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It's always been pretty easy to split "George
Michael's" music into two broad categories - the faster
dance-oriented material embodied by "Faith," and the
slower ballads, perhaps best represented by "Careless Whisper."
On his new, 2-CD "best of" set, "Ladies &
Gentlemen, The Best of George Michael," he makes the categorization
really easy by segregating the up-tempo songs from the more mellow
stuff. Disc one is labeled "For the Heart," while the
second disc carries the title "For the Feet." I'm sure
splitting up the styles was done to allow listeners to match
their moods, maybe by plugging in the "heart" material
when in a romantic mood, or throwing on the "feet"
stuff if ready to move around a bit. Unfortunately, the split
backfires somewhat on Michael. While the faster disc zips along
entertainingly, coming finally to a great climax, the slow disc
putters along and, perhaps under the weight of just a bit too
much emotion, putting this listener to sleep every time I try
to listen to the whole thing.
That's not to say there aren't great songs
on the "For the Heart" CD. The saxophone lines on "Careless
Whisper" still evoke the best of 80's pop music, while a
live rendition of "Don't Let the Sun go Down On Me,"
a duet with "Elton John," competes for the title of
"best song on this package." Then there are the songs
from the album "Faith," Michael's solo debut, and the
album that really catapulted him to superstardom as a solo artist.
Released just around the time I became a teenager, songs like
"Father Figure" and "One More Try" provide
part of the soundtrack to my early teen years.
That sentiment extends to the "For
the Feet" disc as well, where "Faith" is represented
by the songs "Hard Day" and "Monkey." The
latter is my favorite "George Michael" song. You can't
deny the power of the line "Why do I have to share love
with you with a monkey?"
Michael didn't steer away from the most
controversial cut of his career, although "I Want Your Sex"
is represented by part 2, the jazzier, less lyrically direct
section of the song that was banned by a third of American radio
stations.
Despite those songs, the biggest highlights
on "Ladies & Gentlemen. . ." come from the non-album
tracks Michael considered worth including among his "best"
works. Beyond his three solo albums, Michael has created a number
of songs that showed up originally on compilation projects or
as singles. Examples include his Grammy-winning 1987 duet with
"Aretha Franklin," "I Knew You Were Waiting (for
me)," and the foreign language song "Desfinado."
The best song on ". . .The Best of
George Michael" is the live version of "Somebody to
Love," recorded with the surviving members of "Queen"
at the "Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert" back in 1992.
As the last track on the second disc, it's definitely a case
of saving the best for last, and it brings a satisfying "best
of" set to a smashing close. |
