Faith - George Michael

...Songs

1. Faith

The opening song of the album is the title track, which starts with an organ slowly being faded in. Giving the impression of a church choir rather than a ground-breaking pop album, it soon shifts to the classic guitar that is now so well known from the song and image of Faith. An upbeat song with lyrics that belie it’s beat, about needing to trust a partner in a relationship.

2. Father ...
...an understatement. From the Faith image of unshaven, moody, jeans-wearing, leather clad dude to the soft ballads and upbeat music of the album, and the sell-out Worldwide tour that followed, it’s clear that the album was a total success.

For me, as a nine year old at the time, the whole Faith era passed me by, and I didn’t buy this album until my early teens, by which time George Michael was starting his court proceedings against Sony. ... more

In 1987 George Michael faced the biggest test of his life. Having been the creative and musical force behind the biggest pop act of the 80’s in Wham!, he was now working on his first solo album. Expectations were high, and the pop world waited with baited breath to see if George could be the first star to emerge from a British pop group and dominate both the English AND American charts.

George’s answer to all the hype and expectation was Faith. A short album by a lot of standards, with only ten songs, it went on to sell a staggering 15 million copies worldwide, cementing George Michael’s reputation as one of THE biggest stars of the late 80’s.

* Album Cover

Referred to by the photographer who shot the cover snaps as the “sniffing the armpit” shot, the album is recognisable by just that – George Michael, complete with designer stubble and earring seemingly pulling the right hand side of his jacket up and sniffing his armpit. In the lower left hand corner of the album is the title and artist name, beneath which five symbols appear. These stand for Faith, Music, Money, Religion, Love.

* Songs

1. Faith

The opening song of the album is the title track, which starts with an organ slowly being faded in. Giving the impression of a church choir rather than a ground-breaking pop album, it soon shifts to the classic guitar that is now so well known from the song and image of Faith. An upbeat song with lyrics that belie it’s beat, about needing to trust a partner in a relationship.

2. Father Figure

The first deep and soulful song of the album, with lyrics that could be read as poetry. An excellent song, and easy to see why it was chosen as a single release. As fresh today as it was over 15 years ago.

3. I Want Your Sex Pts 1 & 2

The first single release in the UK, which caused a bit of a backlash due to the mention of the word sex. At a time when HIV was sweeping the globe and so very little was known about the disease, it’s easy to see why this song was seen to be promoting promiscuity:

I know we can come together
But the question is Will we ever?

Not the best song on the album, though easily one of the longest, but with some great lyrics, and a very upbeat song.

4. One More Try

One of THE best songs of his career in my opinion. With a gospel feel to it, some spine-chilling lyrics, and a soulful vibe to the song, it stands out as one of the better tracks on this album quite easily. A song to hide away in the dark to, reflecting on your past and thinking of your future.

5. Hard Day

Hard Day is a song about lust. A fast song, sung almost in anger. It’s not the normal love song, or “just been dumped” song that we are so used to hearing, as the lyrics quite clearly tell us:

Well you're not the first, you're not the last
You're not even the one who loves me the best
But all I think about is you

6. Hand To Mouth

Perhaps his first stab at politics via a song, and not a very good one. In fact, I would describe this as a “B-Side” song, or an album filler. Everyone is acutely aware that George Michael slammed America through his Shoot The Dog song, but with lyrics that tell us that the gods of America believe in nothing, it’s difficult with hindsight not to wonder what was on his mind as he wrote the song. One of the weaker songs on the album, and one of the few that let George down.

7. Look At Your Hands

Another angry upbeat song, which tells of a man’s annoyance at a woman that he loves who sticks by her husband despite being beaten up and generally having a bad life. A great song to sing along to, especially if you want to rid yourself of some aggression. Not one of the strongest songs ever written, but occasionally it will be worth really cranking up the volume and singing along to.

8. Monkey

Another song that falls into the “B-Side” category for me. Upbeat, easy to sing along to with, in my view, very throwaway lyrics.

9. Kissing A Fool

After two or three poor songs in a row, the album picks up again towards the end, with another great ballad. A tale of a love that could have been:

People,Will always make a lover feel a fool
But you knew I loved you
We could have shown them all
We should have seen love through

Sung in a typical George Michael almost breathless way, the lyrics tug at heartstrings, with the last few lines telling of a bittersweet side to the love story:

To think you'd love me too.
I guess you were kissing a fool
You must have been kissing a fool

10. Last Request I Want Your Sex Pt 3

The third part of the albums earlier “I Want Your Sex” songs. After such an up-beat start to the song, it’s easy to see why this was put at the end of the album. With an almost dreamy feel to it, that relaxes you as you listen to it, it’s the perfect way to finish an album.

* Overall

This album was definitely the making of George Michael as a superstar. Following on from his two previous solo hits that were released when he was still a part of Wham!, Careless Whisper and A Different Corner would always be hard to follow up, especially on the back of such great expectations from everyone. To say he exceeded the expectations of all and sundry would be an understatement. From the Faith image of unshaven, moody, jeans-wearing, leather clad dude to the soft ballads and upbeat music of the album, and the sell-out Worldwide tour that followed, it’s clear that the album was a total success.

For me, as a nine year old at the time, the whole Faith era passed me by, and I didn’t buy this album until my early teens, by which time George Michael was starting his court proceedings against Sony. My only criticisms of this album would be that for every excellent song, there is a mediocre one to match it, and it seems to show this album in two halves – One absolutely brilliant, with songs that have stood the test of time, and the other a collection of average songs which, although good to hear once in a while, are always the type of track that the CD skip button was invented for.

My other criticism would be that, upon close inspection, the backing drums sound very amateurish, as if they were done on a child’s keyboard. They fit in well with most of the songs, but listening closely, they definitely stand out against the other instruments for the wrong reasons.

Overall, 3 stars. The quality of the better tracks shine through, but are let down by the poorer tracks. The CD insert is mainly full of the lyrics, and a couple of black and white pictures of George looking moody. I would say by 80’s standards the whole CD was probably very good, but 15 years later it looks very bland, and now that there is a George Michael Greatest Hits (called Ladies & Gentlemen) available, this CD only makes an occasional appearance in the CD player, and though I would recommend it to most pop fans, it’s not something I would expect anyone to buy above Ladies & Gentlemen.
 

...less