George Michael’s Faith is one of those great 80s albums that contains so many hits it’s hard to believe they all originated on the same record. And it holds up very well 25 years later.
‘Faith,’ ‘Father Figure,’ ‘One More Try,’ ‘I Want Your Sex,’ ‘Monkey,’ ‘Look at Your Hands’ and ‘Kissing a Fool.’ If you were listening to music with any regularity in the late 80s, I bet you can sing a few bars from every one of those songs off the top of your head. I know I can.
Top Ten Male Vocalists – #7 – George Michael
The song I wanted to pick to highlight George Michael’s voice — ‘Kissing a Fool’ — has been featured on the blog already. That performance alone earns Michael a spot on this list. But he brings the same whispery passion to all of his songs that he honed to perfection on that one.
In looking for a song that really showcases his vocal chops, I couldn’t do much better than this cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘They Won’t Go When I Go,’ performed live and released on Michael’s Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1.
[This week’s guest blogger, Amy, continues her exploration of favorite cover songs.]
While The Police and Joni Mitchell may have inspired two fabulous covers, it’s difficult to think of an artist who has inspired more great covers than Elton John. The album Two Rooms, released in 1991, is devoted to Elton John covers performed by the likes of Eric Clapton, Sinead O’Connor, The Who, Kate Bush, Sting and Tina Turner (we’ll overlook that Wilson Phillips is also a featured artist).
However, the two EJ covers I love the most were not featured on that album.
20 Best Songs of the 80s – #17
Here’s an example of a song and an artist that transcend the 80s… George Michael’s next album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, came out in the early 90s and was even better than this one. That album represented his creative peak, however, and what followed was many years of silence and then a very public fall from grace.
And the wonderful Faith album holds up to this day, not as an 80s relic but as an involving, passionate work. If I were arranging this list strictly by the quality of these songs, this one would be near the top. But ‘Faith’ does crack my list of 80s favorites because I have strong memories of Michael’s transition from Wham! fairy to solo sex symbol.
Talk about squandered talent.
George Michael’s first two solo albums were about as good as anything coming out around that time. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, in particular, was an elegant collage of danceable pop and heart-wrenching acoustic ballads. It was hard to believe the guy from Wham! was capable of such resonant art.
And you know the rest of the story… forgettable music and memorable bathroom arrests galore.
Meet Me In Montauk 