Sacred Love is the seventh studio album by Sting. The album was released on 30 September 2003. The album featured smoother, R&B-style beats and experiments collaborating with hip-hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 artist Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...

 and sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

 player Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka Shankar is a British Indian sitar player and composer who lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar...

. Some songs like "Inside" and "Dead Man's Rope" were well received; and Sting had experimented with new sounds, in particular the more rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

-influenced "This War".

Sting adapted the first quatrain of William Blake

William Blake

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...

's Auguries of Innocence

Auguries of Innocence

Auguries of Innocence is a poem from one of William Blake's notebooks now known as The Pickering Manuscript. It is assumed to have been written in 1803, but was not published until 1863 in the companion volume to Alexander Gilchrist's biography of William Blake. The poem contains a series of...

for the first four sung lines of "Send Your Love".

Sting's collaboration with Blige, "Whenever I Say Your Name", won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals

Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals

The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was 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 pop songs on which singers collaborate...

 at the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004.

Track listing

All songs written by Sting.

1. "Inside" – 4:46
2. "Send Your Love" (featuring Vicente Amigo
   Vicente Amigo
   Vicente Amigo Girol is a Spanish flamenco composer and virtuoso guitarist, born in Guadalcanal, near Seville. He has played as backing guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers El Pele, Camarón de la Isla, Vicente Soto, Luis de Córdoba and the rociero band Salmarina, and he has acted as a...
   
   ) – 4:38
3. "Whenever I Say Your Name
   Whenever I Say Your Name
   "Whenever I Say Your Name" is a 2003 duet between British singer-songwriter Sting and American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. The song is the second single from Sting's studio album Sacred Love. It was not originally included on Mary J...
   
   " (featuring Mary J. Blige
   Mary J. Blige
   Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
   
   ) – 5:25
4. "Dead Man's Rope" – 5:43
5. "Never Coming Home" – 4:58
6. "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)" – 3:56
7. "Forget About the Future" – 5:12
8. "This War" – 5:29
9. "The Book of My Life" (featuring Anoushka Shankar
   Anoushka Shankar
   Anoushka Shankar is a British Indian sitar player and composer who lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar...
   
   ) – 6:15
10. "Sacred Love" – 5:43

Bonus tracks

There have been multiple editions of this album. Some of them, such as the Japanese edition, feature various extra songs and remixes. Although the tracklist on the official Sting website includes a remix of "Send Your Love" and a live version of "Shape of My Heart", these are not always available.

Depending on the edition, the following bonus tracks may be included:

• "Send Your Love (Dave Audé
  Dave Audé
  Dave Audé is a Grammy nominated producer, house DJ, and remixer. He has done production for musicians such as KoЯn, t.A.T.u., DJ Keoki, Barenaked Ladies, Faith No More, Cause and Effect, Hilary Duff, Wanessa, Ashley Tisdale, The Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga, Lunascape, Madonna, Britney Spears, CeCe...
  
   Remix)" – 3:15
• "Shape of My Heart" (Live) – 2:18
• "Like a Beautiful Smile"
• "Moon over Bourbon Street (Cornelius Mix)"

Remix Tracks

• "Send Your Love (radio Edit)" - 3'38
• "Send your love (Calderone & Quayle radio mix)" also called "(Victor Calderone & Mac Quayle's Radio Mix)" - 4:05
• "Send your love (Calderone & Quayle radio dub mix)" also called "(Victor Calderone & Mac Quayle's Dub Mix)" - 7:34
• "Send your love (Calderone + Quayle future mix)" also called "(Victor Calderone & Mac Quayle's Future Mix)" - 9:50
• "Send your love (Dave Aude remix - vocal edit)" - 3:17
• "Send your love (Dave Aude's Extended Vocal Mix)" - 6:34
• "Send your love (Minge Binge electric mix)" - 7:34
• "Send your love (Dave Aude' Massive Dub)" - 8:12
• "Send your love (Minge Binge Sex & Music Dub)" - 6:32
• "Send your love (Josh Wink Deeper Vocal Interpretation)" - 9:01
• "Send your love (Josh Wink Minimal Interpretation)" - 8:44
• "Whenever I say your name (radio edit)" - 3:41
• "Whenever I say your name (radio edit 1)" - 4:02
• "Whenever I say your name (Will.I.Am remix featuring Black Eyed Peas)" - 4:02
• "Whenever I say your name (Salaam's Groove Mix)"
• "Whenever I say your name (Billy Mann mix)"
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (Radio Version)" - 3:40
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (remix featuring Will.I.Am from The Black Eyed Peas)" - 4:05
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (B. Recluse Remix featuring Twista)" - 3:03
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (B. Recluse mix instrumental)"
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (Dave Aude's Extended Vocal Mix)" - 7:26
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (Dave Aude's Vocal Edit)" - 4:05
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (Richard "Humpty" Vission Big Floor Funk Mix)" - 6:28
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (Dave Aude's Funk Dub Mix)" - 7:29
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (Dave Aude's Haunting Dub Mix)" - 8:40
• "Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing) (Richard "Humpty" Vission Acidic Groove Mix)" - 6:13
• "Moon over bourbon street (Cornelius mix instrumental)"

Personnel

• Sting: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
• Kipper
  Kipper (musician)
  Kipper is a Grammy winning Guitarist, keyboardist and music producer, known mostly from his cooperation with Gary Numan and Sting....
  
  : Keyboards, programming
• Dominic Miller
  Dominic Miller
  Dominic Miller is an Argentine-English guitarist who toured and recorded with World Party and King Swamp, worked on Phil Collins' solo album ...But Seriously and played guitar on every Sting album and tour since 1990...
  
  : Guitars (Courtesy of BBC Music
  BBC Music
  BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
  
  )
• Mark Egan
  Mark Egan
  Mark Egan is an American jazz bass guitarist and trumpeter, arguably best known for his membership in the Pat Metheny Group from 1977 to 1980, and the Gil Evans Orchestra...
  
  : Bass
• Jason Rebello
  Jason Rebello
  Jason Rebello is a British jazz pianist, currently part of Sting's live and studio band, who has recorded a handful of albums under his own name. His debut album, A Clearer View was produced by Wayne Shorter....
  
  : Piano, Rhodes
• Manu Katché
  Manu Katché
  Manu Katché is a French musician of Ivorian origin, born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés on 27 October 1958. He is a drummer and songwriter.-Career:Session musician...
  
  : Drums
• Vinnie Colaiuta
  Vinnie Colaiuta
  Vincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
  
  : Drums
• Keith Carlock
  Keith Carlock
  Keith Carlock is an American drummer originally from Clinton, Mississippi. He currently resides in New York City, NY. He has recorded and/or toured with musicians that include Sting, John Mayer, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Diana Ross, Faith Hill, The Blues Brothers Band,...
  
  : Drums
• Mary J. Blige
  Mary J. Blige
  Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
  
  : Lead Vocals on "Whenever I Say Your Name" (Courtesy of Geffen Records
  Geffen Records
  Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
  
  )
• Vicente Amigo
  Vicente Amigo
  Vicente Amigo Girol is a Spanish flamenco composer and virtuoso guitarist, born in Guadalcanal, near Seville. He has played as backing guitarist on recordings by flamenco singers El Pele, Camarón de la Isla, Vicente Soto, Luis de Córdoba and the rociero band Salmarina, and he has acted as a...
  
  : Flamenco Guitar on "Send Your Love" (Courtesy of BMG Music Spain)
• Anoushka Shankar
  Anoushka Shankar
  Anoushka Shankar is a British Indian sitar player and composer who lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar...
  
  : Sitar
  Sitar
  The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
  
   on "The Book of My Life" (Courtesy of Angel Records
  Angel Records
  Angel Records is a record label belonging to EMI. It was formed in 1953 and specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score...
  
  )
• Rhani Krija: Percussion
• Jeff Young
  Jeff Young
  Jeff Young is an American guitarist. He graduated from Musicians Institute in 1985, and is best known for his time with the thrash metal band Megadeth, appearing on the 1988 album So Far, So Good... So What!...
  
  : Hammond (Courtesy of Malibu Sound)
• Chris Botti
  Chris Botti
  Christopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
  
  : Trumpet (Courtesy of Columbia Records
  Columbia Records
  Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
  
  )
• Clark Gayton: Trombone
• Christian McBride
  Christian McBride
  Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
  
  : Double Bass (Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
  Warner Bros. Records
  Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
  
  )
• Dave Hartley: Piano & Choir Arrangements
• Joy Rose: Featured & Backing Vocals
• Donna Gardier: Backing Vocals
• Katreese Barnes: Backing Vocals
• Ada Dyer: Backing Vocals
• Aref Durvesh: Tabla
  Tabla
  The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
  
  
• Jacqueline Thomas: Cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
  
• Levon Minassian: Duduk
• Valerie Denys: Castanets
• Bahija Rhapl: Ethnic Vocals
• Choeur de Radio France (Associate Chorus Master Philip White): Vocals

Chart performance

Year	Chart	Position
2003	Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...	3
	UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	3
2004	Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	3
	Billboard Top Internet Albums	42