Ladies And Gentlemen (The Best Of George Michael) - George Michael

Sometimes when I want to sit and read a lot of music I like does not create the right atmosphere to relax and get lost in the latest novel of choice, so last night I had a really good rake through my CD collection and came across this double CD which I had criminally overlooked for probably as long as I have owned it. I put it on, and I have to say that it is a complete change from the rock based music I prefer, but I forgot just how good this album ...
...a lot of 'Best Of' albums, every single song on here is worthy of it's place in the collection, and I think it just shows again how he managed to progress from being the chubby popster who carried Andrew Ridgeley to fame, to a world famous, and musically respected artist. Many people talk about how Madonna reinvents herself, but I think that George Michael has done this many times over, and even had to work hard to regain people's respect after the ... more

Sometimes when I want to sit and read a lot of music I like does not create the right atmosphere to relax and get lost in the latest novel of choice, so last night I had a really good rake through my CD collection and came across this double CD which I had criminally overlooked for probably as long as I have owned it. I put it on, and I have to say that it is a complete change from the rock based music I prefer, but I forgot just how good this album is, and just how talented George Michael is, and unlike a lot of 'Best Of' albums, every single song on here is worthy of it's place in the collection, and I think it just shows again how he managed to progress from being the chubby popster who carried Andrew Ridgeley to fame, to a world famous, and musically respected artist. Many people talk about how Madonna reinvents herself, but I think that George Michael has done this many times over, and even had to work hard to regain people's respect after the unfortunate incident which led to his arrest.

Released in 1998, the 2 discs contain 29 tracks and whole album is dedicated to his late mother Lesley. The first CD is entitled 'For The Heart', which slightly gives away the tone of the songs, as does the title of the second CD, which is 'For The Feet'.

The first disc is the perfect chillout disc, and I know that my wife listens to it a lot when she is in the bath after a stressful week at work. The mood initially is quite low, as the opening song is 'Jesus To A Child', which he wrote in tribute to a friend who died, although many people have claimed they were lovers, and this song is George's tribute to man he loved and lost, and I have to say that the lyrics do make me believe the latter, but whichever way you look at it, this hauting song is a fitting tribute to anyone who shared his life. There are many high points, and none higher than the magnificent live version of his duet with Elton John on 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' and the amazing 'Father Figure', which as I was never a fan of Wham!, was the first song which really made me sit up and take notice of him. Lyrically, I am not sure he has written many better than this, and the musical arrangement just makes me sit up and take notice everytime.

'Careless Whisper' is the song that George used to test out the market for his solo material whilst he was still in Wham!, and it is now one of the best known songs around, and one that not many people are brave enough to try and cover. I think that thing that makes him so successful is the fact that he writes for his market, and changes his style to suit his changing fanbase, and when he wrote this song, it stood out from the rock power ballads that seemed to be around every corner, and I think until he wrote 'You Have Been Loved', he did not truly capture that kind of magic again. It is such an understated song that it is ignored by many people, and that is something that including it on this collection may have remedied.

A lot of songs give me a mental picture of the artist singing it, and 'Kissing A Fool' sounds like one of those songs that would be right at home in a smoky jazz club, with a bass player at George's side. It is a nice song, nothing amazing, but in the company it is, it is very difficult for every song to shine, especially when it precedes a classic song such as 'I Can't Make You Love Me', which although it is a cover version, it has the George Michael stamp firmly upon it. He sings the words with such passion, and you know that each word comes right from the heart. 'Heal The Pain' is a song that I remember liking when it was released, but it is quickly forgettable. It is nice enough to listen to, but it just not have that certain something that makes it stay in your head.

Although this is a greatest hits collection, there are some lesser known tracks, and the first is 'A Moment In Time'. Now, I am not sure if it is because I have not heard this much, but it is an uninspiring song which seems to lack the magic that the other tracks have in abundance, and I have to say the same about 'Desafinado', a duet with Astrud Gilberto. The foreign language song has a comedy/Doris Day type feel to it, and it is just not what I expect from George Michael, and whilst I am all for a change of direction, this would not be it, but he quickly redeems himself with 'Cowboys and Angels', which is a clever song using jazz influence and fusing it with pop to give a unique sounding song.

When he released the album 'Listen Without Prejudice', a lot of critics said that he had become to serious, and forgotten his roots, but with songs such as 'Praying For Time', I just think this was the album where he really wrote from the heart, and did not care about the commercial success, as he some things to say. Angst is word which seems to be bandied about a lot at the moment, and I hate to use that word to describe this song, but his vocals, the lyrics, the music all portray the angst he must have been feeling at the time, and it must have been strong if it made him abandon his pop roots and make a brave move, which luckily paid off, as his fans liked the album, and it did not ruin his career as many predicted it would. Two excellent ballads finish off the first CD. First up is 'One More Try', a powerful song which is all about the lyrics where George tells a story, and in my mind it is about an older lover who has hurt him, and made him protect himself against this pain, so he is scared to love again, and this sentiment is carried on with the track 'Different Corner' seems to a favourite amongst many of the reality TV auditions, and I have not heard anyone do a respectable version yet.

The second disc has so many uses (and none of them are to stand drinks on....I thought I would say it before all of the George Michael haters got there first!), but it is real solid CD to have at a party, but it can be enjoyed more sedately if you wish. It is here that we are shown George's humourous side with the first track 'Outside', a disco influenced track which refers to his arrest and lewd conduct charge, which was worldwide news at the time, and rather than run away and hide, he decided to tough it out, and even get a dig in at the police who he feels set him up, whilst also trying to camp his music up a little back, and people laughed with him....he was back on form. Many thought he would be an industry leper after all of the negative publicity, but this was disproved when R&B diva Mary J Blige dueted with him on their cover of Stevie Wonder's 'As'. George shows how he can still be a good pop singer, but can just as easily slip into R&B and sound as comfortable.

There are 2 or 3 songs which make this album a must, and 'Fastlove' is one of those songs, along with the highly entertaining 'Too Funky'. Both of these songs were released at stages in his career when he was making a mini comeback, and he had to test out whether or not his fans had stuck with him. The majority had, and along the way he picked up some more with these catchy pop tunes, which had very clever videos attached to them, especially 'Too Funky' which featured some up and coming supermodels amongst a cast of other very interesting characters to watch, which was a similar concept used for the video to 'Freedom 90', although this is probably now better known as the song Robbie Williams covered when he was still just 'the fat dancer from Take That' trying to carve out the kind of career George managed to after leaving a band, but I still prefer the original version, and the opening few chords have never dated, but then neither has the song come to think of it!

A lot of new fans were attracted to George and his music after his MTV Unplugged appearance, and one of the high points of that performance was 'Star People' which sounded excellent live. This is a song about hangers on, and people who are jealous of his success without releasing how much hard work he had to put in. It is a great upbeat pop/R&B tune, a combination which always works well for him as he can take songs and just put his own mark on them, although many people thought he had bitten off more than he could chew when he released 'Killer/Papa Was A Rolling Stone'. The critics were up in arms, crying that those two songs could not be put together, but George proved them wrong...again, and showed them how innovative and versatile he is as an artist.

I can remember the furore which surrounded the release of 'I Want Your Sex' and the accompanying video, and looking at it now, the whole things seems so tame, but then we could say the same about 'Relax' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Anyway, the song is another that has stood the test of time, and still sounds really good, but turn it up loud to get the full effect, but turn it down in time for 'The Strangest Thing' which is my least favourite track on the album. There are techo pop influences on this track, but I find it quite bland and not up to his usual standard, and when I heard the opening bars to 'Fantasy', I was convinced that I was going to feel the same, but this is actually a very clever song, which will have all of the die hard Wham! fans reminiscing, whilst he new breed of fans will be introduced to a new side of George with this really catchy pop song.

'Spinning The Wheel' has a dark feel to it, and it is all about having a lover that you do not trust completely, and you cannot understand why they want to hurt you, so you decide to go it alone than chance that they will hurt you. It is another track which has a jazz feel to it, and it works very well. 'Waiting For That Day' is one of my all time favourite tracks by George Michael. Again, it is a song about longing for a love that does not seem to come your way. As the album comes to a close, we get to witness the true genius that is George Michael, and his duet with Aretha Franklin on 'I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)' is one of the high points in his successful career, and that is quickly followed up by his signature tune 'Faith'. This was released at a time when women still saw him as a sex symbol, as he had not yet come out, and the video portrayed him as a bit of rough. The song itself is another classic, and one that is instantly recognisable, as is the final track, which is the cover of 'Somebody To Love', which he performed with the remaining members of Queen, and it sparked many rumours from excitable journalists at the time that he was the replacement for Freddie Mercury. Now I like George Michael, but he could never replace the enigma that was Mercury, and I am sure he knows that although his performance on this song is outstanding, he could never replace him.

This is an album which is full of emotion and differing styles which all compliment each other to provide what I feel is a timeless classic, and one which will remain in my CD collection for many years, although after being reminded of it, I will endeavour to listen to it a lot more than I have. Who knows....I might be starting to mellow, in fact when I read this back I sound like a right wuss!! Oh, who cares, I really like this CD, and does make me think more about emotions, purely because of the subject matter. Highly recommended from me, but then you guessed that! 

...less