Inspired by Albumism, I’m doing my own version of Flying Solo with individual tracks. Band breakups and hiatuses are never fun, but these solo jams were defining moments in my life’s soundtrack.

By the release of Ten Summoner’s Tales, Sting had veered from his rock roots with The Police and toward a softer, quieter musical expression. But if songs like “Shape of My Heart” prove anything, it’s that, no matter how slow or quiet the music gets, Sting keeps exploring other genres to inform his own approach.

While The Police found inspiration from reggae and punk, “Shape of My Heart” dabbled in flamenco. It’s a beautiful, classical guitar-driven track with some of the artist’s finest lyrics ever written. Sting used the metaphor of a card player to describe life and love, which gave Leon: The Professional more gravitas as the song unraveled over the end credits.

“I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier. I know that the clubs are weapons of war. I know that diamonds mean money for this art. But that's not the shape of my heart.”