Here is a review I wrote in 2008 of George Michael's amazing MSG show on the 25 Live from 2008

Keeping the “Faith”

George Michael Returns Confident, Focused and yes, Funky as Ever

George Michael

Madison Square Garden

New York City

July 21, 2008

Sometimes you don’t realize how much you’ve missed someone until you see them again.

George Michael has definitely been missed. With a spectacular concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden last week, Michael reminded the crowd of 17,000 that even after not touring North America for 17 years, he remains a magnetic live performer.

After bursting onto the pop music scene in the early 1980’s as the driving force behind the sometimes fun, sometimes silly duo Wham, Michael achieved mega stardom with 1987’s “Faith,” which spawned 6 number one hits and became one of the decade’s biggest selling albums, ultimately selling 20 million copies worldwide. Life after that got a little complicated for the Greek born Michael. Although he continued to release new music, a nasty fight with Sony Records in the mid-1990s over creative and musical direction (a battle that the singer ultimately lost) resulted in periods of professional inactivity. Along with those long layoffs were personal and legal issues; the deaths of both his mother and his partner, alleged substance abuse and a 1998 arrest for lewd conduct in a Los Angeles public restroom that threatened to overshadow Michael’s promising career.

But all that mattered not when Michael kicked off his North American “25 Live” tour in San Diego in June. Greeted with a roar of adulation when he stepped onto the Garden stage last week, Michael and the crowd left his past difficulties, well, in the past. Opening with “Waiting (Reprise)” from 1990’s terrific “Listen without Prejudice: Volume One,” Michael confidently strode to center stage. And what a stage it was. Sloping down from behind the singer and continuing under his feet, the elaborate set, along with the video and lighting schemes created the perfect personal discotheque for the pop star to present such hits as “Fastlove,” “Father Figure,” “I’m Your Man,” “Everything She Wants, and others. With his crackerjack 15 piece band perched on levels behind him (and sometimes joining him center stage) the singer was able to achieve at times both the intimacy of a club gig and the spectacle of a full blown arena show. Mixing Wham! hits, solo gems and a few cover songs, Michael paid homage to his musical past and truly offered something for everyone who, in his words, “stuck by” him throughout his 25 year career.

While the 45 year old singer is an effective showman, his greatest strengths are the purity and richness of his voice. While he got down on the funk of his dance hits, the singer impressed most when crooning numbers like the silky “One More Try” or the smooth “Kissing a Fool.” Michael has often said he considers himself a writer and singer before being an entertainer and his slow numbers reinforced that notion. However, during the set this emphasis on slow songs caused the show to be uneven; the second half of the show suffered from poor pacing. Yet this was a small price to pay, considering that at one point Michael delivered an absolutely stunning version of the ballad “A Different Corner,” his voice melting around the lyrics and holding the audience in rapt attention.

Michael has stated that this tour could be his last arena event, with him choosing to take his career in different directions. So naturally he couldn’t leave the stage without rewarding the fans with the hits “Careless Whisper” and “Freedom 90.” The latter threatened to tear the roof off the arena by the sheer force of the audience participation. After that closing song capped off 2 ½ hours of pop music ecstasy, it was evident from the crowd’s reaction that even after all these years, Michael is still their man.