Twenty-Five Years Twenty-Five Songs - Mary Black

Advantages: A great singer / songwriter on show
Disadvantages: Its already been done

...So, its been 25 years since George Michael first graced the charts with Wham's unique brand of 80's pop. For the first time here, George releases a compilation that incorporates the pop magic of those days with his own tamer brand of adult pop. And as great a pop star as George Michael might have once been, you are left wondering why. Its only been one studio album of new material since his last Greatest Hits collection Ladies & Gentlemen, so why a need for an update to that. I would have no objection to a 25 year celebration if the pickings weren't so slim. The problem is that it mainly treads waters already crossed by Wham's Greatest Hits released just a few years ago and Goorge's own Ladies & Gentlemen. Both those albums were comprehensive enough, here the only addition to the singles already available are the "Patience" singles... Read review

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Advantages: Good tunes, Strange lyrics that have you reaching for the lyric sheet
Disadvantages: May be too soft-edged for Pixies fans

...off", we get lines like "I'm in a Beckett trance" and "I'm wearing Beckett's pants" - no doubt referring to Samuel Beckett, but why is anyone's guess. He's a great storyteller. I like "St Francis Dam Disaster", a sort of road song, with lots of numbers ("She had 53 miles to go…", "She was still twenty-five feet high", "she had nineteen miles more to go…"). It makes for compulsive listening, and you've just got to find out what happens at the end. Of course, it doesn't end well. On "Robert Onion" (has to be one of my favourite song titles ever!) Black reminds a lot of Arthur Lee, the frontman (and, at times, madman) who fronted 60's band Love. I love the false ending to Robert Onion. Then it all starts up again for another minute or so, which is great as the song has such a god riff. Then at the end (the real end) you can hear... Read review

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Advantages: Most of George's defining tracks present; well-packaged; good value
Disadvantages: Some of George's key tracks are missing in favour of inferior choices.

...I always felt that George Michael's music has considerably been overlooked, in recent years because of his personal life and in the past probably because he wasn't seen as credible having been one half of the sugarpop Wham! As an introduction to George's music, this compilation is fairly comprehensive, featuring several of Wham's biggest hits (Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Freedom (2 UK No 1's) and both of the double A-side 'Last Christmas' and 'Everything she wants,' right up to songs specifically recorded for the compilation and the title of the compilation certainly matches the track listing. Had this been called 'the ultimate,' a substantial number of criticisms could have been made. I am reviewing the deluxe edition which contains a third disc and I shall indicate which discs are present on both the standard and deluxe editions... Read review

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