RIYL: Madonna, Michael Jackson, ’80s-era CHR
The world will probably never see another album rule the world like George Michael’s Faith did from 1987 to 1989. Twenty million copies sold worldwide. Number One on the R&B charts, a first for a white artist. Six Top Five singles, four of which went to #1. As pop records go, it was a monster, and while Michael Jackson’s Bad, released two months earlier, notched one more #1 single than Faith did, Faith managed to outsell Bad by two million copies. It also, strangely, won the Grammy for Album of the Year two years after its release.
Looking back at the album today, it’s easy to see why it was so popular; the songs have held up remarkably well (unlike, say, a good chunk of the songs on Bad), and Michael covers a lot of territory in the process, from contemporary dance pop (“I Want Your Sex,” “Hard Day,” “Monkey”) to mid-tempo ballads (“Father Figure”), while throwing in a Bo Diddley-style jam (the title track) and a jazz-fueled torch song (the underrated “Kissing a Fool”) for good measure. Michael’s voice has tremendous range and versatility, and his production is downright minimal in an era known for bombast. It’s a dead brilliant pop record, and the fact that Michael was a mere 23 when he made it is, well, sickening, really.
The bonus disc of Epic/Legacy’s re-release of Faith culls together B-sides and remixes from the era, which includes instrumental versions of “Faith” and “Kissing a Fool,” Michael’s covers of “I Believe When I Fall in Love” and “Love’s in Need of Love Today,” and, at long last, the full-length version of Shep Pettibone’s remix to “Hard Day” (the version that appeared on the Faith CD is a good two to three minutes shorter). Also included are Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ mixes to “Monkey” (single edit, 12″ mix, a cappella). Very shrewd move on Michael’s part to get them involved, as the song would not have reached the top of the charts without them. Curiously, the track “Fantasy” is included as well, though it first appeared as a B-side to Listen Without Prejudice Vol. I track “Freedom ’90.” Tough to argue with its inclusion, as it’s a gem, but there are some UK-only and promo-only remixes to “Faith” and “Father Figure” that should probably be here instead.
The DVD contains all of the music videos from the period, as well as the MTV promo film “Music, Money, Love, Faith,” where Michael gears up for his first solo world tour (don’t blink, or you’ll miss his chreographer, a then-unknown Paula Abdul). The uncensored version of “I Want Your Sex” is included as well as the censored one, and both clips seem pretty tame by today’s standards. (Michael wearing nothing but a sheet, horrors!) The best bit is the 40-minute interview Michael did with British TV personality Jonathan Ross, where he delves deeply into Michael’s personal life, even asking him if he’s taken an AIDS test and whether or not he wears a condom. Fans of George Michael, or ’80s pop in general, will find much to love here. (Epic/Legacy 2011)
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Yet another lesson in why bands should choose their names carefully. The word ‘bully’ suggests someone aggressive and intimidating (and, conversely, someone insecure and a little scared). The Audio Bullys, however, are no such thing. They’re beat mongering rockers, like Hard-Fi pulling the late shift in an Ibiza club. (Singer Simon Franks and Hard-Fi’s Richard Archer should do a duet, just to mess with people’s head over who’s singing which line.) The band’s third album Higher Than the Eiffel has some good ideas – lead single “Only Man” is armed with one hell of a hook, and closing track “Goodbye” is a nifty modern-day take on the Specials – but is sorely lacking a filter, not to mention an editor. Two of the first three songs contain fragments of ideas stitched together, much like Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, but there is no flow. Why did “Daisy Chains” need to end with an a cappella bit? (Answer: it didn’t.) “Shotgun” is the only song here that takes advantage of melding two separate ideas into a whole, but it arrives a bit too late to care, thanks to the album’s 56-minute (!) run time. Take out some of the clutter, and this bully could have been a contender. (The End Records 2011)
