Careless Whisper by Wham Classic or Dud?

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opinions?

― startrekman, Sunday, 10 April 2005 05:38 (twenty years ago)

theres a wham version?

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Sunday, 10 April 2005 05:50 (twenty years ago)

yeah

― startrekman, Sunday, 10 April 2005 05:57 (twenty years ago)

"And this one goes out to all the ladies..." Classic. Makes me nostalgic for all the proms I never attended (cf. OMD's 'If You Leave').

Slow dance, anyone?

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 10 April 2005 06:03 (twenty years ago)

It's really a beautiful bittersweet song, great melody and singing, catches me unaware and startles every time. "Guilty feet have got no rhythm." CLASSIC.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Sunday, 10 April 2005 10:27 (twenty years ago)

I would say classic. Sort of the start of a new phase in George Michael's musical career.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 10 April 2005 10:39 (twenty years ago)

Classic. It's a beautiful song. Though the Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds version is probably the best version of it.

― jellybean (jellybean), Sunday, 10 April 2005 10:57 (twenty years ago)

sophistipop!

― jody the country girl doll (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 10 April 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

Though the Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds version is probably the best version of it.

*suffers seizure, dies*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:03 (twenty years ago)

Yep, can't agree here (even though I love Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds) - there's something inimitable about George's version - the vocals and the SAX are halfway between serenade and dodgy porn backing music - PERFECT for the tale of broken love...

― edward o (edwardo), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:05 (twenty years ago)

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:kZLnM32MYboJ:community-1.webtv.net/robmbr/RobsReviewHomePage/media/captureD44.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:07 (twenty years ago)

This was the first 45 rpm single I bought with my own money. A classic for the melody, the hurt in George's voice, and his great advice: guilty feet have really got no rhythm.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:14 (twenty years ago)

"Wham feat. George Michael"

I love that so much. Here's a song by Us featuring Me. Classic, obv.

― miccio (miccio), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:17 (twenty years ago)

does anybody know what exactly Andrew Ridgeley did in Wham anyway? He held a guitar but the singles I've heard don't exactly spotlight ripping solos.

― miccio (miccio), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

Ned, The Wham version is great, but it doesn't have the harmonies in the Wainwright Folds version.

― jellybean (jellybean), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:20 (twenty years ago)

Yes, but this is me you're talking to, and Wainwright and Folds combined are distressing to my tender soul.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

If you compare John Oates and Andrew Ridgeley's dancing, you'll see that guilty feet have REALLY got no rhythm.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 10 April 2005 13:51 (twenty years ago)

Super Classic. It actually captures the sound of leaving a crappy nightclub on your own and queueing for a kebab whilst choking back tears. But in a glamorous way.

Andrew Ridgeley gave George the courage to get up and perform, apparently. That's better than being Yngwie, isn't it?

― Ferlin Husky (noodle vague), Sunday, 10 April 2005 14:44 (twenty years ago)

dodgy porn backing music

Whoa, OTM.

Every Wham! thread is good, always.

― billstevejim, Sunday, 10 April 2005 15:53 (twenty years ago)

Jesus fuck this is super easy classic; mostly 'cause girls like it.
I bought the PS2 Karaoke Revolution in no small part because this is on it.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Sunday, 10 April 2005 15:56 (twenty years ago)

Classic.

― Lyra Jane (Lyra Jane), Sunday, 10 April 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)

does anybody know what exactly Andrew Ridgeley did in Wham anyway?

He was the shuttlecock roadie.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Sunday, 10 April 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

Wasn't it credited to George Michael in the UK? I thought it was only marketed as Wham! in America because of George Michael's relatively weak celebrity status.

― Atnevon (Atnevon), Sunday, 10 April 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

And the song is amazing duh.

― Atnevon (Atnevon), Sunday, 10 April 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

Careless Whisper in Your Ear:
"I'm never gonna beat that pussy up,
Guilty dick can't find no rhythm,
Though it's easy to extend
I know you're not a wet vac ho..."

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Sunday, 10 April 2005 19:46 (twenty years ago)

Wasn't it credited to George Michael in the UK?

The single might have been credited to George Michael, but it's on Make It Big, which is a Wham! album.

― billstevejim, Sunday, 10 April 2005 20:22 (twenty years ago)

D. U. D.

― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Sunday, 10 April 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, wtf? Are you all just nostalgic for a lost - romance you never had as an 11 year old? The vocals are bad white soul, the sax is awful, and the lyrics (and the title) sound like trashy airport fiction for 50-something divorcees! Fucking dud!

― paulhw (paulhw), Sunday, 10 April 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

You probably don't like Phil Collins either.
Or Santa.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Sunday, 10 April 2005 21:31 (twenty years ago)

The vocals are grrrrreat white soul, the sax is so over-saturated and lascivious it's timeless, and many lyricists would improve 200 per cent if they aspired to the standard of trashy airport fiction. "Guilty feet have got no rhythm" is

― Ferlin Husky (noodle vague), Sunday, 10 April 2005 22:26 (twenty years ago)

oops...

is Jacqueline Susann to most folks' Danielle Steele.

― Ferlin Husky (noodle vague), Sunday, 10 April 2005 22:28 (twenty years ago)

We have His Highness Bryan Ferry to thank for teaching us to appreciate this particularly moving edition of Plastic British Soul.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 10 April 2005 22:39 (twenty years ago)

Except it is better than Bryan Ferry. Which is kinda sad to say. Poor Bryan Ferry.

― Atnevon (Atnevon), Monday, 11 April 2005 04:02 (twenty years ago)

This song is flat-out amazing. The only negative thing I can say about it is that the production reverb is a little tinny; Michael's vocal performance is just astounding and he's never ever again sounded as good as he did on this song.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 11 April 2005 13:47 (twenty years ago)

Except it is better than Bryan Ferry. Which is kinda sad to say. Poor Bryan Ferry.

You're fired. (That said, it IS a great song and the extended introduction from the album which is all Anne Dudley goodness roxors.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 11 April 2005 13:49 (twenty years ago)

Also, his emo sex rap before the final chorus works better than "Wham Rap," that's for sure.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 11 April 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

I have to say I've never, ever heard Bryan Ferry sing ANYTHING nearly as well as George Michael sings "Careless Whisper".

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 11 April 2005 13:52 (twenty years ago)

*weeps bitter tears*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 11 April 2005 13:53 (twenty years ago)

Dud song. But I have great memories of having someone write "I LOVE WHAM!" in permanent marker across my face when I was passed out. Ahh, youthful binge drinking .. classic.

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 11 April 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

haven't heard it in years, pretty sure it's a classic.

I like "Everything She Wants" more, though.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 11 April 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

"I have to say I've never, ever heard Bryan Ferry sing ANYTHING nearly as well as George Michael sings "Careless Whisper".

What about "To Turn You On" or "Dance Away", Dan?

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 11 April 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

A more valid point is that Ferry, with the exception of some of the weaker songs on "Bete Noir," would never write an arrangement as mainstream as George Michael's. When he was crass, which he only was during the early Roxy days, it was ironically so, or rather, so ironic that he was sincere.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 11 April 2005 14:18 (twenty years ago)

Didn't Geo. Michaels write this song when he was sixteen or something?

― M. White (Miguelito), Monday, 11 April 2005 14:44 (twenty years ago)

What about "To Turn You On" or "Dance Away", Dan?

Heh. I've never heard either of those songs. I'm really not the biggest Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry booster in the world (although I suspect the 32-year-old me would like them/him a lot more than the 16-year-old me did).

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 11 April 2005 14:47 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

my roommate is whistling this in the next room.

― jody l'anti-vierge (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 21 June 2005 01:22 (twenty years ago)

So classic that it's dud

― That One Guy (That One Guy), Tuesday, 21 June 2005 01:34 (twenty years ago)

it will always be a classic and on every album of love songs.
please ignore this cover:http://paroles-de-chansons.abazada.com/index.php
off topic:
andrew co-wrote "club tropicana" and "careless whisper".
his solo lp had a brilliant song called shake - i also liked "red dress".

― andrew r, Tuesday, 21 June 2005 01:46 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

dud, but it does evoke that time period rather well
also, bryan ferry >>>>>>>>george (but they really have nothing in common, so not sure why the comparison came up)

― gershy, Saturday, 24 March 2007 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

This is a great song. George Michael has always been ace at ballads, and this remains one of his best, including one of his best ever vocal performances.

― Geir Hongro, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:02 (nineteen years ago)

the prosecution rests, your honor

― gershy, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:21 (nineteen years ago)

TS: Wham's "Careless Whisper" vs. Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" vs. Glenn Frey's "You Belong To The City"

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

there's at least 2 baker st vs. careles whisper threads

― gershy, Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

^^^^also: Quarterflash: "Harden My Heart"

― Steve Shasta, Saturday, 24 March 2007 20:41 (nineteen years ago)

Speaking of sax, the sax solo on Spandau Ballet's "True" is my all time favourite in that matter.

― Geir Hongro, Saturday, 24 March 2007 20:43 (nineteen years ago)

i've just seen the video for this on "the hits" or some such pish. still hate it. sorry. dud.

― grimly fiendish, Sunday, 25 March 2007 12:27 (nineteen years ago)

I stand by everything I said up there.

― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 25 March 2007 12:31 (nineteen years ago)

i feel strongly about its CLASSIC status. there must have been many classy ladies seduced by this tune.

― artdamages, Sunday, 25 March 2007 13:14 (nineteen years ago)

This is my favourite karaoke track.

― Roz, Sunday, 25 March 2007 13:20 (nineteen years ago)

I've always hated the sax line...Whenever the track comes on, I always groan, thinking it's some terrible Kenny G track, but then George Michael starts singing and it becomes an undeniable classic.

― Tape Store, Sunday, 25 March 2007 16:52 (nineteen years ago)

you'll learn to love the sax some day kid

― artdamages, Sunday, 25 March 2007 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b361/tapestore/snoopy.jpg

― Tape Store, Sunday, 25 March 2007 17:00 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.zihnisinir.com/TR/images/dozsya1/LisaSax2.gif

― Geir Hongro, Monday, 26 March 2007 00:02 (nineteen years ago)

This is still one of THE worst songs in the universe and one day you will understand and demand more from your pop stars.

― Bimble, Monday, 26 March 2007 00:41 (nineteen years ago)

three years pass...

Holy SHIT, I have been hearing this song my entire life and never knew who it was (I though it was some one-hit smooth jazz throwaway) and EEEUUUGGGHH truly think this is THE WORST song of all fucking time. It is so, so awful.

― Pissed off our Weingarten (Stevie D), Monday, 2 August 2010 13:23 (fifteen years ago)

classic. melody and superb vocal performance are what makes this track so good.

― V79, Monday, 2 August 2010 13:44 (fifteen years ago)

It reminds me of the family holiday in 1984, when it was played on the radio endlessly. There was a drought and we got to visit a village that was at the bottom of a (empty at the time) water reservoir.

― ninjas and lasers and gold and (snoball), Monday, 2 August 2010 14:51 (fifteen years ago)

Classic, no doubt about that.

― There's Money To Be Made in Ice Cream (EDB), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:36 (fifteen years ago)

I can't tell you how many times people have picked up my 45 of this song, and just started laughing, and like patted me on the shoulder, and said something like, "Oh man, this is too good! Seriously?" Ok, this has actually happened only four times, but that's enough.

― spanikopitcon (Abbott), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:38 (fifteen years ago)

I have never seen the video until now...they're boating, not dancing. This makes no sense!

― spanikopitcon (Abbott), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:45 (fifteen years ago)

Dud song. But I have great memories of having someone write "I LOVE WHAM!" in permanent marker across my face when I was passed out. Ahh, youthful binge drinking .. classic.
― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, April 11, 2005 6:57 AM (5 years ago)

― _▂▅▇█▓▒░◕‿‿◕░▒▓█▇▅▂_ (Steve Shasta), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:46 (fifteen years ago)

this song is fucking amazing, easily the best thing George Michael has ever done/been associated with. kinda surprised people hate on it or think appreciating it requires irony...?

― RAGE, for Men (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:49 (fifteen years ago)

xxp most of the non-studio bits of the video had to be reshot the next day because GM didn't like the way his hair looked - which is the reason he wears a baseball cap in the boating scenes.

― ninjas and lasers and gold and (snoball), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:51 (fifteen years ago)

That is incredible! It was actually a pretty enjoyable video. A lot of dramatic, angry-looking women.

― spanikopitcon (Abbott), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:54 (fifteen years ago)

The production is awesome, all the instruments are given plenty of space to work, nothing's overcooked - for example the FM brass stabs sound like part of the record rather than being laid over the top as the sound-de-jour, the muted guitar keeps things ticking over, the sax solo goes on long enough to make it's point without being cheesy, GM's voice works on all the different levels it needs to for the various moods/emotions in the lyrics, the intro puts you right there within a couple of bars, come hear George's tale of woe! The way the song gets you to feel sorry for and sympathetic towards a character who is basically a cheating bastard. The only real mis-step is that the song doesn't really have a proper ending, just kind of drifts off towards the end.

― ninjas and lasers and gold and (snoball), Monday, 2 August 2010 16:57 (fifteen years ago)

This song is a total classic. His vocals from the "tonight the music seems so loud" bit onwards are just incredible.

Actually I agree with everything in Snoball's post above, the production is just perfect.

Though the Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds version is probably the best version of it.

― jellybean (jellybean), Sunday, April 10, 2005 10:57 AM (5 years ago)

I don't agree with this being a better version but it is really amazing, the harmonies and the climax give me a little shiver.

― Kitchen Person, Tuesday, 3 August 2010 04:03 (fifteen years ago)

two years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kas6akz1jWU

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 21 February 2013 20:05 (thirteen years ago)

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