It features high-profile guest guitarists, including former Police member Andy Summers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Hiram Bullock, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Sting's early work.

"[10] The album was influenced by two events in Sting's life: first, the death in late 1986 of his mother, which contributed to the sombre tone of several songs; and second, his participation in the Conspiracy of Hope Tour on behalf of Amnesty International, which brought Sting to parts of Latin America that had been ravaged by civil wars, and introduced him to victims of government oppression.

The Brazilian CD and Vinyl[11] edition of Nothing Like the Sun also contained "Fragile" in Portuguese ("Frágil") as the tenth track (between "Rock Steady" and "Sister Moon").

Providing a stronger dance beat, as well as an extended introduction, the song was a hit in clubs and reached number 15 in the UK singles chart.

This digital-only release features the original 12 songs on the album, plus 14 bonus tracks that consist of B-sides, remixes, alternate versions, and instrumentals.

[7] In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described ...Nothing Like the Sun as "one of the most doggedly serious pop albums ever recorded" and noted the presence of only one uptempo song ("We'll Be Together"), with the remaining tracks being "too measured, calm, and deliberately subtle to be immediate".

He found that it succeeds as "a mood piece – playing equally well as background music or as intensive, serious listening", and that while slightly overlong, "it's one of his better albums.

"[15] Trouser Press critic Ira Robbins disparaged the album as "self-important" and "a tedious, bankrupt and vacuous cavern of a record.

On 24 October 1991, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over two million copies in the United States.