I got the 25 Live compilation a little while ago and I played the hell out of 'Everything She Wants'. Yay 80's flashbacks!

GM has some ballads i like "One More Try" "Kissing A Fool" "Praying For Time" "A Different Corner", but overall i always thought they werent that great..too lush for me..oh yeah and "Father Figure"
[Edited 2/1/08 13:55pm]

Since I see some up tempo tracks added to this list....

Here are three uptempo's to add:
extended versions

Hard Day
Monkey
Too Funky

Timmy84 said:

I certainly respect George Michael as a singer. But having seen a documentary about him recently, I was stunned just how incredibly influenced George has been vocally and musically by that gentleman on your cool avatar there ...

It made me view GM in a whole new light.

I'm no GM megafan, but for me, his greatest vocal moment was his great live performance of 'Somebody To Love' with the survivors of Queen at the Freddie Mercury Benefit concert years ago. He was clearly the only singer on the day who managed to match those soaring Freddie vocals note for high note and in the same key.

I love his song Where did your heart go , its vastly underrated.

Miles said:

Did either of you guys ever see this?



Seriously, one of his best performances to date..EVER. Why can't homie just record this song in the studio for his next album? or even on a Marvin Gaye tribute album?
[Edited 2/1/08 16:54pm]
[Edited 2/1/08 16:55pm]

How SICK is Hard Day? just ridiculous. his little "camille" vocals at the end. funky bastard.

Kissmequick said:

Maybe it's often overlooked because it's so played-out, and it's so very of it's time, but if you try to listen to "Careless Whisper" with new ears, it really is incredible. Especially considering his age.

Miles said:

He has great taste, because he's also heavily influenced by my other favorite, Stevie Wonder. I swear, George must own the record for most recorded Stevie covers without making a tribute album.

piepie1976 said:

That song is what really sold me on him. I had a vehement hatred of Wham!. And when he released 'I Want Your Sex' I was surprised at how much I actually liked it. So much so, that I bought the 12" single. And lo and behold, what was on the b-side?

It's been on ever since...

violator said:

I love "Hard Day"! It's one of my favorites. But you really hated Wham! completely? Even "Everything She Wants"? That's usually the one song that even the haters can't resist.

AlexdeParis said:

I do like that song. But, I'm a child of the 80's and for me Wham! was 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' 'Wham Rap' and 'Bad Boys'. And as with much of the music in the 80's, you see the imagery (video) with the music. And that shit was too sugary to stomach at that time.

After I became a big fan of his, I went back and listened to more of the Wham! stuff and there were some things I gained an appreciation for. 'Nothing Looks The Same In The Light', 'A Ray Of Sunshine' and 'Everything She Wants' being a few of them.

By and large though, when it comes to Wham!... meh....

Vanilli said:

The Extended version isn't very good

bboy87 said:

Org note me that and WBSS (Demo) and I will love you forever.

Vanilli said:

check your orgnotes

bboy87 said:

You rock bboy! Thanks so much buddy!

I had an idea, if I buy the Thriller 25 at Circuit City and you buy the one
on Amazon, wanna trade "Got The Hots" for the "WBSS 2008" (Dance Mix)

Lemme know

piepie1976 said:

Hard Day did it for me back in the day too. Still does.

I made a 3CD compilation a couple of months ago before I had my iPod:

Disc 1:
Wham! Rap(U.S. Remix/The video version)
Bad Boys
Young Guns
Ray of Sunshine
Club Tropicana
Nothing Looks The Same In The Light
Wake Me Up Before Your Go Go
Freedom
Everything She Wants(U.S. Remix)
Last Christmas
Careless Whisper(Radio Edit)
If You Were There
Blue
A Different Corner
I'm Your Man
Where Did Your Heart Go?
The Edge Of Heaven

Disc 2:
I Knew You Were Waiting For Me(w/Aretha Franklin)
Learn To Say No(w/ Jody Watley)
I Want Your Sex(Pt.1)
Faith
Hard Day
Father Figure
One More Try
Hand To Mouth
Monkey(Remix)
Kissing A Fool
Heaven Help Me(w/Deon Estus)
Praying For Time
Waiting For The Day
Freedom! '90
Cowboys And Angels
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Too Funky

Disc 3:
Somebody To Love
Killer/Papa Was A Rolling Stone
Jesus To A Child
Fastlove
Spinning The Wheel
Older
Star People
You Know That I Want To
Outside
As(w/ Mary J Blige)
If I Told You That(w/Whitney Houston)
Amazing
John And Elvis Are Dead
Round Here
Flawless
This Is Not Real Love
Through
An Easier Affair

bboy87 said:

I don´t know many of the songs you´ve listed. I better get some of his regular albums.

ok this thread totally got me on a GM kick. i went and dl'd all the stuff i didnt have (mostly the wham albums). anyway i came across "Battlestations" from The Edge of Heaven. is this George's first foray into funk? im lovin the linn drum sounds. and that bass! and then i hear finger cymbals at the end? he mustve really like prince.

upon further reflection tho, if i had to narrow it down to one....i'd have to say the full version of I Want Your Sex. pts 1 and 2 together. that shit is fucking epic. wts it like ten minutes? all the different turns it takes? the funk? i think it maybe got viewed as a throwaway because of the lyrics but this is the best think he ever did. period. ok im done.

ps-thanks for starting this thread, dag. i'm really loving all this george talk.

dag said:

Ya think? It's not like there are that many of them. Listen Without Prejudice is essential, as is Faith. Older is almost as good. Patience should be your fourth purchase. You can get the covers album whenever...

Vanilli said:

That per4mance was aiight. Kate Bush still got my fav on the best re-make of that song.

George really really need to get back to doing uptempo tracks.

piepie1976 said:

"Battlestations" is one of my top 10 favorite Wham/GM songs

AlexdeParis said:

Thanks for you tips.
There aren´t that many, you´re riht, but there´s so much music I´d like to have and I wish I could afford buy all of them, but CD´s are still quite expensive over here, so I gotta take it step by step.

dag said:

Oh, I understand. If you can find a used CD store, I'd start there.

AlexdeParis said:

There are hardly any used CD stores over here. I´ve seen one in one big city but the selection was not that good. But it´ll be better soon. I am studying and having to pay all the bills when you live alone and work only part-time ain´t fun, but I am finishing my studies in May, June, so after that I start working full time and things will be better.
[Edited 2/3/08 5:49am]

bboy87 said:

where is Safe?

[Edited 2/3/08 9:46am]

No one's posted Mother's Pride?

One of my faves...


As far as best album? Listen Without Prejudice is my fave cd by GM.

June7 said:

Co-sign.


Co-sign.

I also love "Safe." "Fantasy" is another great b-side; I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it's fun.

I've been down since the Wham U.K. debut... GM's mature songwriting skills were evident early on with "Nothing Looks The Same In The Light" and "Like A Baby"... I just wish his recording/release schedule was less sporadic.