George Michael

[Ray]

Yes I know. #1 album with "Twenty Five". (I wonder if the fact the 3CD edition was sold for Ł9.99 could have POSSIBLY helped.) Sell-out tour. Etc. BUT: When did he last release a really good single? And I don''t mean a well-produced (Freeek), with great sample (Shoot The Dog) or based on someone else''s tune (Flawless). I mean a pop classic. Faith. Kissing A Fool. Jesus To A Child. Too Funky. Can you hum An Easier Affair? More importantly, who would possibly want to?

Discuss. (Or lock the thread.)

 

[moorje]

I hated "Amazing" but it seemed to strike a chord with the bland-loving general record buying public.
In terms of a 100% original song, I don''t think he needs to, how can he top "Outside" or "Fastlove"?

 

[BlaBlaGuy]

It''s sad isn''t it?
It''s like he can''t invent a pop classic anymore and just prefer to milk the fans with best ofs albums.

 

[kevinandverity]

I hated "Amazing" but it seemed to strike a chord with the bland-loving general record buying public.
In terms of a 100% original song, I don''''t think he needs to, how can he top "Outside" or "Fastlove"?

Me and my friend, for some totally unknown reason, bought Amazing (like, a copy each!!) and then got home and were like "what?" and put them on a shelf to be lost forever. Perhaps a whole load of people done this and that explains why it sold! It was a bit weird... I had never even heard the song, the cover was crap, and I have no feelings for George Michael... maybe brain washing was involved.

I''d say his last big pop moment was Outside... but the video was so cringey and suicide inducing. The song still stands up though I think.

 

[letuinmybackdoor]

It''''s sad isn''''t it?
It''''s like he can''''t invent a pop classic anymore and just prefer to milk the fans with best ofs albums.

I think he needs a collaborator to help him, but suspect his ego wouldn''t allow him to do that. Someone who can give him a few hooks and make his ideas more ''fleshed out''. A Guy Chambers/Patrick Leonard type person, as on his own his music is just now so...blah. It''s no co-incidence his best song of recent years ''Flawless'' is his ideas over someone else''s. Come on George, give it a go, and get back on top!

 

[DosyD]

I thought "This is not real love" was great, classic George Michael. Love the duet, love the lyrics, love the vocals. It could have done with a classy little video.

 

[Ray]

I thought "This is not real love" was great, classic George Michael. Love the duet, love the lyrics, love the vocals. It could have done with a classy little video.

And a chorus.

 

[pranavc]

I still think George Michael is an exceptional songwriter and still has the ability to write a catchy hooky chorus as opposed to something generic. It is his ability as a producer for uptempo tracks which is starting to slip a little. Tracks such as "Amazing" and "An Easier affair" have amazingly infectious choruses and are classic examples of what "could have been". It is mildly unfortunate when as a listener, you have ideas as to what it would take polish up George Michael's musical product. As far as his undisputable musical peak is concerned, it's "Fast Love" - an incredible feat that he simply cannot top. The man is gifted beyond belief.

 

[PabloT]

What G.M. has achieved in his career is incredible... it’s not easy keeping that high level of fantastic pop records through many years (and, yes, maybe Fastlove is his best song, I’ll never get tired of it).

The Older and Patience album tracks are very enjoyable on a different, relaxed and sometimes sad level, especially Older. And, for example, Round here from Patience is a masterpiece.

Simply, he has evolved, and you can’t blame him for not doing Club Tropicana –much as I like it- for ever.

 

[pranavc]

What G.M. has achieved in his career is incredible... it’s not easy keeping that high level of fantastic pop records through many years (and, yes, maybe Fastlove is his best song, I’ll never get tired of it).

The Older and Patience album tracks are very enjoyable on a different, relaxed and sometimes sad level, especially Older. And, for example, Round here from Patience is a masterpiece.

Simply, he has evolved, and you can’t blame him for not doing Club Tropicana –much as I like it- for ever.

I agree. What George Michael has achieved cannot be matched by any of today's pop stars. More importantly, very few musicians in the mainstream pop genre can take a 15 year break from touring and then come back and sell out two tours in less than two years and attract an audience as young as 18. His songs are unforgettable and will stand the test of time - unlike most of today's "flavor of the moment" music.

As a side note, I've met the guy and he's pretty damned cool and classy. Kinda makes you wonder what drives him to occasionally make a mockery of himself in the media .

 

[PabloT]

What G.M. has achieved in his career is incredible... it’s not easy keeping that high level of fantastic pop records through many years (and, yes, maybe Fastlove is his best song, I’ll never get tired of it).

The Older and Patience album tracks are very enjoyable on a different, relaxed and sometimes sad level, especially Older. And, for example, Round here from Patience is a masterpiece.

Simply, he has evolved, and you can’t blame him for not doing Club Tropicana –much as I like it- for ever.

I agree. What George Michael has achieved cannot be matched by any of today's pop stars. More importantly, very few musicians in the mainstream pop genre can take a 15 year break from touring and then come back and sell out two tours in less than two years and attract an audience as young as 18. His songs are unforgettable and will stand the test of time - unlike most of today's "flavor of the moment" music.

As a side note, I've met the guy and he's pretty damned cool and classy. Kinda makes you wonder what drives him to occasionally make a mockery of himself in the media .

Is George still popular in the US? Was his last tour successful?

Is it true that the "incident" in LA damaged his american fanbase for ever?

 

[letuinmybackdoor]

I think he was out in the cold for a while, but am sure 'Patience' went top ten and 'Amazing' and 'Flawless' did quite well in the charts. I think it was his 'Shoot the dog' video that did his career more harm than any toliet shenanigans

 

[pranavc]

What G.M. has achieved in his career is incredible... it’s not easy keeping that high level of fantastic pop records through many years (and, yes, maybe Fastlove is his best song, I’ll never get tired of it).

The Older and Patience album tracks are very enjoyable on a different, relaxed and sometimes sad level, especially Older. And, for example, Round here from Patience is a masterpiece.

Simply, he has evolved, and you can’t blame him for not doing Club Tropicana –much as I like it- for ever.

I agree. What George Michael has achieved cannot be matched by any of today's pop stars. More importantly, very few musicians in the mainstream pop genre can take a 15 year break from touring and then come back and sell out two tours in less than two years and attract an audience as young as 18. His songs are unforgettable and will stand the test of time - unlike most of today's "flavor of the moment" music.

As a side note, I've met the guy and he's pretty damned cool and classy. Kinda makes you wonder what drives him to occasionally make a mockery of himself in the media .

Is George still popular in the US? Was his last tour successful?

Is it true that the "incident" in LA damaged his american fanbase for ever?

George Michael is not popular in the US. "Fast Love" was his last single to crack the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number 8 (which is a shame considering it topped the charts in almost every country on the planet). Nothing from the "Older" album got much radio airplay. The 90s was not a favorable decade for artists (in the US) in the genre of "conventional pop" in the US unless they had one hell of a marketing campaign (e.g. "Desert Rose" by Sting) or got their songs featured on soundtracks (e.g. "Kiss from a rose" by Seal). George Michael was one of many artists that fell prey to this phenomenon. It's a shame because "Older" really is his finest album. Americans are still talking about "Faith" like that is his only solo material. His hiatus from the music industry and the relative failure of "Older" in the US marked the beginning of the end for George Michael in America. The bathroom incident was the nail in the coffin.

Interestingly enough, there was a renewed interest in George Michael in 2004 when he released "Patience". The album jumped 30 places everytime the Oprah show with George as the guest was aired. The album peaked at number 12 on the Billboard album chart. The unfortunate thing is that George Michael still has the capacity to shake American like he did 20 years ago without doing much. Just a little more promotion. It baffles me as to why he refrains from doing so.

 

[Christopher]

It wasn't necessarily the toilet incident specifically, but the fact that it branded him irrevocably gay.

We don't like gays very much over here. At least, not publicly.

 

[PabloT]

It wasn't necessarily the toilet incident specifically, but the fact that it branded him irrevocably gay.

We don't like gays very much over here. At least, not publicly.

Nobody cared in Europe when the toilet incident happened... he continued having normal success ('Outside' was a big hit) and, in general, people thought the police (and the media treatment) was abusive and unfair, considering he had been induced to "try" something with the policeman; whereas the common opinion was that George had handled it intelligently and with sense of humour. I think he retained his old fans and won some new ones.

His concerts 2 years ago were incredibly successful here.

 

[pranavc]

In the US, it was a situation where the only news about George Michael in the 90s was bad news - his court battle with Sony, the toilet incident etc. Global hits such as "Fast Love" and "Outside" never got any radio airplay in the US. In the rest of the world, the good news (i.e. his string of hit singles) ALWAYS eclipsed the bad news. The same would have happened in the US if he continued to get radio airplay. It is this phenomenon that killed George Michael in the US (people are still talking about "Faith" in the US when the guy's career highlight is "Fast Love") and earned him the unfortunate and restrictive label of "80s has-been".

 

[vasilios]

Roxette, Paula Abdul, Wilson Phillips, New Kids On The Block, Debbie Gibson, Taylor Dayne, Expose were popular at the same time as George Michael in the US -they were not gay, and they had the same thing happened to them: After HUGE albums they experienced the cold shoulder of radio and as a result, the public. They were not gay.

With no internet back then and MTV and Radio playing the same 10 songs all day they were doomed, and they all flopped with their next releases. All I am trying to say is US has/had a thing of abandoning past hit artists after a while as they seemed to cheesy/old hat. Don't know why. That's why Madonna pulled all stops with every release, she knew whet could happen.

 

[Former member 330]

George Michael is a walking avertisment for the negative effects of too much cannabis. It's killed his creativity after all these years.

 

[Victor Fairbanks]

It wasn't necessarily the toilet incident specifically, but the fact that it branded him irrevocably gay.

We don't like gays very much over here. At least, not publicly.

Nobody cared in Europe when the toilet incident happened... he continued having normal success ('Outside' was a big hit) and, in general, people thought the police (and the media treatment) was abusive and unfair, considering he had been induced to "try" something with the policeman; whereas the common opinion was that George had handled it intelligently and with sense of humour. I think he retained his old fans and won some new ones.

His concerts 2 years ago were incredibly successful here.

I never much cared for George micheal until the public restroom arrest, Outside is my favourite George Michael video. America is allright wth all them gangsters glorifying bitches and violence, yet they get uptight when a man has sex in a restroom with another man. Sad!

 

[vasilios]

George Michael is a walking avertisment for the negative effects of too much cannabis. It's killed his creativity after all these years.

Too true, in the late 80's every song he had his hand in, even B sides, where amazing. Now, hmmm...