The Best of 25 Years distills Sting’s extensive 25 Years collection into 12 quick doses of everything he does so well. It includes the 2011 remixes of “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” “We’ll Be Together,” and “Never Coming Home,” as well as three live cuts from New York’s Irving Plaza. The live cuts, in their 2011 remixed forms, are bright, alluring, and diverse. The Police’s “Message in a Bottle” is crisp pop, with tough guitars giving the song its necessary brawn. “Demolition Man”—which Sting wrote for Grace Jones and recorded on his own for the Sylvester Stallone/Wesley Snipes film of the same name—is dense hard rock. “Heavy Cloud No Rain” gives up an easy funk. “Whenever I Say Your Name,” featuring Mary J. Blige, won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The megahits “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You” and “Fields of Gold” from Ten Summoner’s Tales and “Desert Rose” from Brand New Day round out this solo-career summary.