Review: George Michael | Faith: Remastered

Legacy (2011)
By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER  |  January 27, 2011
4.0 4.0 Stars

gm 

Long before he was driving into storefronts and gladhanding undercover police officers in public restrooms, George Michael was in the closet and struggling to break free from having been in the short-shorts-wearing duo Wham! Faith did the trick, despite the ready-to-pin-up cover art. The title track remains an ideal melding of rockabilly and dance, rescued from Limp Bizkit's late-'90s torturing by its appearance during that unforgettable bedroom shimmy scene in The Rules of Attraction. The once controversial "I Want Your Sex" is still the definition of dirty, baby; "One More Try" aches with a wanton emotion and soul that the James Blunts of the world only dream about possessing. Even questionable numbers like the smoky-lounge "Kissing a Fool" and the beat-happy "Monkey" shine because you can sense the seriousness with which Michael takes them. A bonus disc unearths nuggets like a "Faith" instrumental, and there are the forgettable but requisite B-Sides and remixes. It's always curious to see how re-releases hold up in retrospect. Nearly a quarter-century in, Faith isn't timeless, but it fits into an '80s time capsule where horns, cheesy-sounding drum machines, and four-day-old stubble were the standard.

Related: Photos: Janelle Monáe at the Orpheum Theatre, A gathering of the tribe, Photos: Pinchbottom Burlesque Book Launch at the Beehive (kinda NSFW), More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Music, George Michael,  More more >
| More


Most Popular
ARTICLES BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REX BROWN DELIVERS THE WORD ON PANTERA  |  March 20, 2013
    “No holds barred” and “warts and all” are typical qualifiers when it comes to rock-and-roll memoirs, but rarely do they fulfill the promise.
  •   PHOTOS: DEVOTCHKA AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES  |  March 13, 2013
    DeVotchKa performs live at the House of Blues on March 9, 2013.
  •   WHAT'S F'N NEXT? ALT-J  |  February 26, 2013
    Bands that have taken home the United Kingdom's Mercury Prize in the past have included Suede, Pulp, Primal Scream, and Arctic Monkeys.
  •   SHOUT OUT LOUDS | OPTICA  |  February 26, 2013
    Stockholm's Shout Out Louds have always been a curious but consistent act.
  •   WHAT'S F'N NEXT? CAVEMAN  |  February 20, 2013
    Most people are probably sick to death of Brooklyn being a hipster's paradise where dinks with moustaches tatted on their fingers drive fixed-gear bikes to Williamsburg bars to pay $6.50 for a can of PBR.

 See all articles by: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER