The grief came first. Sting’s previous record, The Soul Cages, had followed the deaths of both his parents, and by 1992 he wanted to make something lighter, songs that would, in his words, amuse his band and family. He recorded it that summer and autumn at Lake House, his own home in Wiltshire, with Hugh Padgham producing, and released it on A&M on 1 March 1993 under a title only he could have made. His real surname is Sumner. The Summoner is a teller in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Ten Summoner’s Tales hides Ten Sumner’s Tales: the most personal thing on the cover is the name. The lightness paid off. It reached No. 2 in both Britain and the United States, went multi-platinum, drew six Grammy nominations including Album of the Year, and won three. Underneath the warmth, the playing stays serious: odd time signatures, jazz harmony, a band that could swing through any of it. The tenth track is where the mood turns watchful. A man lays out a deck of cards and tells you exactly what he is doing, and why none of it is about luck. Start there.