 ...

– producer, engineer, mixing * Simon Osborne – engineer * Bob Ludwig – mastering * Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine) – mastering location * Danny Quatrochi – personal technical assistant * Jeri Heiden – art direction, design * William Claxton – photography * Fabrizio Ferri – photography *

Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producin ...

– management * Kim Turner – management

Accolades

Grammy Awards

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1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, , ''Mercury Falling'' , ,

, , , - , "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" , , Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, , , -

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

Stingoop.com
Mercury Falling Release Details {{Authority control Sting (musician) albums 1996 albums Albums produced by Hugh Padgham A&M Records albums Country albums by English artists