According to George, Older was his greatest moment. Today, May 14, the album turns twenty-five.

The album was released in 1996, but was only his third solo studio album. On the Oprah show, George said,

"The way my image changed in Europe was that I looked very different, I had very short hair—I had really a kind of gay look in a way. I think I was trying to tell people I was okay with it [being gay], I just really didn't want to share it with journalists. The album I made in the middle nineties called Older was a tribute to Anselmo, really; there was a dedication to him on the album and fairly obvious male references. To my fans and the people that were really listening, I felt like I was trying to come out with them."

It was later released in 1997 as a 2-disk set, Older & Upper, containing a second disk of different versions of singles from the album. Most notably was the Part II version of "Fastlove." (In another format, the whole remix of "Fastlove" was released.)
The Upper CD also had interactive elements linking to videos.




The George Michael Estate says there is something special coming later this year. I surely hope it's a deluxe set. It seems logical since we already have a deluxe of Listening Without Prejudice, Vol. 1.

Older

Jesus To A Child

Fastlove

Older

Spinning The Wheel

It Doesn't Really Matter

The Strangest Thing

To Be Forgiven

Move On

Star People

You Have Been Loved

Free

Upper

Fastlove (Part II)

Spinning The Wheel (Forthright Mix)

Star People '97 (Radio Version)

The Strangest Thing '97 (Radio Version)

You Know That I Want To

Safe

The album made it to #1 in the UK, and #6 in the US, charting everywhere in the world in the top 10 (except Poland).

[Edited 5/15/21 11:03am]

I have the CD single of "Fastlove" with Part II that clocks in at 9:27. Great song! I love the performance on MTV Unplugged that they expanded Listen Without Prejudice with.

Cinny said:

I have the CD single of "Fastlove" with Part II that clocks in at 9:27. Great song! I love the performance on MTV Unplugged that they expanded Listen Without Prejudice with.

Yes to all that. I loved the "Fully Extended Mix" of that song. I'm even happier he did it in concert, because earlier in 25 Live tour, he wasn't doing the full version. The show's set list got a bit of an overhaul part of the way through (maybe on the 2nd leg?). So the version he does on the BluRay is just stellar.

All the Unplugged songs are so well done. They're uplifting, rich, soulful, and perfect in a whole new way. I rate Maxwell's unplugged in a close second to GM's. He reimagined a few of his songs, too (as well as that Nine Inch Nails number which went full on gospel for a hot second).

EmmaMcG said:

Fastlove (Parts 1 & 2), Older, Spinning The Wheel, Star People 97 and You Know That I Want To rank among my all time favourite songs by any artist. And they're all on the same album.

Agree on all counts. "Older" is really unique. "Spinning The Wheel" grew on me a little later. And that Forthright mix he uses in concert was amazing. He turned the whole place into a rave. "Star People '97" is the only version, as far as I'm concerned. And that unplugged version is so textured and great.

After Prince, I really miss GM. There was something morbidly poetic about him dying on Christmas day. One of the top voices in the industry. I still wish he and the other George had done a proper duet (to my knowledge they never did?).

There is another thread about 4K videos on YouTube. "As" with MJB is one of them. And you know, over time I've grown to enjoy "If I Told You That," simply because he sings on it. (Imagine, GM on a Darkchild song! He brought it up 10 notches, because as a Whitney solo song, it's just sorta there, ya know?).

TrivialPursuit said:

EmmaMcG said:

I remember reading a story about how Prince tried to recruit George in his fight against the record industry but George was having none of it. I don't know how true that is though.

George himself said that in an interview.

bluegangsta said:

EmmaMcG said:

I remember reading a story about how Prince tried to recruit George in his fight against the record industry but George was having none of it. I don't know how true that is though.

George himself said that in an interview.

It seems Prince reached out to a few folks. Madonna mentioned once that Prince called her and asked her to intervene for him at Warner to get his music. She felt his pain, but added that she didn't know what he expected her to do. She didn't have some big clout at WB to do something like that. However, Prince likely saw her as a WB darling, having had hit record after hit record (something, honestly, he struggled with during his WB years then suddenly gave up trying when he left).

GM had too much to deal with anyway. Sony fight, his boyfriend dying, his mother dying. He took hit after hit in the 90s.

Those cases were quite different anyway.

Older is a brilliant album. It's full of emotion and melancholy, but beautiful as well. There really isn't one GM album that I don't love.

Empress said:

Older is a brilliant album. It's full of emotion and melancholy, but beautiful as well. There really isn't one GM album that I don't love.

What are your thoughts on Patience?

MattyJam said:

Empress said:

Older is a brilliant album. It's full of emotion and melancholy, but beautiful as well. There really isn't one GM album that I don't love.

What are your thoughts on Patience?

The same really. Beautiful, flawless album. John and Elvis are Dead and My Mother had a Brother are so moving. I was on a flight from Toronto to Paris a couple of years ago (8 hours) and I listened to nothing but George. His music got me through that flight. I don't love flying, but I was able to zone out and listen to album after album and not think about the flight much at all. I never tire of GM's music and I'm also a huge fan of Songs from the Last Century, which I know many on this site don't particularly like. George could sing anything beautifully.

Empress said:

MattyJam said:

Empress said:

The same really. Beautiful, flawless album. John and Elvis are Dead and My Mother had a Brother are so moving. I was on a flight from Toronto to Paris a couple of years ago (8 hours) and I listened to nothing but George. His music got me through that flight. I don't love flying, but I was able to zone out and listen to album after album and not think about the flight much at all. I never tire of GM's music and I'm also a huge fan of Songs from the Last Century, which I know many on this site don't particularly like. George could sing anything beautifully.

Nice to see someone else appreciate Patience. I see it getting a bad wrap a fair bit and I always really loved it. It's got a lighter vibe than the particularly somber Older, but it's just as beautiful in its own way.

I agree it's a solid record, and I think the title track (vocal version) is one of his best songs ever.