George Michael’s gorgeous album Listen Without Prejudice turns 32 this month. It is his second solo album after leaving Wham! in 1986, at the height of the band’s success. Michael then went on to release Faith, an exquisite album which he wrote the music and lyrics for. Michael had some big expectations for his second solo venture and he did not disappoint. The second album could not be more different from the first.
In late October 1987, one short year after Michael decided to leave Wham! and all its global success, the singer’s debut album Faith made its way into the world. Proving that he was no one-hit wonder dependent on the success of a duo, Michael wrote and composed all of Faith’s tracks, proving that he was so much more than just the sex symbol that he had become synonymous with. Faith ended up spending twelve weeks at number one and went on to sell a whopping twenty-five million copies globally. Any shackles that Michael needed to shake from his “teenybopper group” had well and truly been smashed and the newfound solo incarnation that Michael had dreamed about since childhood had finally arrived. Albumism
The album opens with Praying For Time, a timeless (ho ho) classic in my view. It examines social injustices and how we have been conditioned by society into not being caring for one another. I imagine Michael is talking about the global receptions to the AIDS crisis. The whole of the album is more sombre than its predecessor and deals with a number of serious issues. George Michael did not come out as gay until 1998, so he could not be explicit about the meaning behind some of these tracks, but they are evident to us now with modern ears.
Freedom ’90 is a splendid punchy pop track which was designed to appeal to his straight female fan base. In the music video, we see a collection of the world’s most famous supermodels at the time, including Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford lip syncing to his lyrics. Freedom itself is perhaps the resounding theme of the album.
…it was abundantly clear that this album was about escaping a reality that had been created both by the singer himself and those around him whose vested interest lied more in the monetary side of things rather than the creative. Ibidem.
“Freedom!,” a house-inflected dance number in which Michael, again in high dudgeon but chipper about it, declared war on MTV and the system that forced him to look devastating in a leather jacket and stubble. Not giving a damn, MTV played the hell out of the video anyway—how could they not? The concept was novel: the besieged superstar out of sight, in his place a menagerie of supermodels. Disgusted with ubiquity, tired of his face, George Michael wanted to vanish. Pitchfork
Cowboys and Angels is a song about a love triangle of unrequited affection. It is influenced by Michael’s obsession with Stan Getz. The influence of this track is explored at length in Older, Michael’s 1996 offering.
Listen Without Prejudice, Vol.1 was the follow-up that Faith demanded; in this new incarnation, it’s a miscellany unruffled by notions of coherence, an attempt to make art out of George Michael’s quarrels with himself. Never again would these quarrels work to such bounteous ends. Pitchfork
Michael wrote, in Freedom 90′ ‘today the way I play the game is not the same’. The rest of this album is a testament to this. This is an album of honesty, introspection and candour on a level we have not yet seen from the artist. He is done with pop for pop’s sake and seeks to re-invent himself as a serious artist who does not pander to his record executives’ whims. He seeks to go beyond chart pop and give his listeners something special which, he hopes, they might receive without prejudice.
Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1 was—and remains—an honest appraisal about the tradeoffs inherent within fame, and the sadness and isolation it can spawn. Thirty years later and with so many people clamoring for attention via social media, this album might just be what the doctor ordered for those desperate to be validated by the invisible “friend.” Albumism
You may have noticed an uptick is phenomenal, awe inspiring works of Christian art of late. In an effort to demonstrate that I still have a touch of irreverence and humour about myself, the September edition of Three Favourites will be dedicated to Christian music album covers, which touched me rather.
Rev. Danny Nance – Jesus and Superman (1979)
I’m not sure this cover was approved by the Holy See. This caught my eye for a number of reasons. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It is our Lord and saviour. I’m not sure what is best about this cover. Whether it is Superman dive bombing the faithful, or the community looking up hopefully at Jesus, perhaps in the vain hope that He will rescue them from their impending doom.
The Holy Milk Men – Quarts of Love (1979)
This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. There is something about coiffed identically dressed men, professing their milky love, which touches me. What does one call such a group? An udder of milk men? In any case they have a quart of love for you and me. Get your glasses ready!
The Louvin Brothers – Satan is Real (1959)
To be honest I expected better of this famous duo. Clad in nice white suits in front of a scene of liquid hot magma is quite a sight to behold. The cardboard cut out of the devil himself is also a sight to behold. The scene is extraordinary but I cannot speak to the quality of the music.
Join me next month for October Favourites, possibly spooky.
Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of Three Favourites. See below the selections which have made it this month.
Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii 1961
Charlotte and I were having dinner the other night, and listening to Elvis. The cover on his 1961 offering is quite delightful to this reviewer. Elvis is posed, next to a reel which proclaims, twice, that there are 14 great songs on the album. Elvis himself is in a bright Hawaiian shirt, with a black ukulele and a string of flowers around his neck. This is a splendid and balanced cover which has sufficient whimsey to be entertaining and memorable.
The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle – 1968
This cover is psychedelic and captures something of the end of the 1960s. The album itself is light and beautiful with the track Time of the Season being a real highlight. The colours and shapes intermingling and completing a full picture are impressive. OVerall this is an exciting cover which is very much of its time.
Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells – 1973
I am surprised I have not included Mike Oldfield’s exquisite Tubular Bells before. This cover is very simple: A tubular bell, set against a natural background of sky and a wave. I suppose the understated nature of this cover in light of the brilliance of the album is what sets it out as one of the iconic covers of all time. I love this, it is effective and striking.
Tune in next month for the three favourites of September.
A question has been intriguing me rather: what are the factors for choosing AOTM? Is it the album I have listened to the most all month (which would be Confident Music for Confident People by Confidence Man)? Or is it the best album I have heard all month (Probably Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of the War of the Worlds, the more modern recording)? In the end, I have chosen Bliss Release by Cloud Control as it is the most suitable to describe my July. I wanted to play this at a dinner during the hottest day of the year but was constrained to listening to Andrew (Andrwho?) Bird. This would have been my choice and is one of my favourite summer albums. It was introduced to me by my father, whose taste in music is a strong redeeming quality for other nefarious aspects of his character with which one has to put up. I am sure he feels the same about me.
There’s an appealing open-heartedness about the debut from Australian psychedelic poppers Cloud Control, a sense of wide-eyed, slightly fried wonder. You might even pin down their entire worldview to a single line in the song Ghost Story: “I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.” Singer Alister Wright sounds so amazed by everything that one suspects he could conjure awe out of a parking permit renewal reminder. Guardian
There’s Nothing In the Water is very much in keeping with the Cloud Control theme, it is a cool, well produced slick piece of Australian psychedelic pop.
Gold Canary is the standout track on the album. The riffs, drum line and catchy lyrics add up for a real toe-tapping winner of a track. In a way it is about freedom and being released from one’s cage.
Just For Now is another perfect summer tune, which allows us to cruise along a mountain highway, or sip tea through a sunny Saturday morning without a care in the world.
This Is What I Said recalls Paul Simon’s Graceland with its African-inflected guitar line and Wright’s conversational but oddly stilted lyric: “She said, ‘Can you feel the tangible chill in the air?'” One half expects the next line to reveal the speaker is nine years old and the child of his first marriage. Guardian
This album has, in various comment sections of the sources I consult for making these posts, been described as ‘criminally underrated’. I am minded to agree. This is close to a perfect album and is certainly a very high quality summer album with ‘good vibes’ as the youth of today would say.
Three Favourites are here again. See below three albums covers that have tickled me rather as the month has progressed.
Heaven and Hell – Black Sabbath (1980)
There has been a lot of religious art on this blog recently but sometimes it pays to be slightly irreverent. The idea of three angels taking a break from finishing my rosaries when I fall asleep praying, having a fag, is very funny to me. I had not noticed them playing cards before! One of the things which caught my eye on this album was the angels’ shoes. Most of the art on this blog features angels without shoes. What an interesting feature.
Music From the Penguin Cafe – The Penguin Orchestra (1976)
This album was introduced to me by my father. I had forgotten about until Nick and I were flicking through the 1001 albums You Must Hear Before You Die book. This is an excellent album in its own right and contains some superb artwork. HAve a look and be disturbed and amazed in equal measure.
Elvis Presley – self titled – 1956
The picture of the king of rock, early in his career, riffing and having a great time is is very touching. This album cover shows the king in his prime, rocking out. It has made me very happy at the time of writing. Charlotte and I bonded in the beginning of our relationship having dinner at her apartment listening to Elvis’ 1960 album, which I cannot recommend enough.
Well there you have it. Tune in next month for the next covers.
Sabotage was Brummie band Black Sabbath’s sixth studio album, released in 1975. This was written at a difficult time for the band, who were fighting a legal battle with their former management who were keeping their earnings from them. The album follows some of the technical developments and movements towards synthesizers as the album’s predecessor, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. However, this iconic landmark album takes the band to new heights. Interestingly, Bill Ward forgot his trousers for the shoot for the album cover and had to borrow his wife’s red tights.
The album kick’s off with Hole in the Sky which picks up on the band’s earlier success in that it chooses a catchy riff and goes with it. The force of the track is stopped abruptly with the second track, Don’t Start (Too Late) which is an acoustic track. The juxtaposition is said to remind the listener that Sabbath is not to be confined to metal. The overarching theme of this album is insanity and loneliness. These are particularly covered in the epic Megalomania and Symptom of the Universe.
I’m not sure Google gets the picture
Symptom of the Universe is a six and a half minute epic. This is one of the two standout tracks of the album and contains some of its most striking lyrics:
Take my hand, my child of love come step inside my tears
Swim the magic ocean I’ve been crying all these years
With our love we’ll ride away into eternal skies
A symptom of the universe, a love that never dies
Listen to the drumming especially and Ozzy’s evocative vocals.
It is like being dragged, screaming, through Ozzy’s nightmare.
Paul Conboy, in the car with me as his captive audience.
Supertzar is an unexpected track, no lyrics, simply a choir harmonizing a harrowing eery tune. Ozzy said he could not think of any improvement to Tony Iommi’s riffs in the track so he added only harmonisation. The end result is somewhat apocalyptic.
A choir’s vocalizations dominated “Supertzar,”—no lyrics, just dark and fantastical vocal harmonies. In his memoir I Am Ozzy, Osbourne described the day it was recorded: “I walked into Morgan Studios and there was an entire forty-member choir in there along with an eighty-six-year-old harpist. They were making a noise like God conducting the soundtrack to the end of the world.” Classic Rock History
Megalomania is by far the most thrilling track on the album. It is an 10 minute epic which shows us the heights to which Sabbath could go. The word itself is a person who is obsessed with power. Osbourne captures the despairing loneliness with some choice lyrics throughout the track. The varying musical styles within the track’s passages are a testament to the diversity of talent within the band. Fortunately, a third of the way through Iommi interrupted the dread with an energetic riff on an unexpected piano. The listener was abruptly brought out of the dark and back to Earth, a transition mirrored by the lyrics, “Well I feel something’s taken me, I don’t know where. It’s like a trip inside a separate mind.” From there the song became a bold, hard-rocking tale of the narrator’s journey back from madness. (Classic Rock History)
I’m really digging schizophrenia the best of the earth
I’ll chase my soul in the fires of hell?
Peace of mind eluded me, but now it’s all mine
I simply try, but he wants me to fail
Feel it slipping away, slipping in tomorrow
Now I’ve found my happiness, providence of sorrow
More by accident than design, Sabotage ends Black Sabbath’s peerless first six-album run by being a bit of everything that got them there. Where the ambition and expansion of Vol. 4 had about it a glamorous sheen, the golden tint of perfect LA sunshine, here that same artistry is served by the grubbier fists and middle fingers of the four blokes from Aston that made their first three records.
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The beginning of the end for the classic era? Almost certainly. But while they were on their hot streak, even as cracks started to show, Sabbath remained absolutely untouchable.
Kerrang
This album quite changed my perception of Sabbath. I knew Paranoid, of course, and some of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath but this was on a different level. It did mark the beginning of the end of the era but I quite agree with Kerrang, Sabbath were untouchable.
