Wham! - Make It Big
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Free Music Notes for Make It Big
Free Music Review: Nothing else quite like it
Hit: 5 Stars
I was a teen in the 80s that was into ROCK AND ROLL - the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, CCR, etc. I never would've heard of Wham!, except that the girl I was dating loved the song "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go", so naturally I had to check it out.
I ended up buying her the album, then taking her to see Wham! in concert in Philadelphia, and then marrying her a couple months later! We just had our 23rd anniversary, and I popped Make It Big into the CD player, and wow, it really does sound good a couple decades later. I listened to it a lot back in the day, which is pretty amazing for me, considering there's very little guitar work on the album.
I guess this one will always have sentimental value for me!
Free Music Review: Wham
Hit: 4 Stars
Wham!!!!! Bam!!!!!!!!!!!!....This CD hits me like a truck.....Careless Whisper is on my top 10 all time hit list.....Free Music Review: George Michael makes it big!
Hit: 5 Stars
George Michael makes it big! So does his partner Andrew Ridgeley. But in Ridgeley's case,he didn't MAKE IT BIG for long. This 1984-85 megahit featured the hits WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO,EVERYTHING SHE WANTS,FREEDOM and the easy listening/jazz favorite CARELESS WHISPER. Shaun Cassidy clone Michael composed all eight tunes on this album which was indeed one of '85's biggest-sellers. As Michael's fame lingered over the years,he changed his facial appearance from a clean shave to a shorn beard. Englishman Michael rapidly became famous in the fall of 1984 that he wound up serving(while still clean shaven) as a member of the European ensemble Band Aid,recording the charity song DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?. It was a privilege working with other English musical figures such as Sting,Duran Duran,Boy George and also Irishmen U2. Many people in Africa were naked,hungry and ill-educated back in '84 so BAND AID did their thing just like USA FOR AFRICA would do later. MIB was the group's second album released a year after FANTASTIC. Following MIB was MUSIC FROM THE EDGE OF HEAVEN in 1986 which featured the previously released,as a single,LAST CHRISTMAS. LC was obviously an outtake for MIB. Michael would later disband Wham! but retain his friendship with Ridgeley. Michael moved on to a successful solo career,releasing his Grammy-winning solo debut FAITH in the fall of 1987. His sophomore effort LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE followed in '90 marking that album his last on the Columbia label. Michael would continue his musical career recording on other labels. The success of Wham! had motivated the duo to perform at the July 1985 Live Aid concerts. Free Music Review: Hats off folks, it's time to admit it -- George Michael is a genius
Hit: 5 Stars
George Michael was SEVENTEEN years old when he wrote "Careless Whisper", people.
"Careless Whisper" and "Everything She Wants" stand the test of time. George Michael's composition skills and vocal performances are utterly phenomenal.
Go to YouTube and watch all the unplugged and live versions of these amazing songs. I recommend the "Live in Rio" version of "Careless Whisper". It makes my hair stand on end.
For people who appreciate great music and the craft of timeless songwriting...whether it's jazz, Hank Williams, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Aretha, Patsy Cline, George Jones...the CLASSICS...there are 2 such songs on this record.
What's weird is that George was wearing silly short-shorts, day-glo gloves, a blow-dried hair "helmet", had screaming teen-age girls lusting after him when he had more lust for tax havens. He was just discovering why those little girls did not appeal to him...
Hmmm... WHO CARES?
He's written a few more such spine-chilling songs.
This was where it all began.
Hats off to George Michael.
Free Music Review: Wham! does what their album title says...
Hit: 4 Stars
Wham! is back with their sophomore release called "Make It Big". Their most popular and well known cd. This is where that huge iconic 80's hit was born....
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".
Its kind one of those kinda corny sounding songs, but catchy, dancable and very fun. I think with more time, this song will age better. Its very light hearted, and just fun. I cant define the sound...theres some horns and a very dancable beat that makes me laugh in a partly embarrassed way. But Michael sings pretty good in it, and sounds nice. No wonder it became their big hit in the USA, it real happy sounding have-a-fun-time song.
They came up with their own sound, sorta, here. 80s bubble-gum pop? I dont know. Its better than that stuff, though i hear mostly just a buncha teenage girls were buying this stuff.
"Everything She Wants" slows stuff down a bit, and is the albums other hit song, that talks about a guy who has kinda a ungreatfull, gold digging, self absorbed chick on his hands. This one shows off a little more of George Michaels vocal diversity a bit. Good song. Decent lyrics. Speak'n the truth about some women out there.
"Heart Beat" is allright, i like how it opens. Very 80s, but not in a cheesy way. Its kinda like one of those 80s teen romance songs, definatly. Im just not a huge fan of the "Heart Beat! Heart Beat!" part of the chorus lol. But its not a bad song. Kinda mellow dramatic. Like it would fit real good on one of those light hearted 80s teen films. Sounds nice, though its not one of my absolute favorites.
"Like A Baby" is a slow, smooth jazz radio sounding song. For about a minute and a half, its allmost sounding out to be maybe an instrumental. Its nice though, and displays a little bit of Wham's depth. Casual listeners have no real clue that Wham made fine r&b/jazz/easy listening tinged pop, but this is more proof of their maturity, despite how many times MTV played that "Go-Go" song with George Michaels glowing crest white smile.
But wham surfaces to the top again though with the next track...
"Freedom"
This song has great motown influence. Ya, you heard that right. It sounds very good. With a memorable 80s pop chorus, thats uplifting, and the lyrics are good too. Probubly my favorite song on this album, and one of my favorite wham songs out of all the albums. Im sure this was a hit, it sure deserved to be anyway. Its inspiring aswell. I love that. Real good song.
"If you were there" touches on some of that motown influence a little, i think, again. But its more light sounding, and mid tempo. Its another love related song. And shows again some of Michael's vocal potential.
He sounds good. I bet if Wham would of came out in the 50s, they would of been the first white kids signed to motown.
"Credit Card Baby" sounds instrumentally like "Go-Go" but slower,and more layed back, but still has a catchy chorus and some clever lyrics, like
" You can have my credit card, baby...but keep your red hot fingers off of my heart, lady!..."
I cant help but note the slight motown influence that i notice a bit here. Its real cool how Wham! fused that with modern fun beat and other sounds. I dont know if anyone else notices it, but its pretty cool. Thats just one genre they prolly grew up on, not to mention r&b and rock.
Now the most enduring of the songs i think that aged the best yet outta the songs has to go to...
"Careless Whisper"
A sexy slow jam, with that famous saxophone part that is very well known, yet i think a lot of people dont realise that Wham! did it. Proving here to the mainstream that Wham! had it in them to make some r&b that would be playing on todays r&b stations. That saxophone is very famous, its become pretty iconic.
So Wham! seemed to have made another good album but this time more matured lyrically in ways and most of all, more easily digested by American music listeners. Still light hearted but minus the funk influence. I wonder how many early Wham! fans were dissapointed by the lack of funky, disco guitar lol. Im sure some guy was out there saying "...What a buncha sell outs! this is rubbish!" over in some part of england as hes standing in the record shop with his greesed up hair and leather jacket.
This album brought Wham more into its element, and they found their own sound here more so. Yet again, good stuff for a pop album. I wish pop music these days with this ambitious and versitle and inspired. Again, fun stuff, theyve matured.
And yes, they definatly "Make it Big" with the 'MakeItBig' album. Not just big in europe, but now huge pop stars in the USA, theyve now arrived, as they say. Congratulations for speaking your dream and goal into existance guys. Im inspired in a way, seriously.
Not as exotic and wildly fun as "FANTASTIC", but more matured and they find their own sound of sorts with this album.