Disco de Wham!: “Fantastic! [Bonus Tracks]”

Although it's only 8 songs deep, "Fantastic" is simply a fantastic album, I only wish that Wham's later albums would have been as good as this one. What makes "Fantastic" a good album is because it so much seemed to be about having fun and a good time. Songs like "Come On," "Ray of Sunshine," "Love Machine," Club Tropicana," and "Wham rap," just make you want to get up and dance. Although this album was released in the early 80's, it still has a late 70's disco vibe going on. The one ballad on the album, "Nothing Looks The Same In The Light," is classic. If you didn't become a Wham fan until their second album, be sure to check out this one too. It's a bit short but it's very sweet!

The debut album of two Brits set out to be one of the defining pop-bands in the 80's. This was the first vinyl album I bought.

The songs are all great - excellent fun and dance records. Nothing like the serious Georg Michael of today (who shouldn't be embarrassed today that he recorded this album).

I rate 'Bad Boys' and 'Young Guns (Go For It)' as some of the best singles ever released, 'Club Tropicana' is not my personal favorite (but has an excellent video!) and 'WHAM! Rap' is a classic.

But the songs 'Nothing Looks The Same In The Light' and 'A Ray of Sunshine' are classics too! A must for a every fan of '80s pop and dance music!

If you can afford it, try to get a european version of this album, since you will get remixes of 'A Ray Of Sunshine', 'Love Machine' and 'Nothing Looks The Same In The Light', which extends the album to well over 50minutes of fantastic (George and Andrew were quite modest with their title:-)

The pessimistic ballad "Nothing Looks The Same In the Light" touches upon George Michael's pervailing sense of cynicsm in romance, and his streetwise act looks rather campy all these years later. But hey, the music is still quite sleek, stylish and lots of fun. If it leaves one feeling a little empty by the CD's end, take comfort in the knowledge that all this was just Act I in Michael's career and that his level of music substance would strengthen with age(sorta). B-

Not as well known as 1983's smash US breakthrough "Make It Big," this CD is a triumph all its own. Here, George Michael introduces himself to the world through catchy pop/R&B tunes and some inventive songwriting. Here, you'll find everything from rap (Wham! was the first real British white rap group) in "Wham! Rap" and "Young Guns," to the R&B influenced "Bad Boys." Even today, it's hard to find songs that are more fun to listen to than "Club Tropicana" and "Come On." I still pop them into my CD player and get a rush driving down the freeway. They are fun, carefree party songs that are par for the course. However, remember we are dealing with George Michael, one of the best songwriters around. As such, the songs are fun, but not lightweight. The lyrics are still meaty and at times, the tracks tackle things you wouldn't expect on a debut album, espcially one written, recorded and co-produced by a 19-year! -old. Witness "Nothing Looks The Same In The Light," a vastly underrated ballad the quality of which rivals some songs being released today. Also, you'll find "A Ray Of Sunshine" taking a very quick "snapshot" look at being a 19-year-old musician. Even "Wham! Rap" covers things like welfare and unemployment. This is not a throwaway release. This is a CD that shows a brilliant singer, songwriter and producer poking his head out to see what he might be capable of. The result is a youthful, vibrant CD that has glimmers of greatness. It's no wonder George got braver and called the next CD "Make It Big." While this CD isn't the caliber of George's 1987 megaplatinum solo "Faith" CD, it's unfair to compare the two: "Faith" is about a man's growth as a person, and "Fantastic" is about two young boys having fun. In short, if you're looking for "Father Figure," this isn't it. But if you want to ret! urn to the days of your youth in the 80s, in George's words! , "Come on ... everybody... get on ... with your party ... and don't let nobody... say you're wrong..."

It's true that the following years 'Make It Big' was a far

bigger US hit this debut but 'Fantastic!' is far more true to

the bands British R&B roots.While "Young Guns" and the excellent

"Wham Rap" are the hits it's the album tracks that really get

me going."Club Tropicana" is a wonderfully festive example of

catchy,uptempo funky pop and is my favorite track on the album-

VERY,VERY period Kool & The Gang but great none the less!It's

followed by the slow,seductive "Nothing Looks The Same In The

Light",my second favorite here!

If there is one complaint about this album it would

the blatant immaturity of some of the lyrics,especially on the

rap song.But George Michael's delivers them with such authority

that even I buy it,and he wasn't too far off base and nobody got hurt.It's all in clean,youthful fun!A cover of "Love Machine" gives Andrew Rigdley,always in Michael's looming shadow,a chance to shin on guitar a bit.So is this the one Wham!

album to own?Yes it is-it has the most artistic merrit and is

a good treasure from the ol' days of Britosh soul-pop with

early Spandau Ballet and Scritti Politi!So worth it!