George Michael Album: “Twenty Five”

The past couple of years have been a bit difficult on George Michael. With problems with substance abuse, and invasions of his personal life, it has been one difficult ride from the fallen star. Though his career has fizzled in America the past several years, his music has recently taken a turn with the success of the ABC show Eli Stone. With his songs like Faith being shown and showcased on the show, his voice has been introduced slowly but surely to a whole new generation. Even though he still hasn't made it big in America, he still has shown it by being a status symbol all throughout Europe. But last year, he celebrated his 25th anniversary of being a recording icon, and has shown it on a new greatest hits album for American audiences. But, is this something worth having Faith with?

Twenty Five, the 2006 greatest hits album from George Michael which was widely released overseas, has finally made its 2008 American debut for listeners. The collection though focuses on his mainly his overseas success, and not as much on his status with American hard core fans. The collection falls similar to George's 1998 hits album Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael, as a double-album of his classics, one being of his top dance songs, the other by being about his somber but classic ballads. The collection throws in a few surprises, one of them bringing in more of his mainstream hits during his era as a part of Wham! during the 80's with classics like Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go!, Last Christmas and the somber Careless Whisper. The collection also includes his classics from both sides of the Atlantic, including his mainstream radio standards like Freedom '90, the deep and delicate Jesus To A Child, as well as the #1 smashes Father Figure, Faith and Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me with Elton John. The collection also highlights a few new tracks here including a cover of the Stevie Wonder classic As with Mary J. Blige, which has made its official U.S. debut after being a hit overseas 10 years ago, as well as the delicate and intimate This Is Not Real Love, and a collaboration of his song Heal The Pain with Paul McCartney. While the album highlights in his new songs as well as some fan favorites the album does overlook a few of George's great #1 hits from his 80's era like the provocative I Want Your Sex, Monkey and his classic I Knew You Were Waiting For Me with the legendary Aretha Franklin.

While Twenty Five isn't as definitive as Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael, it still is a decent buy for hard core fans of George throughout the years who still enjoy his melodies, and works nicely as a sample for anyone who doesn't at all own any George Michael album to date. While there have been so many greatest hits albums that haven't worked that well the past few years, Twenty Five by George Michael is a good addition to your album collection, and that is something is is of a decent value from a father figure.

Album Cover: B

Songs: B-

Price: B-

Remastering: B+

Overall: B 1/2-

Between George Michael's last greatest hits collection and this collection, he only released 2 albums, "Songs From The Last Century" and "Patience." To celebrate 25 years of his career including his Wham! days, this collection includes some Wham! tracks.

If you have all George Michael's past releases like me, new tracks you will hear are:

An Easier Affair (released as a single earlier)

This Is Not Real Love (also released as a single)

Understand

Heal The Pain (re-recorded with Paul McCartney)

Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Live performance)

Unfortunately, these new tracks are rather bland and forgettable. It's as if he ran out of creative juice, lyrics are way too simple.

Duet with Paul McCartney absolutely butchered this beautiful song which showcased how delicate and beautiful George's voice is.

Brother Can you Spare a Dime was actually breathtaking. Arrangement was almost identical as the track on "Songs From...," but it shows that he is an amazing live performer.

Now to the confusing part...

Not a single song from Wham! first album, "Fantastic" is featured in this collection. Why???

Some of Wham! signature tracks are missing in my humble opinion. Songs that should've been included from Wham! are: "Wham! Rap," "Young Guns" and "I'm Your Man."

Even more confusing, some major hit singles (at least in the US) are missing in here. "I Want Your Sex," "Monkey," and "Kissing a Fool" from mega hit album, "Faith." Plus other important tracks like "I Knew You Were Waiting," "Waiting For That Day," "Cowboys and Angels," and "Star People 97" are missing...

An additional disc named "For The Loyal" was even more frustrating.

7 out of 15 tracks are from "Patience." 3 tracks from "Songs From..."

I think this collection could've been much much better. I mean any song other than "American Angel" would be a good choice.

I described "Ladies and Gentlemen" as a good George Michael sampler. "Twentyfive" hardly qualifies as one. In fact, I feel that "Ladies and Gentlemen" is much more cohesive than this collection.

The title marks George's 25 years in the music business. But it is worth noting that, for the last 20 of those years he has, quite ingeniously, remained at the top of the tree while maintaining the workrate of an arthritic tortoise - just five new studio albums, and one of those was a covers collection.

OK, his disenchantment with the music industry is well known, but even diehard fans must be a bit miffed that the record release which coincides with his world tour is not a new collection of songs, but another retrospective.

It is only eight years since the "Ladies And Gentlemen : best of" with which Twenty Five's track listing overlaps considerably.

No amount of cunning packaging - such as dividing the collection into themed sections with the twee titles "For Living", "For Loving" and, on the triple CD version, "For The Loyal" - can disguise the fact that fans will be buying some songs for the second, maybe third time.

OK, that's the "buyer beware" message.

"Twenty Five" offers a handful of inessential new cuts (the likes of "Heal The Pain" with Paul McCartney, "This Is Not Real Love" with Mutya . . . yawn) but it is also a reminder of the gobsmacking range of Michael's work.

That means everything from the gorgeous, saccharine-tinged glory of "Careless Whisper" to the most cack-handed protest song ever in "Shoot The Dog".

It's a journey from the shuttlecock-down-the-shorts frippery of Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" to the big band crooning of "My Baby just Cares For Me", from brilliant throwaway pop like "Faith" to songs of disarming autobiographical honesty like "My Mother Had A Brother".

George is a pop everyman capable of the sublime (the cover of Stevie Wonder's "As" with Mary J Blige) and the ridiculous (the afore-mentioned "Shoot The Dog").

Pity he's not capable of upping the work rate.

This is kind of a lame release, simply because it's so similar to his earlier Greatest Hits album and because it has some fairly glaring omissions and some similarly strange inclusions, and his limited back catalog doesn't exactly warrant the need for TWO separate Greatest Hits releases, but you can't really argue the fact that these are amazing songs.

My one real problem with the collection is the Re-Mastering on songs like "Heal the Pain" (one of my personal favorites) where they felt the need to re-record the vocal track, and he didn't even try to sing it with the same tone or inflections, plus his voice sounds considerably older now, which means it now sounds like an entirely different song altogether - and not nearly as good. Maybe there was a problem with the original vocal track when it came time to Re-Master? I'm not sure, but I'd rather have the old analog version with less than perfect audio than this beastly recreation.

Other than that, it's a pretty great record from start to finish.

When an artist releases a 'best of' it's normally signalling the beginning of the end of a (succesfull) career. Not for this sometimes controversial, but always non-conformalist artist. Having said that, I'm a bit confused why George Michael released an album that for two thirds consists of previously released material, when the new songs warrant an album of their own! But I guess that's what signing a contract with a record company does for you...

Generally, I need some time to warm to George Michaels new songs when I hear them for the first time (I remember hearing 'Faith' for the first time thinking "what the..."). Adding to that, the new material is pretty self evident and, let's say... private? George Michael is finally in tune with his sexuality and not afraid to make it a subject of mostly every new song. Though that takes some getting used to from a heterosexual point of view, the stories are genuine and lovingly sung - something to be applauded from wherever point of view you look at it.

Again, George Michael surprises with me with songs that I can't seem to stop playing over and over (particularly the new ones). The music transcends itself combined with the fantastic voice of George Michael. About that voice... It always amazes me how well it combines with uptune disco songs like 'Too Funky' or 'Freek' as well as more sedate tunes like the unique jazzy cover of 'Roxanne' or new material like 'My mother had a brother'.

I find it really wonderful experiencing George Michael releasing this kind of timeless music. And if necessary, don't mind waiting a couple of years for his next album.