George Michael - Older (Best Songs)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Interpolantics, Oct 12, 2018.

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  1. Interpolantics

    Interpolantics Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ireland
    Pick your faves.
    Is this an underrated album or does it get the credit it's due?
    For me the arrangements and overall feel and style of the record make it a classic.
     
  2. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    For me, the only album as a whole that I ever really loved by George was "Faith", because it was just so "full of energy and life". After "Faith" he had some good songs, off and on, but to me even the best ones seemed to be the same of what we heard before, or of some varying spin of "Careless Whisper".

    The one song that really knocked me out after the "Faith" album, was the "single version" of the song "Let Her Down Easy", which is totally different than the album version.
     
  3. cmi

    cmi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Moscow, Russia
    This IS the classic from start to finish. Two non-album tracks are great as well.
     
  4. scantregard

    scantregard Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    The correct answer is "every song". This album is a masterpiece, and George's finest work. Sad, beautiful, sexy and concerned. It's one emotional suckerpunch after another.

    "Fastlove" is fascinating; who else has had a UK #1 about cruising whilst mourning his dead boyfriend that's lyrically incisive but which you can also dance to? Also, one of the finest uses of a reinterpolation; having "Forget Me Nots" soundtrack George singing, "I miss my baby"...it's just fantastic.

    ETA - and no, it doesn't get the credit it's due. At all.
     
  5. Maurice

    Maurice Senior Member

    Location:
    North Yarmouth, ME
    I voted for Strangest Thing, Older, Jesus To A Child and Fastlove but this of course is the right answer.
     
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  6. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I hope his heirs continue the DE series and we get a boxset for this album.
     
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  7. Retropsych

    Retropsych Excessive Lynne Orchestrations

    Location:
    Australia
    I think You Have Been Loved is the best track, and one of his best ever recordings. Always hated Fast Love though.

    A fine album, but Listen Without Prejudice is George's masterpiece (if one expunges Soul Free)
     
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  8. blair207

    blair207 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Fife, Scotland
    I picked the first four but it is strong right through. GMs best album, right up there as an all time great album for me. I think there will be a Deluxe Edition of this sometime.
     
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  9. Ignominious

    Ignominious Knock and Know All!

    Location:
    North of England
    I bought this album on cassette a few months ago (plus the Older EP) and it sounds absolutely fantastic. Probably the best sounding pre-recorded cassette tape that I own.

    It’s a joy from start to finish as is the EP.
     
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  10. Orthogonian Blues

    Orthogonian Blues A man with a fork in a world full of soup.

    Location:
    London, UK
    Listen closely to Fastlove - it's a fantastically detailed track. Also reminds me of the glorious summer of 1996.
     
  11. qJulia

    qJulia Forum Resident

    This album, to me, is a masterpiece. I like all the songs on it (love 90% of them).

    I first heard the album sometime in the late 90s, way before I became a George Michael fan. At that time, one of my of classmates in the college got the album. He was and still is a huge GM fan. I was impressed by the melody of many songs, but did not pay attention to the lyrics at the time. The melody of Older (instrumental) and The Strangest Thing got stuck in my head for a while after first hearing them.

    Late, after I became a GM fan and listened to all his albums, I still love Older. The songs were so well written, with beautiful melodies, and instrumentally well arranged. I would love to have an instrumental album of the songs, if possible.
     
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  12. Interpolantics

    Interpolantics Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ireland
    I was thinking the same thing myself when i was listening to it today. The arrangements and overall production is sublime.
     
  13. jamiesjamies

    jamiesjamies Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leeds, England
    George’s masterpiece IMO. My favourite album of all time. I was so lucky to be 16 years old when it came out, and it was the sound of summer 1996. As I get older myself parts of it make sense to me that didn’t when I was younger, before I had known disappointment! The night George died I lit a candle and played it from start to finish. I really hope they make a good job when they do a deluxe edition.
     
  14. qJulia

    qJulia Forum Resident

    I also think that Older is under appreciated especially in the US. I know that George did not really promote the album in the US, but it was still sold well in the UK and Europe. I guess that the album was not as critically acclaimed as Faith or LWP vol 1 either. I was always wondering why. Faith and LWP are great albums too.
     
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  15. aravel

    aravel starchitect...then, father!

    Location:
    GDL - MEX
    :::... I liked 'Older' More than LWPV1, and the B-Sides from the 'Older' Single (UK) are my favourites (though I always hated that the Hype and the Store stickers was attached to the digipak sleeve of my import copy)

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  16. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    Love the instrumental version of the title track and would welcome more vox less versions.
     
  17. GMfan87'

    GMfan87' Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT.
    It definitely did not get credit it deserved in the US. But i think that was because he was huge with the catchy pop songs in the 80's, both with Wham, solo, then had the lower key LWP , and the Sony battle which prevented that from being promoted (because of both sides) so by time Older came out he had been pushed aside so to speak. His younger Faith audience had largely moved on, and this was a more sophisticated sound that people probably weren't ready for from him. That being said i love it, his strongest album ( he thought so, too) . It's something you have to really listen to, then you realize how finely crafted it all is. The music he chose (bossa nova sound, jazz elements) , his deepest lyrics, softest vocals.. it's a mood record.
    Besides the obvious, released tunes, i'm very partial to To Be Forgiven, Strangest Thing.
     
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  18. GMfan87'

    GMfan87' Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT.
    Always thought it was a shame he didn't get to perform this album in small theaters around Europe, the states. It's very regrettable he couldn't stay focused on his art, have it help him lift him to of his darkest periods.
    Did anyone here see the Unplugged show in person or know anyone who did? I know , small theater, think it was radio contest or MTV only gave out certain amount.
     
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  19. Talisman954

    Talisman954 Forum Resident

    Jesus To A Child is his all time classic Song IMO
    This album as a whole didn’t really appeal to my taste at the time.
    But I always remember when I first heard this song, and I remember thinking this will be his finest moment, and looking back he had never put out another song as good as this since.
    Maybe not as popular as his earlier classics like Careless Whisper or the massive singles off Faith, for me this is his best ever track.
    Most popular doesn’t always mean best.
     
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  20. GMfan87'

    GMfan87' Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT.
    I agree it's a beautiful song , so very different from anything else he ever released.
    That is very true, most popular does not mean best necessarily. Just the other day i was thinking i don't believe any of his songs have ever sounded similar to another, do you feel this way ?
    As far as Older goes if there's a song i don't care for as much on there it would be Star People.
    I liked it much better on Unplugged and not sure it fits so well on what's essentially a concept album.
     
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  21. Izozeles

    Izozeles Pushing my limits

    Fantastic album. It´s little recognition still puzzels me. But that was also the case with Listen Without Prejudice. Guess everybody had always presumed George was only meant to make a Faith II. That friction explains a lot of his career´s last 20 years and has always make me think it was also a big force behind his demons, like he had to prove himself twice as much as any other musician who had a previous blockbuster. People wanted hits, be he was looking for beauty.
     
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  22. GMfan87'

    GMfan87' Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT.
    LWP went in very different direction than Faith, too so when i think of the younger girls (myself included) that loved him here in the states that wasn't going to be widely received. Besides Freedom 90'. Although i loved that and Praying For Time and was intrigued by the album , just was too young to get in to it further at the time. You are right though,no matter what else, the music should of been appreciated more. He wasn't taken as seriously firstly because he was a whole lot of image (so are many others, and they don't get reactions he did) and later because of his public mishaps.
    There was an old Faith era interview where he said, before the unrest with Sony was brewing that, he had a plan to focus on his songwriting and cut out the promotion . He felt it took him away from what he loved most, the writing, he had to promote an album for two years (all the press, photoshoots, etc)
    When you read about GM and listen to the things he said over the years it's clear he had a very definite path in mind for his career. The Sony case started him down a bad road, and his personal issues sadly just took over, he wasn't able to deal, putting a complex situation as simply as I can.
     
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  23. JamesRR

    JamesRR Trashcan Dream

    Location:
    NYC
    Yeah, by this time, George's appeal was waning in the U.S. I remember Jesus getting a fair amount of airplay, but it was clear his audience didn't stay with him. Such a shame, as all the work after Faith was really terrific.
     
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  24. jamiesjamies

    jamiesjamies Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leeds, England
    Totally agree with you about Star People. It’s not that I don’t like it (I do) but it does jar a bit with the flow and mood of the rest of the album. Maybe George wanted to get something off his chest. I liked it when remixed as a single. I think it’s a shame the Unplugged concert was included on the LWP deluxe, it belongs with Older. I would have a future deluxe edition presented like this.

    Disc 1 : original album
    Disc 2 : b sides/remixes/upper tracks
    Disc 3: DVD/blu Ray of the unplugged concert
    Disc 4: blu Ray audio of the album in 5:1

    Properly and luxuriously presented in a hardback case, with comprehensive photos and details of the making of the album. A well mastered and pressed LP is needed too.
     
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  25. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Jesus. Strangest Thing, You Have Been Loved, To Be Forgiven. Mustn't forget the title track.

    Wonderful album

    And yes, nice double vinyl reissue would be much appreciated.
     
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