Blerd’s Notes: A Guide to the Music of George Michael (Part Two)
by MJ on Mar 22, 2011 • 12:10 pm 6 CommentsYou can check out Part One here.
When Wham! dissolved in 1986, there rally wasn’t any doubt that George Michael was going to become a megastar on his own. After all, the general perception was that he was Wham!, anyway. With that said-I don’t know how many folks would have figured that George would (however briefly) find himself on the same level as American icons like Michael, Madonna and Prince, which is to say that he was not just an Alpha Dog, but he was, for a time, the most Alpha of the Alpha Dogs. I’m also pretty sure that the folks that did peg George for iconic status had no inkling that George would taste that level of success, and then more or less voluntarily piss it away-not a criticism, mind you. Just an observation. Regardless of the level of success, however: the fact is that the years 1987-1996 constituted George’s peak, and during that period, he wrote, produced and composed some of the best material in pop music history.
Faith (1987)– This is probably one of the first 10 items you would put in an Eighties time capsule. What impresses the most is that George wrote, produced and played most of the instruments on this album-and he was only 23 when it was released. Can you picture someone like Justin Timberlake (his most direct decedent) recording a song like “Father Figure” or “One More Try” at 23? Hell, can you picture him recording songs with such depth at 30? Not to say Faith is perfect-“Look at Your Hands” is a rare swing and a miss for George, and although the album version of “Monkey” is OK, the Jam/Lewis remix turned it into a much better song from a production standpoint. Still, the “Faith”/”Father Figure”/”I Want Your Sex”/”One More Try”/”Hard Day” sequence is one of the best starts to a pop album ever, and you have to give props to an album that resonated globally the way Faith did. With the exception of the aforementioned “Hands”, I remember hearing every single track from this album on the radio at least once, something you’d be hard-pressed to find today. Although someone should find out why George is sniffing his armpit on the album cover. Grade: A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu3VTngm1F0
“Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1” (1990)– I’ll be the first to admit that George’s marketing plan for this album was a bit, uh…different. No interviews, no videos with him in them, but I understand why he did what he did. It was a deliberate move to stop being a pop star and start being a musician, it was a deliberate move on George’s part to reclaim his life, and it was also the first tentative step in the coming-out process for George (you’ll note that there are no gender specific pronouns used over the course of the entire album.) Realizing all of this in retrospect, I can say that while there was never a point where I didn’t like LWP, I love and appreciate it so much more now. “Freedom ’90” slams the coffin shut on George’s pop idol days, “Praying for Time” and “Heal the Pain” indulge George’s Beatle fetish, “Mother’s Pride” is a spectacularly moving portrait of wartime, and “Soul Free” ends an extraordinarily heavy album on a lighter note, proving that George hadn’t become completely serious and morose. The Stevie Wonder cover “They Won’t Go When I Go” has grown on me over the years, and “Cowboys & Angels”, despite it’s 7 minute running time, is one of George’s most exquisite love songs. In an ideal world, LWP would have sold as much as Faith did. It may not be as pop-friendly, but it’s certainly as good. Grade: A
“Five Live” (George Michael & Queen feat. Lisa Stansfield) (1993)-This EP comes (largely) from 1992’s Freddie Mercury tribute concert, an event most consider to be George Michael’s most triumphant live performance. Not only was George honoring a personal idol (and one of, if not the greatest frontman in rock and roll history), but Freddie’s AIDS-related death hit especially close to home for George, as as his lover, Anselmo, was suffering from the same disease (and passed away a year later). George threw himself into an amazing version of “Somebody to Love”, blended beautifully with fellow Brit soulster Lisa Stansfield on the melancholy “These Are the Days of Our Lives”, and delivered a haunting version of Jevetta Steele’s “Calling You” as well. The album ends-as it should have-with Freddie’s majestic voice crooning “Dear Friends”. Nothing Earth-shaking here, but a solid tribute nonetheless. Grade: B
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9f2uc8WUq4
“Older” (1996)- Some people were stunned when they read that George had been arrested for soliciting a male undercover cop. I wonder if those people had actually listened to Older, seeing as George’s first studio album in six years is one of the most eloquent (and elegant) self-outings I can think of. Perhaps it’s because I’m a gay man myself, but I don’t see how anyone with a speck of common sense could’ve listened to the lyrics of songs like “Fastlove” and “Spinning the Wheel” and not figured out that George was gay. Elsewhere, “Jesus to a Child” and “You Have Been Loved” find George in a state of mourning, and although the songs pack an emotional heft (actually, I’d say because of the songs’ emotional heft), I find them difficult to listen to. “It Doesn’t Really Matter” continues George’s tradition of having one absolutely putrid song on each of his albums, but otherwise, Older is a passionately performed slice of mature pop, one that made you wish George didn’t wait so long to release albums-legal and personal issues aside. Grade: B
6 comments
Jason says:
Mar 22, 2011
When Faith came out, all my friends would insist that George Michael was gay. I didn’t see it — his persona in 1987-88 was extremely heterosexual. But the first time I heard Outside, it was undeniable.
Agreed about “Look at Your Hands.” That song sounds like it would have fit in fine on Music From the Edge of Heaven Nothing remarkable about it.
Here’s what I never understood about the “All instruments played by George Michael” credit on Faith: how the hell is that possible? Have you ever seen George Michael play an instrument? A guitar (for real)? Bass? Drums? Keyboards? Why is the entire band in “Kissing a Fool” uncredited?
blerd says:
Mar 22, 2011
I wouldn’t say *all* of my friends would insist that George Michael was gay, and I don’t even think they really saw any obvious signs. I think it was jealousy the same way people used to say Michael Jackson was gay in the mid-Eighties, or they said Jordan Knight was gay when I was in high school, or I imagine they say Justin Bieber is gay these days.
I came out roughly around the time “Older” was released, and there are references and certain lyrics in certain songs that make it obvious George is singing about a guy. “Fastlove” is about cruising for anonymous sex. It’s obviously not an exclusive province of homosexual men, but…yeah, there was something imperceptible to most that made it fairly obvious to me (and most other gay men, I think).
I’ve never seen George Michael actually play an instrument, but I’ve no doubt he did on much of the “Faith” album. Partially because 70% of the album was synthesized, but also…I don’t know, just because. I find it interesting that he’s credited as playing bass on “Kissing a Fool” when he had a world class bass player. That can’t be a made-up credit if Deon Estus is playing bass on every other song on the album. I believe George played bass on “Cowboys & Angels”, too.
Andrew says:
Mar 26, 2011
I’d bump LWP to an A+ just for the fact that he sang the living daylights out of the Stevie Wonder cover – one of my most favorite GMs ever. Cowboys and Angels is exquisite in its execution – very few artists have managed to pull off that kind of sizzling pop/jazz fusion (Sade’s catalog and Sting’s first two albums come to mind). And Mother’s Pride? Now THAT is a song…
Great list
blerd says:
Mar 26, 2011
I would probably bump “LWP” away from an A+ almost strictly on account of “Something to Save”, a song it took me fifteen years to like.
Diva Incarnate says:
Mar 30, 2011
No mention of Waiting For That Day? It’s so melancholic but because his singing is so gorgeous and sincere the song makes you feel better by the time it has finished. It’s also the only song, apart from Freedom ’90 and Fast Love, that I truly love. I have yet to hear any of his albums, but you’ve convinced me to try them out. Because I haven’t enjoyed a George Michael single since As, I’ll go for Prejudice first I think. Very eloquent piece!
blerd says:
Mar 30, 2011
I love “Waiting for That Day”…just didn’t cross my mind when I was thinking of songs to mention when discussing LWP.
By all means, I would suggest checking out Listen Without Prejudice and Older. Particularly with context, very emotionally rich albums.