SYMPHONICA
Released 2014
Label Virgin EMI
Chart Position
UK No.1 and US No.60GEORGE MICHAEL ALBUM BY ALBUMCOMPILATIONS...
LADIES & GENTLEMEN
1998
When life gives you lemons, make
lemonade. This post-arrest punningly-titled
Best Of shows George lost none of his
humour despite a diffi cult mid-90s. Split into
two halves (Side One: ‘For The Heart’; Side
Two: ‘For The Feet’), the 29-song
compilation is a must-have for any
self-respecting pop fan who doesn’t own
the original singles and albums. Featuring choice cuts from Michael’s
solo career up to that point, Ladies & Gentleman is also notable for the
inclusion of his No.1 collaboration with Aretha Franklin, I Knew You Were
Waiting (For Me), the Portuguese duet with Astrud Gilberto (Desafi nado)
and another chart-topping hook-up, this time with Elton John courtesy of
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. It’s an outstanding summation of one
of the UK’s all-time greatest songwriters.TWENTY FIVE
2006
Multiple formats abound of George’s
second greatest hits collection. The headline
news, though, is that it also features a clutch
of his Wham! hits to add to the solo gems.
Three new songs were thrown into the mix
to sweeten the deal (as if that was really
necessary). Alongside previously
unreleased track An Easier Affair was a
duet with Sugababe Mutya Buena on This Is Not Real Love and, most
enticingly, a new version of Listen Without Prejudice’s Heal The Pain
re-recorded with Paul McCartney, the original inspiration for that album’s
Beatlesque melodic highlight. Inclusions from Patience and the superlative
Too Funky from the Red Hot + Dance charity LP make this another fi ne
overview of Michael’s peerless back catalogue. Both compilations come
highly recommended.G
eorge’s fi nal tour, the
t wo - le g 67- dat e
Symphonica jaunt
saw him mix tracks
from Patience, Songs From The
Last Century and one-off covers.
The album of the same name
merges studio-recorded
orchestral arrangements with
Michael’s vocals at the Royal
Albert Hall stop-off on the tour.
He’s in relaxed form throughout,
now much more at ease on
stage than in his fraught late-80s
and early-90s chart heyday.
His cover of Nina Simone’s
My Baby Just Cares For Me is
melodic, frothy fun but the
emotional heft of
these orchestral
reworkings is
best seen in the
wonderful
A Different
Corner and
powerful
Praying For Time
with George
altering the lyrics to
“I sang 20 years and
a day, but nothing
changed/ The human race
found some other guy and
walked into the fl ames.”
A well-chosen cover of
Terence Trent D’Arby’s Let Her
Down Easy is a beautiful wild
card while a vocal showcase of
Anthony Newley standard
Feeling Good puts the bombast
of Muse’s bloated take in theshade. Equally intriguing is the
rescue job he does on Elton
John’s Idol, a by-now largely
forgotten track on his 1976
album Blue Moves; its
lyrics fi t Michael’s
defi ant nature like
a glove (“Bulldog
stubborn, born
uneven/ But
don’t bet them,
they can’t take
him to the
very bottom”).
Dedicated to
his mother and
Anselmo, You Have
Been Loved is another
emotional high point of the show.
Changed little from the original
studio incarnation, its elegant
melody is well served by a
sympathetic backing.
Reaction to the record was
mixed. The Guardian called it
“a slightly confused live album”,
while Pop Matters labelled it
“a heady, luxurious soirée.”As a reminder of George’s
vocal mastery, Symphonica more
than earns its keep although the
recent release of the MTV
Unplugged show with the reissue
of Listen Without Prejudice
arguably features a much
stronger setlist while also
showcasing his skill at reworking
his own material.
On MTV Unplugged, key solo
cuts such as Freedom! ’ 90 and
Fastlove nestle alongside prime
Wham! track Everything She
Wants. There’s also the bonus
on the CD of the unreleased
Fantasy, boasting a trademark
choppy guitar accompaniment
from Chic’s Nile Rodgers.I
t is testament to what
a remarkable artist
George Michael was
when you realise he
pulled out one of the fi nest
live performances of his
career with the news that
his partner Anselmo had
been diagnosed with HIV
still ringing in his ears.
He channelled that pain
(and worry about his own
health status) into this
celebration of Freddie
Mercury’s life at the
Queen’s frontman’s 1992
memorial concert. His
version of Somebody To
Love is quite extraordinary
and a duet with Lisa
Stansfi eld on These Are
The Days Of Our Lives
equally moving.
Also superb are the
sympathetic covers of
Seal and Adamski’s Killer
and soul gem Papa Was
A Rollin’ Stone by The
Temptations recorded at
a separate Wembley
Arena date.FIVE LIVE
EP
Released 1993
Label Parlophone
Chart Position
UK No.1 and
US No.46“GEORGE IS IN
RELAXED MODE
HERE, MUCH MORE
AT EASE ON STAGE
THAN IN THE
EARLY-90S”© Caroline True