Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1 - George Michael > Reviews > I may have too much but I'll take my chances.

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Easily available .   Some hits on here
Disadvantages:	Can be depressing in places and not enough variety of styles

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

George certainly took his chances with "Listen Without Prejudice" which was released in 1990. It's George's most under-rated album, in my opinion. It's sub-titled "Volume 1" and of course, Vol 2 never arrived.

I bought this for £6.99 on CD from HMV.

Track Listing

1. Praying For Time

The first release from the album, which made the Top 20. It is a big ballad which seems to be about the greed of people and as such it's very depressing. George sounds very angry.

"So you scream from behind your door, say what's mine is mine and not yours" and other references to greed such as "charity is coat you wear, twice a year"

2. Freedom 90

Sadly, not a re-mix of the Wham! track but a song which refers to Wham! all the same. A funky song with a great spoken bit in the middle.

"When you shake your ass, they notice fast..."

3. They Won't Go When I Go

A Stevie Wonder song with a rather haunting, live feel to it. Great backing vocals too.

4. Something To Save

Another great song which is yet another ballad. It's about lack of trust.

5. Cowboys & Angels

A jazzy number, with breathy vocals. I'm not keen on it.

6. Waiting For That Day

My favourite ever George Michael song, which mixes the drum from James Brown's "Get Up Like A Sex Machine" with the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want". It's about the inability to get over someone. It has words like "My memory serves me far too well" and other wistful lyrics such as "the years will come and go, some of us will change our lives, some of us still have nothing to show".

Great guitars on this too. In fact, I love the whole structure of it.

7. Mothers Pride

A song about a young boy who watches his dad go to war and never return, only to follow the same footsteps himself years later when he is old enough. Slow and depressing. I'm not keen on this either.

8. Heal The Pain

My second favourite track on this album. It's a great song about how love from someone can help you get over previous misery.

"He must have really hurt you, to make you say the things that you do..."

9. Soul Free

Finally, a faster song! I like this funky number which also shows off George's range rather well.

The last track is just a quick addition to "Waiting For That Day". It adds very little, to be honest.

The cover to this album shows the shot of an audience at a concert. The album title refers to the prejudices an artiste coming from a sort of "teeny" background might face when trying to break away from that image.

Overall, this is a good album and I would certainly suggest borrowing it from someone if you can. It's not to everyone's taste so try before you buy!