The George Michael OLDER Poll

aw hell yeah

here for this thread

I can't think of another album released by a superstar that represented a commercial renaissance and zenith everywhere in the world except in the United States.

Inspired by that Maura issue. Also: remembering that during my summer in London eighteen years ago "Star People '97" played non-stop.

'Fastlove', obviously!

in the absence of security!

Title track is sublime.

I really like Older and The Strangest Feeling but have to go with Fastlove. Such a brilliant single.

I can't think of another album released by a superstar that represented a commercial renaissance and zenith everywhere in the world except in the United States.

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, June 1, 2015 9:24 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Queen post-Hot Space?

That sounds right. I thought of Simply Red but nah.

What is frustrating IMO is that this album set the template for 'mature' GM that he hasn't really followed up.

"Star People" is pretty magnificent, but I might end up voting for "Jesus To A Child."

It's strange how little he's really done since this album. Two greatest hits compilations, one live album and two studio albums one of which was just covers. He has done a few one off singles too but it doesn't seem like a lot of material for almost 20 years. Has he just given up making albums now?

omg I havent listened to this album in forever

kind of excited abt this poll!

To Be Forgiven.

you know i might vote for "the strangest thing"

That's an odd one – a quieter, trance-influenced sequel to Wham!'s "Battlestations."

is that Maura issue online anywhere?

the use of samples on this record is so tasteful and near-invisible. the "watermelon man" sample on "spinning the wheel" gets me every time

http://mauramagazine.com/issue/537cf406c873d91fb3ee934e/hard_day
http://mauramagazine.com/issue/54dbc542c873d9651bfbffd5/a_last_request

at least i think that's a "watermelon man" sample

Half the album is GM doing lo-fi Art of Noise.

Fantastic album all the way, will have to give it a good listen before voting. Production value is tremendous, feel like GM achieved sonic perfection here.

Only 1 LP run and very expensive get hold of a copy http://www.discogs.com/George-Michael-Older/release/981184

Fastlove is a total classic.

If he hadn't stopped, seems like he could have aged well in a Sade way with "Fastlove" / "Outside" type songs.

I thought "Jesus to a Child" was a snooze in '95, charting in the US on brand name alone, but I like those frozen synths and the light bossa nova beat now. Tom helped: http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2013/08/george-michael-jesus-to-a-child/

almost every song i thought was boring on here has proved really rich over time

becoming one of the biggest debuts ever in British history

debut?

thanks for the links!

For some reason I have some vague memory of Bryan Adams calling out George Michael for miming during this period... think it might have been at some MTV awards or something?

Also, this was his last album before Toiletgate, wasn't it?

Miming?

http://blog.chron.com/tubular/files/2014/06/rupaul-mime.gif

Only 1 LP run and very expensive get hold of a copy

Seriously? Damn. I bought this on vinyl when it was first released, then it got donated to charity along with all the rest of my LPs a few years ago. I haven't actually heard any of these songs for ages. IIRC I thought that it was a bit of a snoozefest apart from 'Fastlove', 'Spinning the Wheel', and 'Star People'. It's a good although not great album, and it's amazing in a way that Michael never really matched it with anything that he released later.

Listening to this now, I haven't heard some of these tracks for about 17 years or something! Has it really been that fucking long!?

it's amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YziZ1FlAWs]

"amazing" is incidentally great

The mix is early 2000s squeaky.

Imagine if Ben Watt had produced it.

I remember finding the headphones with "FONY" written on 'em in the 'Fastlove' video so fucking funny at the time.

also good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw6Z5xu83XQ

^ OTM

Patience is such a great record.

The thing about George Michael is that if people talk about him, they talk about his sexuality/drug problems/incidents in his personal life, all that kind of stuff. Some folks, at the most, will talk about his George Michael the singer, like they did when he joined Queen for that rendition of 'Somebody To Love'. Others will talk about his time in Wham!

Nobody ever seems to talk about how good of a songwriter he is or his production work. Weird, that.

George Michael should have produced other people's records. It's a shame he didn't. His own work got fustier.

I'd love to read year of release anecdotes of the kind Tom shared in the link I posted. I can tell you that in the United States "Jesus to a Child" and "Fastlove" hit top ten on brand recognition alone. No one heard this album. When I spent the summer in London the following summer, though, one of my first memories of the BBC while my flatmates were out was listening to "Star People '97."

Voted "Fastlove". The break/drop into stunning delivery:
In the absence of security
I made my way into the night
always gets me, always will - would love to hear it very loud very drunk in a club with a lot of very dancing people, it's one of my favorite moments in music

Can't really imagine a cover of this song, they're so tied up w the production. Remember a lot of contestants on an early Danish version of Idol could choose to audition with "Fastlove" (alternatives included more obvious belters like "I Will Always Love You" and "Angels") and many did, but I could never understand the melody or even the point of the song before I heard the proper version.

Maybe a dumb question but what version is "I Can't Make You Love Me" on? I've only seen/heard the great live performance on youtube.

hmm that probably should have read something like "all the songs are so tied up..."

I'll add that this record is a good example of the power of understatement imo, very classy.

this was good

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/jun/02/george-michael-faith

Better: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/diamond/george-michael-faith.htm

Maybe a dumb question but what version is "I Can't Make You Love Me" on? I've only seen/heard the great live performance on youtube.

for some reason this tracklisting embeds b-sides by their singles. it's on the "older" ep

released as a double A-side in England iirc

ah that's why

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

This thread led me to stream Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael, which wisely separates songs into two discs: For The Heart and For The Feet, and so you get, all in a row:

"Outside" – 4:44 (1998)
"As" (with Mary J. Blige) (Stevie Wonder) – 4:47 (1998)
"Fastlove" – 5:31 (1996)
"Too Funky" – 3:45 (1992)
"Freedom '90" – 6:28 (1990)
"Star People '97" – 5:39 (1997)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Missed this poll. "You Have Been Loved" would have been loved otherwise.

I DO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE PRACTICING THE SAME RELIGION!

oh i guess i forgot to vote

^^ everyone loves a voter like that

xp you do not count yourself among us?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQC0FCxIMmg

wow i have never seen this amazing music video for "spinning the wheel" before

This video and song meant so much to me as a kid

no votes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MEaPhvKRGY

Will any other album be delayed I wonder? (altho obv this one has already been delayed several times)

Older Update September 2022 pic.twitter.com/7iCEZol603

— George Michael Official (@GeorgeMOfficial) September 9, 2022

I like how without context you could just say that that announcement meant everyone was sad about George being gone all over again, which I would accept.

it's quite unbelievable how powerful the whole george michael's discography becomes once you read through this new biography by james gavin, with Older becoming to me as pivotal in my late 30s / early 40s as, I don't know, radiohead's kid a was in my 20s. what a perfect record.

P-Fork review of reissue: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/george-michael-older-super-deluxe/

Love this b-side:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5T_X8_bNa0

It's exquisite, would have loved it on the album tbh

Wrong thread for it but I was listenign to Precious Box last week and god it's so good

From the review:

The irony was that Michael was only 32 at the time

!!! Holy shit

I was listenign to Precious Box last week and god it's so good

otm. One of my favorites. Patience deserves its own thread.

Yeah, I mean, IIRC it was considered a disspointment, but I think Shoot the Dog is the only mediocre track, and the rest range from merely good to career-highs. I thought Freeek was terrible at th time but it's really, really grown on me.

"shoot the dog" is amaaazing imo

haha fine ok I'll listen to it again

i guess the common denominator is, if George sings on it, it will be good

while we're here - i heard this for the first time recently. also fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXCkZ6h7NaQ

thanks for the tip about "safe" - love that sample that keeps playing through the song

"Cars and Trains", "Round Here", "Amazing"...all great songs! For years Patience was my favorite album of his and the one I listened to most. Only song I'm kinda meh on is "American Angel".

"Precious Box" is just beyond good...GM doing a pristine Kompakt impression for seven minutes is as good as music gets really

I mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmTvfml31AI

Glad I'm not the only one who hears microhouse in Precious Box

BTW Older is no. 1 in the UK mid-weeks. I thought it'd be too expensive myself.

i am once again listening to patience and will start a poll/thread for it later today

i think you know that you're more than just some fucked-up piece of ass!!! - the george michael PATIENCE poll

happy there's now an official release of his I Can't Make You Love Me

In the event, Older's at no. 2 behind Slipknot. Still impressive.

"You Have Been Loved" is the most beautiful collection of chord changes

Marcello Carlin’s Then Play Long is back after a long break, and it’s a long and beautiful essay on Older: https://nobilliards.blogspot.com/2024/08/george-michael-older.html