Sting reinvents biggest hits in show at Chastain

Published June 29, 2010 at 2:02 p.m.

By JAMILA ROBINSON

It’s probably safe to put Sting in the incomparable category. With such a distinctive tenor that manages power, angst and even a bit of audacity, after all these years, he’s always reliable.

So, it speaks to the singer’s remarkable imagination, to reinvent some of his biggest hits, including “Roxanne” and “Englishman in New York,” into breathtaking classical arrangements performed alongside London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, an outfit he “borrowed from the Queen.”

At Monday night’s performance at Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Sting thanked her Highness, for the orchestra conducted by Stephen Mercurio. Fans echoed the sentiment as they were taken through a dazzling set list that had familiarity, (“King of Pain” and “Every Breath You Take.”) and underscored the depth of Sting’s songwriting talent in pop, jazz and country (“1,000 Years, “Hung My Head”).

As Sting himself noted onstage, working with an orchestra has helped …

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