George Michael - Faith

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Free Music Notes for Faith

Free Music Review: G. M. Proves Brilliant/Meaningful Pop Is Not An Oxymoron.
Hit: 5 Stars

So, in the summer of 1987, Faith arrived. The title alone could have been a reassurance from George that even though he was now solo...he still had the talent to deliver...which he did to the tune of 10 million albums sold worldwide. No one at the time knew the album would sell as well, but you had an inkling from the first single 'I want your sex', that licententious ode to monogamously faithful couples everywhere...right. Listening to the lyrics of the song, bad 50's nostalgia movies come to mind; scenes in the backseat of a '56 chevy where the desperate boyrfriend says 'if you love me you will...'. But, trite as the scenario in the song is, you somewhat believe its sincerity, because George had an overall point he was trying to make on this album. In the liner notes, he says the songs were mostly inspired by his experiences in love and relationships from the past few years, and are, supposedly, the results of those reflections on love and sex. So, after listening to songs like 'Faith'(which is foreshadowed by an instrumental of the Wham! song 'Freedom' which also 'poo poo'ed on casual sex)- eschewing casual trysts for sex in a meaningful relationship, and 'Father Figure' which is a plea for trust and understanding in love....you almost cant blame the guy when he's ( ideally) down on his knees begging his lady(or fella) for some sexual favors-how can you deny a man whose sincere in his intentions? What guy or girl could resist? Of course, his plea for lovin' in 'I want your sex' isnt harmed by the infectious and nasty dance groove pulsating through the track(even the cowbell sounds sexay)- to this day the beats/basslines on 'I want your sex part 1&2' are some of the dirtiest, funkiest and phreakiest I have ever heard- guaranteed to inspire pelvic thrusts on the dancefloor...err, and elsewhere, if you are so inclined.

George proved relatively adapt at setting the mood perfectly for his lyrics- and I take this approach of egg-before-chicken because I really feel this album was content and lyric driven rather than purely calculated songcraft( at least thats the illusion I subscribe to). The playful, carefree and frolicsome tone of the song 'Faith' mirrors his disavowal of equally casual sport coupling( and being that he was frontman for a relatively successful pop group, you assume he knows all about it). The mournful pipe organ( or synthed pipe organs) on 'One More Try' echo the sentiments of a love affair gone to pot...and the smoky, torch-song quality of 'Kissing a Fool' do its title justice, evoking a film noir quality( captured well in the black and white video). And, as always, all the songs keep close to the overall theme of the album of sincerely exploring the different facets of relationships- love, sex, trust, infidelity, dissolution, what have you.

This album succeeds on so many levels, its almost a crime. In my opinion the content is timeless, as people are always in love and in or leaving relationships. The sound is classic- the album is quintessential '80's' in terms of sound production(blaring synths, drum sounds that werent made by a drummer, synth horns), but its not so bound by 80's convention that it sounds dated(say, like a pet shop boys album). I still say, if you played 'Hard Day' at the club, someone would get on the floor and dance to it- its a winner. And finally, style. This album was( pardon the pun) George Micheal's coming out party as an artist. The man wrote the lyrics, wrote the songs then recorded, produced and arranged the dern thing( with a little help from his friends)- the musicianship cannot be denied. Yet for all that, the album is very diverse in terms of style. The album starts with a dirge-like prologue that segue's into a rockabilly jumper..which turns into an almost oriental sounding slow roller in ' Father Figure' to the copulatory beat-influenced mantra of 'I want your sex'. For all the musical landscapes the album touched on, each of the songs remained essentially george micheal, effortlessly exploring rockabilly, jazz, funk and new wave seamlessly- George was genius on this album. And the cherry on top?..George's vocals(which I think were sorely underrated til that point): he is at turns crooning and soulful('One More Try', 'Kissing A Fool') , even tongue-in-cheek('Monkey'), but was always ALWAYS melted-chocolate- sexy(damn near every other song on the album- especially 'I want your sex 1-3' and 'Hard Day').

So there you have it, a timeless album with near flawless(for that time) production. Of the eleven songs and snippets on the record there are only 2 which I dont bother to listen to. But still, out of 11 songs( which I love) that is not bad at all. ( songs out of 11 easily qualify this album as one of the best pop albums of all time; an album by which all pop albums must and should be judged by and definitevely( along with Prince's Purple Rain , and that other Micheal's Thriller) one of the Top 10 pop albums of the 80's- no mean feat in the greatest decade for pop music since perhaps the advent of Elvis. Faith is flawless. AN

song by song rating(out of 5)
1.Faith- 4.5( the chorus is sweet)
2.Father Figure-4.5 ( I still love the string motif)

3. I want your sex(1&2)- 5+ (CCCCCCCCome ON!)
4. One More Try- 4.8 (the vocals make the song...nice falsetto)
5. Hard Day-5+ ( the bassline is sick..and George sounds yummy)
6. Hand to Mouth- 3.5 ( not one of my faves...good beat though)
7. Look at your hands- 3.3 ( not one of my faves-nice vocals)
8. Monkey- 4.8(great dance track- the remix was even better!)
9. Kissing a Fool- 5+( great bassline, smoky sound, beatiful vocal delivery...second best vocals on the album after track 4)
10. Hard Day( remix)- 4.0 ( ok..this is a bit dated..but still nice)
11. A last request- 5.0 (heh...george wouldnt have to beg me! :)

AN

Faith Poster

George Michael Photo