George Michael - TwentyFive
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Free Music Notes for TwentyFive
Free Music Review: Another set of classics
Hit: 5 Stars
Although under coercion by Sony, George re-releases another quintessential set of classic chart-toppers from his amazing library, along with a few new gems featuring team-ups with Mary J Blige (adequate)and Paul McCartney (so-so). For anyone that enjoys George Michael, this is an up-to-date must-have that spans his generous and renowned range of his addictively fun and touching music.
I was especially impressed that Amazon had this album available before any brick-and-mortar store in my area, and that still applies a month later.
Free Music Review: An Interesting Collection From One of the UK's Best Pop Artists
Hit: 4 Stars
Note: This review is based on the UK release of "Twenty Five."
I'm a HUGE fan of George Michael and although his albums of late have been a bit lackluster, this "Best of" album is worth a listen. "Twenty Five" represents his entire carrer - from his days as the better half of WHAM!, to the colorful events of a few years ago, to his most recent musical contributions. The songs he's chosen are pretty much what you'd expect with a couple of notable omissions.
The following are all of the (major) albums George has made to date, with the tracks used on "Twenty Five" listed below. (Tracks with a - are on both the Standard and Deluxe releases while those with a * are on the Deluxe release only):
"Fantastic" (WHAM!):
(nothing)
"Make it Big!" (WHAM!):
-Everything She Wants
-Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
-Freedom
-Careless Whisper
*If You Were There
"Music From the Edge of Heaven" (WHAM!):
-A Different Corner
-Last Christmas
"Faith:"
-Faith
-Father Figure
-One More Try
"Listen Without Prejudice:"
-Freedom '90
-Praying for Time
"Five Live" (live Freddie Mercury tribute):
(nothing)
"Older:"
-Fastlove
-Spinning the Wheel
-Jesus to a Child
-Older
-You Have Been Loved
"Ladies and Gentlemen:"
-Too Funky
-Outside
-As (not on the US release of Ladies and Gentlemen)
-Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with Elton John)
*Fantasy (not on the US release of Ladies and Gentlemen)
"Songs From the Last Century:"
*Roxeanne
*My Baby Just Cares for Me
"Patience:"
-Freeek
-Shoot the Dog (not on the US release of Patience)
-Amazing
-Flawless (Go to the City)
-Round Here
-John and Elvis Are Dead
*Precious Box
*Cars and Trains
*Patience
*My Mother Had a Brother
*American Angel
*Please Send Me Someone to Love
*Through
New Tracks:
-An Easier Affair
-Heal the Pain (duet with Paul McCartney)
-This is Not Real Love (with Mutya)
*Understand
*You Know That I Want to
*Safe
*Brother Can You Spare a Dime? (live)
There are several tracks that should be here but aren't: From "Faith," I'd include 'I Want Your Sex (Parts 1 & 2),' 'Monkey,' and 'Kissing a Fool.' 'The Strangest Thing' and 'Star People' from "Older" should also have been included. And 'I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)' is my favorite duet George has performed (with Aretha Franklin).
BUT WHAT YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT is the new stuff, right? Well, as I said in the opening, I feel George's recent music isn't as good as his older compositions. This generally holds true for the new tracks on "Twenty Five." The one exception is "An Easier Affair." It'll get you dancing and smiling but feels like a genuinely new direction for his music. It's fantastic. The rest of the new tracks are needlessly re-hashed songs or so-so new compositions.
Another thing you'll likely be curious about is the Standard VS. Deluxe versions of this album. In my opinion, the Deluxe version is not substantially better than the Standard. The third exclusive disc is mostly made up of tracks from 'Patience' although it does have some (so-so) new songs. You'll probably have to listen for yourself, but I was not especially impressed.
Conclusion: A few of the track selections (and omissions) on this album are unfortunate, but an amazing career provides some of the great pop music. This "Best of" album even delivers a new classic tune. Pick it up and if you haven't, explore George's "Faith" and "Older" albums.
Free Music Review: TwentyFive - Perfect
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the best CD purchases I've ever made! The 2 CD set - one CD For Living and one CD For Loving complement each other well. The CDs contain all of George Michael's big hits, including those from his days in Wham!
There are also a couple of songs on the set that I never heard before: "As" with Mary J. Blige and "Heal the Pain" with Paul McCartney. Both songs showcase George Michael's talent.
This CD set is a must for anyone who loves George Michael's music.
Free Music Review: Older Go-Go
Hit: 4 Stars
The 1980's have brought us so many definitive performers we look up to today. Acts like Madonna, Whitney Houston and especially Michael Jackson and Prince have reshaped, and made us believe what pop music really is. That also could be said for George Michael as well. Since he came out almost a quarter of a century ago, his music has been everywhere overseas, although his main claim to fame here on his own, mostly is considered towards the Faith record. There also was a definitive hits record reflecting George's solo efforts released nearly a decade ago, Ladies & Gentlemen, which did very well on his career. Now, another hits album thrives it way to earning new George Michael fans, but does it really work?
Twenty Five, George Michael's 2006 Greatest Hits record, is like the previous one, Ladies & Gentlemen is a double album reflecting, and expanding on George Michael's longevity as a singer, and performer. The album includes 29 songs, including a couple of new recordings that also shine on this album. The songs here have all been remastered well, and shine brightly as they were released years ago. the album includes great tracks like One More Try, Father Figure, the somber 1996 ballad Jesus To A Child, as well as other classics. The album also does a little better of a job highlighting George's era as a part of Wham with Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, and Everything She Wants. Sadly though, like many good hits packages, there is always something missing. The album overlooks songs like Knew You Were Waiting For Me, his duet with Aretha Franklin which was highlighted on Ladies & Gentlemen, and other great tracks from his Wham era like The Edge Of Heaven and Young Guns too.
All in all, Twenty Five is a fairly well put collection for die hard George Michael fans, as well as die hard fans of his Wham era. Although I wish it could've highlighted more, I still recommend this as a great addition to your music library, and that is everything you want.
Album Cover: B+
Songs: B
Price: B 1/2-
Remastering: B+
Overall: B
Free Music Review: Nice sounding 25 year overview although it is missing key songs. See if you agree
Hit: 4 Stars
1998's 2 CD set "Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" was an almost 5-star release when it came out, but it obviously could not include songs that had not been released as it made it thorough "Older."
This 2006 2 CD set "Twenty Five", which celebrates Michael's 25 years in the buiz, differs in that includes material from his 2 last releases(1999's "Songs From The Last Century" & 2004's "Patience" a couple of new songs, and a handful of hits from George's days in Wham!
So what to do if you don't have either release?
I am a huge fan and went ahead and bought the 3 CD edition and I can safely tell you not to waste your money as the third CD, which could have been an amazing set of remixes and the like, but settles for including good/ok but in many cases less than stellar material from his last two releases and a great song from his Wham! days.
If you have been a fan since George's Wham! days, you really ought to buy one of many best of sets that are out there for the group itself as they cover that era very well and Wham! had some of the catchiest songs Michael has ever recorded.
Putting "Twenty Five" and "Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" side by side:
I would chose the 1999 release, although the new one seems to have been remastered better as it sounds cleaner (at least to me).
But "Twentyfive" does have a lot going for it as includes key songs from "Older", an amazing (AMAZING) duet with Mary J. Blige covering Steve Wonder's "As, which was not included in the 1999 release due to marketing/label/"moral values" issues, it also includes two new songs, one of which "An Easy Affair" that I think rocks, but it misses key songs.
On the other hand "Twentyfive" surprisingly overlooks key songs in George's catalogue (you CAN'T have a best of that does not include "I Want Your Sex" or "Hard Day" just to name a couple). It does include key songs from the underrated "Older," but does not cover key songs from his "Songs From The Last Century" or "Patience." If you buy the 3 CD set while find some songs from the last two releases but they are tepid with the exception of a couple of great interpretations from "Songs".
In a nutshell, you could not go wrong buying this release, esp. if you've been a casual fan since the early 80's and don't mind not having "I Want Your Sex" on it. Even non-casual fans will appreciate songs that they may not have had in their collection and they all sound like a million bucks.
I do wish that this release has done more as it squandered a really good opportunity to reward long-time fans with more new material and remixes of songs. I give it a 4 when there is enough material in Michael's catalogue to produce a 5+ release.
One last non-rating related personal comment: Here's hoping that George gets back to recording songs that remind you of why he became such a superstar in the first place. He seems to think that growing up means that his music has to somehow be more mature, but mature need not be the adult contemporary road and I wish that he could pull or attempt to pull what Madonna did with "Confessions on the Dancefloor" to remind new artists that some acts that came of age in the 1980s had talent to spare and were not simply by the number acts from Disney. Have you guys looked at the charts lately? Scary.