George Michael: Creating Without Prejudice

By October of 1987 George Michael was on the verge of releasing his first solo album, Faith. After conquering the charts in Britain and internationally with a number of generation-defining pop hits alongside Andrew Ridgeley in Wham!, Michael was breaking new ground as a solo artist. While George had released solo- singles in previous years, including Careless Whisper and A Different Corner, and a duet with Aretha Franklin on the sublime, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) in early 1987, Faith would be Michael’s first substantial musical statement and image re-branding after the group’s dissolution.

In a 1987 interview shortly before the release of the album, Michael would elaborate on his aspirations with the release of Faith and into the future, “The only goal I have really outside of the obvious goal which is just to make better and better music which is what I wanna do, and obviously the thing that terrifies any artist is the day when they wake up and they’re bored with whatever they could do next … the only tangible goal I have over the next two years is to become as big in America as I am in the rest of the world as an artist. I don’t know why because as a star I don’t wanna be any bigger but in terms of as a musician, I want to know that everybody knows my stuff.”

To say that Faith was a success, particular in America would be a vast understatement. The release, filled with kinetic dance tracks and soulful ballads would erupt on the charts, becoming the biggest selling album of 1988 in America and raising Michael’s profile to incredible heights, rivalling that of Madonna and Michael Jackson. George would elaborate, “At the end of Wham!, I needed a new challenge. So I set myself the challenge of getting up there on the American level with Madonna and Michael Jackson — that circle of people. That was my goal. And then having got into that position I realised that it wasn’t my… it wasn’t really going to do anything for me.”

The insatiable image of Michael conjured from the various photo shoots and videos during the Faith campaign would be one of the strongest elements that would lead to this hysteria, regardless of the fact that the music was truly great. As George would recollect under a retrospective lens in the 2017 posthumous documentary, Freedom, “If I was looking for happiness, this was the wrong road. But I don’t think there’s any way I could have controlled my ego enough to have stopped me exploring the possibility of being the biggest selling artist in the world. So I went with full gusto into creating a new character. One that I thought would be resonate enough to stand up there next to Madonna and Jackson and Prince and I guess I did that pretty effectively alongside what was a very, very commercial record.”

The promotional machine to support the Faith album coupled with the extensive tour would lead Michael to what he described as the brink of insanity and would have a significant impact on where he would go next sonically, as well as with his public image. Michael would elaborate, “Making that album, I’m sure I was incredibly proud of it but I don’t think I ever imagined it would be bigger than Wham! I suppose the whole exercise was an effort to raise my profile to kind of define what my solo image was going to be but I really had no idea how effective it was going to be, especially in America and I had no idea what it was like to be that big in America. I can’t really explain how overwhelming that kind of hysteria can be when there’s only one person to absorb it.”

George Michael was first and foremost an artist with a passion for the process of composing and song writing. After the release of Faith, he would continue to push himself as a musician and writer, exploring new territory and genres as his musical influences continued to evolve, away from the dance heavy elements of Faith and into Brazilian influenced sounds and jazz. With this evolution, Michael would then look outward to the public persona he had created with Faith and look to dismantle this image as a way to bring focus back to the most important element, the music. These would be two key elements that would lead to the creation of Michael’s sophomore 1990 release, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1

In an interview with Michael in January of 1990, the artist discussed his thoughts on the quality of Faith as an album and his newfound outlook for the next release, “It was great. I still think the first half of it is a very good album, on the second half the old schedule pressure shows a little bit, but with the exception of a couple of tracks I’m very proud of it. I do regret not having finished it the way I would have wanted to finish it, because then I think it could have been something that really stood up, but that’s what I’m going for with this next album. It’s totally different from Faith, but I can’t give the game away. Put it this way: it’s very much to do with me having decided that the insecure artist part of me has pretty much served its purpose. I’ve realised that my priority is to me as a writer. I think there are some very big hits on it, but there’s also stuff which people who liked my previous work will be a bit confused by. I think I’ve moved as far as I can as a writer, but I’m always going to be melodic, because that is my natural style. People have accused me of being safe, but it can never be said that people knew what my next single was going to be like.”

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 would comprise of ten tracks, all recorded within approximately a two-year period, beginning as early as the Faith Tour and leading into mid-1990. In contrast with the tight schedule and relatively short recording sessions for Faith, Michael would take his time with the development of his next release as he notes in an interview when the album was released, “This is the first album I’ve enjoyed making, actually. Its the first album I’ve taken my time and said, “OK, it’ll be ready when its ready”, you know. Because originally, it was going to come out, probably, at the end of last year. And I just decided that I had to relax. And I really did, I mean, I felt at the end of making this album that I could have just carried on, whereas, making the other albums in my career, I have been completely exhausted by the end of them, and really glad it was over, you know.”

Michael would also note that during the development of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, he would truly let himself be free to create without restrictions, limitations or compromise, “My main objective in making this album was just to make an album which was completely my own in a sense. I think up until now there has always been a compromise because I’ve always felt that I wanted to move from one place to another. In other words I mean very definitely with Faith, I had to move away from what the public perception of me was with Andrew in Wham!” If I had made this album after for instance the last Wham! album, I don’t think people would have accepted it from me. I think there’s always a matter of timing that has to be involved in a musical career and I don’t think it’s just a matter of thinking about business It’s a matter of, if you write a song you want to feel it ‘s not gonna be bypassed because of people’s perceptions of you. And I think people have to be ready for what you’re gonna do and now I think they are ready for this album.”

When tracing the development of the album by utilising the recording dates of each track, it’s clear that Michael was on somewhat of a creative journey as he would continue to develop his skills as a song-writer and musician, while deviating from the influences that shaped Faith, sonically.

Something To Save: Written April/May 1988/Recorded December 1988

Michael would continue to record new tracks while on tour promoting Faith, despite the extensive and gruelling schedule of the shows. While in Paris during the European leg of the tour, George, with the help of an acoustic guitar, would write an early version of the breezing ballad, Something To Save. While mechanical drum machines and computerised synths dominated much of the sound of the Faith record, Something To Save would be noticeably more subdued. Michael discussed this new direction in more detail, “I just had the feeling, especially having promoted and sung the Faith album for 10 months, I think all that huge electronic sound I kind of wanted to strip down and I wanted to write an acoustic song.” George would stay faithful to the sound of the album when presenting the show to a live audience, leaving many of the electronic elements intact, despite the live band. Michael would elaborate on this decision in a 1988 interview after drawing some criticism, “There are certain parts when the bass is synth and sometimes the drums are machines. Bits of the drum patterns are just the same as the album. They’re machines. The ballads are all real drums and some of the funk numbers are real drums. I don’t consider that to be bad. It’s all part of the show.”

George was in the process of broadening his musical palette during this time, deviating from the electronic sound that defined 80’s pop as he notes, “I decided to listen a bit more closely to the music that had happened just before I began. I went back and analysed a lot of 60’s stuff that was popular before the advent of the synthesizer — the Beatles, the Stones, Joni Mitchell and Brazilian music. It made me decide to strip everything down.’

All of these circumstances would have an influence in shaping the developing track. In December of 1988, Michael would return to Something To Save and continue to flesh out the arrangement beyond the acoustic guitar. In addition, an intermittent cello would be prominent during the bridge, adding a further depth and richness to the composition alongside a subtle bass line. While George intended to add drums to the track, he would ultimately decide to keep percussion to a minimum with the simple yet effective use of tambourine. Michael discussed this further, “Initially, I was going to put drums on it, but listening just to the guitars themselves, I thought it sounded clear enough. And load of people thought it wasn’t finished…but, its the kind of rhythm you expect a rock drummer to come in on the, you know, the second verse, or whatever, but I, I just thought it had more emotion and it had more, uhhh, clarity without any drums, you know, so I just kept it to the guitars and the cellos.”

Despite the use of minimal instrumentation, Something To Save exudes an organic and layered sound while acting as a catalyst to this new direction Michael would take sonically. As he would later describe in a promotional interview for Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, “I’ve never made an album that sounded like the one before. If I’d made ‘Faith 2,’ it would have been unsatisfying for me. I think it’s against the tide in many ways, but I didn’t feel I had any choice. I’ve never made an album that sounded like the one before. If I’d made ‘Faith 2,’ it would have been unsatisfying for me.’’

Behind a prominent acoustic guitar line, Michael pleads for a mutual connection with his lover as he professes all his vulnerabilities, and expects the same unguarded transparency in return. The track deals with the universal feeling of heartbreak that comes from giving your all in a disintegrating relationship and not having it returned in kind.

Cause I have no secrets from you
And I have nothing left to hide
And I’m open to all of your questions
Why can’t you reach inside
Like I have
Like I have for you

Michael presents an emotional fragility on Something To Save through the lyrical content and his dazzling vocal performance that potentially catches a glimpse of his psychological state at the time. George would frequently note the toll that the Faith tour would have on his well –being, describing the nomadic lifestyle as “lonely.” He further elaborates, “To be honest, by the time I came of stage on the last show of the “Faith” tour, I really didn’t know if I would ever go on the stage again I was that unhappy with what I was doing…Ten months of that was enough to really push me to the edge. I was terribly lonely… and the only good part of my day was playing live.”

While performing live each night may have been an escape for Michael from the harsh realities of the touring life-style, potentially, tracks like Something To Save were a representation of his own inner emotional pain. As the first song completed post-Faith, the track would also be an indication of this new sonic direction Michael would take.

Cowboys And Angels: Recorded March 1989

Not only was George Michael first and foremost a writer, he was also a musician, versed on a number of instruments, including keyboard and bass. While proficient musicians often surrounded Michael, he would endeavour to play the instruments himself, only using session musicians when he was not capable of realising his own artistic vision for a particular arrangement. George elaborates further, “I was obsessive about listening to records, and I think that’s why arrangement comes so easily to me. I used to sit and listen to every single aspect of arrangement. I have such a direct vision of what I want with each song now that I don’t actually see the point in getting anyone else’s input. I swear, if I could delegate, I would, because it would make life a lot easier. But having learned how to do it myself, it’s very hard to turn it over to anyone. The limitations of what I can play meant that I had to keep the structures and the arrangements really air-tight and interesting, They had to be something that wouldn’t need a virtuoso performance. It gives more of my personality, really.”

Chris Porter, Michael’s engineer during the Faith recording sessions similarly recollects, “While he had the rhythmic ideas and desired feel inside his head, he didn’t want the artistry of talented players, No matter how good they are, session musicians must be embedded within a particular environment; familiarising themselves with what the producer and featured artist are trying to achieve. In those days, each of those musicians might be working on five or six different things a week, and with them they’d bring a current trend or favourite lick. Well, George didn’t want their favourite licks. He wanted his ideas, and that’s why he decided to play a lot of the parts himself. We would spend a day creating a bass part if he thought he needed to play it himself. It wasn’t an ego thing; he was looking for a specific feel and, instead of Deon’s expertise and outrageous natural ability, he just wanted something really simple over which he could perform a magical vocal.” One need only look at the liner notes for Faith to see that Michael is credited for playing, among others, bass on Hand To Mouth and Kissing A Fool, and keyboard on most tracks on the album. Session musicians would be brought in to lend their talents on other elements of the tracks such as the Spanish guitar featured on Hand To Mouth.

The visceral and atmospheric Cowboys And Angels would be an example of this dynamic at hand. The track begins with a dramatic keyboard intro before expanding into a combination of subtle percussion, sweeping strings and a dramatic bass line.

Michael noted the initial inspiration for where he wanted to take the track sonically, “I had been listening to a lot of 60’s, kind of Portuguese music, and Brazilian music, and when they teamed up with people like Nelson Riddle and stuff like that. I really wanted to get that feeling of a sixties soundtrack, you know, one of those Ariel shots they do of a car driving in the south of France, you know.”

George would push himself further as a musician beyond the irresistibly sparse dance arrangements when composing Cowboys And Angels, delving into more challenging genres. While he had explored contemporary jazz with the smooth ballad Kissing A Fool on his previous album, Cowboys And Angels would be an extension of his exploration into the genre. To begin with, Michael would develop the bass line and chords that would become prominent in the composition, “I did the bass line and the chords to ‘Cowboys and Angels; and it’s probably the longest time I’ve ever spent on a chord sequence and a bass line.”

Not only would Michael record some of the parts himself, namely the bass and keyboards, but he would also work tirelessly to ensure that his performance would be credible, and in the case of Cowboys and Angels develop a convincing jazz composition, without being a jazz musician. George discussed this further, “It took me longer than any track I can remember recording because the arrangement was so difficult because, you know, being a jazz arrangement, it really had to be authentic and that, when you’re not working with real jazz musicians, and, of course, I was playing some of the stuff on it, you have to be really careful that you don’t fall into some kind of pop or rock cliche, so it took along time to do.”

Alongside his own contribution, Michael would enlist long time collaborator Chris Cameron to create the atmospheric string arrangement, conveying the distinct imagery George had intended for the track akin to a film score. Similarly, Andy Hamilton would perform a sublime saxophone solo during the outro of the track, creating an even more vivid and dramatic composition. To compliment the smooth and textured arrangement, Michael explores the power dynamics of relationships with the image-filled lyrics.

When your heart’s in someone else’s hands
Monkey see and monkey do
Their wish is your command
Not to blame
Everyone’s the same

Michael addresses the subject of his attraction as a “cowboy” or an “angel” desired by all and seemingly unattainable. With such distinction comes great control as he bodes a warning to those who fall for a relationship in which the sentiment is not returned. In the second verse, however he takes on the role of the desired, displaying that there will always be a dynamic in which we are both the subject of, and the pursuer of attraction. Such experiences leave us with the metaphorical scars that Michael references throughout the track.

George elaborated on the lyrics during a promotional interview for the album, “Cowboys and Angels is just a metaphor for men and women, really. The song is just about the kind of tug-of-war that goes on and the way relationships slide one way and the other. And there’s always someone with, you know, with the upper hand kind of thing.” Michael addresses both a male and female in the track, a representation of a love triangle that somewhat inspired the lyrical content. He would clarify in a 2004 interview, “The funny thing about ‘Cowboys and Angels’ is one verse is addressed towards a man and one verse is addressed to a woman. It’s that triangle I was telling you about. She was in love with me because she couldn’t get me, and I was in love with him because I couldn’t get him. I mean, who the fuck was going to know that? It’s a very personal lyric, but it’s about the ridiculousness of wanting what you can’t have.”

It’s clear from the content being developed during these early sessions that Michael was experimenting with various genres and untraditional song structures, pushing his artistry in new and challenging directions. While he had mastered the art of creating infectiously catchy pop hits throughout Wham!, George would strive to go beyond and challenge himself as well as his listeners. He elaborates, “I would say that ten years of writing, its gone from what was craft, I think, because, I think that putting together songs and arranging songs, I’ve always had a real pride in it as a craft, and I spent a long time perfecting that into songs that you’d hear on the radio, that would grab your attention for three or four minutes, and that were much more radio songs than anything else, and I think now I’ve got to the point where what’s just as important to me was to really, take something out of myself and give it. I’ve always written from a point of view of wanting things to be heard — for different reasons.”

While tracks like Everything She Wants or Monkey would provide instantly recognisable hooks and melodies, Cowboys And Angels provides just as much satisfaction through frequent immersion as the listener absorbs the complexity of the compositions. The track would also be an indication of where Michael would go with future endeavours, with jazz touches evident throughout the 1993 unreleased project Trojan Souls and his magnum opus, 1996’s incredible, Older. George would still continue to create accessible dance music, albeit on his own terms.

Freedom! ’90: Recorded June 1989

With the release of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 in 1990, George was not only showcasing his ability as a serious musician and writer, but also attempting to dismantle and reconstruct his image; a public perception he felt was wholly inaccurate. By the beginning of the new decade, Michael had transformed his aesthetic from the clean-cut, benevolent representation in Wham! to the stubbled, sunglass-touting iconic image of Faith. While some could look past the obvious tongue and cheek visual representation of Wham! and appreciate the clearly gifted and talented musical ability of Michael, others were more cynical. George elaborates, “Being labelled a “wally” for dressing up in shorts is the kind of thing that really hurts. When an actor plays a role, he isn’t attributed personally with having taken on that character while Andrew and I are. We took our roles as performers seriously. When we dressed in shorts it was for the Club Tropicana role, but that doesn’t mean we always act and dress that way. As entertainers we were playing our roles to the hilt.”

Another factor that would play into this perception is the fact that Wham! were a pop group, and Michael, the chief creating force was producing pop hits with pop sensibilities. George discussed his approach to the genre during the days of Wham!, “The main problem that we had in being accepted was that Wham! was a kind of Eighties group with a Sixties mentality. Whereas in the Sixties, pop music was seen as a kind of vital art form, it’s been pretty much discarded in favour of other things now. For instance, rock-and-roll is a sound track to people’s lives. Soul music is a sound track to people’s lives. Pop music doesn’t seem to be accepted as a way of expressing yourself as an individual anymore. But I still see it in those kind of Sixties terms.”

George’s penchant to create a barrage of generation defining pop hits was enough to intimidate and confuse some who would see his career ascension as calculated, “People have always thought my career has been incredibly calculated and premeditated but it runs along pretty well parallel lines with most people’s careers, it’s just that the decisions I have made personally have been that much more… correct. I often think if there was one major, obvious chink in the armour that people could see it would be easier for me. People consider what I’ve done to be too inhuman. The most unfortunate part of that is that I think I’ve written and sung some of the most human songs I’ve heard on the radio in the last couple of years. But when you do all the other stuff as neatly as I’ve done it, it can actually detract from the human element of the songs.”

The artist would continue to demonstrate his growing maturity as a writer with the release of solo singles Careless Whisper and A Different Corner and with the disbandment of Wham! in 1986, he would attempt to re-tool his image as he embarked on his solo career.

There would also be a geographical contrast in how Michael would be perceived by the public, as he would elaborate in a 1988 interview, “George Michael fans in Britain and Europe are still divided between the people who are into what I do as a recording or performing artist and the people who are into what I am physically. In America it’s fine for an adult, completely acceptable, to go into a conversation and say, Have you heard the new George Michael album? I think it’s great! In England it’s still dodgy. There’s that stigma. I’ve never been keen on the idea of having to sell myself as an adult. As I say, in America is hasn’t been necessary. I’m accepted as an adult because the music has already done it. In England I would love people to realise that there is a change but the tabloids and the limited TV and radio structures aren’t letting people discover that for themselves. People have always thought my career has been incredibly calculated and premeditated but it runs along pretty well parallel lines with most people’s careers, it’s just that the decisions I have made personally have been that much more… correct.”

With Faith, Michael would create an image that he would find in retrospect as far removed from his true personality as Wham! as he notes, “I mean, ‘Faith’, the way I looked in the videos and stuff was pretty much — sad as it is, that was pretty much how I was walking about day to day. But I really didn’t think that — I really didn’t think that that image was going to create that whole same thing again, which is pretty much what it did, especially in America, I got this whole new wave of young fans, predominantly female, and I kind of boxed myself in again, without thinking that I had, you know. It was naive of me. When I look back and I look at the videos, obviously the image was going to work. So I was really convinced that I was on a different path. And then it became massive with ‘Faith’ and I realised that I was even more miserable than I than when I’d split up Wham, and the reason I split up Wham was ‘cos I was miserable. So you know, I’d kind of scuppered myself again.”

By June of 1989, Michael would explicitly acknowledge his complicated relationship with public image in the writing and recording of Freedom!‘90. With each verse he delves into the journey from Wham! to his solo career and the release of Faith. Each transformation of his image however, was never as important as his musical progression and the content of his work as he asks listeners to “have some faith in the sound.”

I won’t let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It’s the one good thing that I’ve got
I won’t let you down
So please don’t give me up
Cause I would really, really love to stick around, oh yeah

Michael elaborated on what lead to the genesis of the track in a 1990 interview, “When I came into the business I had no idea that I was going to be any kind of any physical entity. I’d grown up with Andrew. I was a particularly unattractive adolescent, and he was always very handsome and I always assumed that the vast majority of physical attention would be on Andrew. I think when things changed and I started to feel some of that, I got completely carried away, because, after all, I was 19/20 years old, suddenly, I was considered attractive, and I was still very insecure. And I spent years, working through those insecurities, I think. And, really, in a sense, it was a distraction. It was like a six yearlong distraction to me. I had to work out that the most important thing in the world was not to have people think you were gorgeous, you know. And I, eventually, came to that decision, and this song really is about that. It’s about me moving away from kind of selling myself as a physical persona, and just getting on with what I’m best at, which is writing songs. I think I’ve come to realise that my only real conviction is with song writing. I don’t think I am, or was, important as a “pop” star. And I don’t think that I have anything really important to say other than with my songs, you know. I’d much rather concentrate my energies and, if anything, direct my lifestyle towards my song writing. I see my career with Wham!, and my career solo, ’til now, as being a kind of apprenticeship. And, its left me in this position, I have a platform now, from which I can actually write and have these songs heard.”

During the first verse, Michael appears to be content being the subject of teenage hysteria, as he exclaims, “I was every little hungry school girls pride and joy, and I guess it was enough for me.” As George’s ambition and musical compass began to steer him away from the importance of image and adulation, he rejects this unauthentic representation.

I think there’s something you should know
I think it’s time I told you so
There’s something deep inside of me
There’s someone else I’ve got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

During the sonic explosion of the chorus, Michael expresses the need to adapt the relationship he has with the public in order to continue as a commercial artist, exclaiming, “I don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me.” George elaborated on the significance of these lyrics, “There are parts to, uhhh, this lyric that could be taken completely as a relationship type of lyric. And that is deliberate because what I’m really trying to say is that my relationship with the public has been almost like a personal relationship. The line “I don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me” means that, really, that I should be able to step back from certain things (i.e. the visual interpretation), without real recrimination, and also, that I have to work to keep people’s support by, you know, giving them the best music that I can.” This sentiment is further emphasised by George’s harmonised background vocals as he chants “Freedom!” in a bid for emancipation from the visual element of fame.

With the second verse, Michael recalls his first significant image re-branding from Wham! to Faith, “I went back home, got a brand new face, For the boys on MTV.” This image that would launch him into the stratosphere of popular culture in America would lead to the same distorted perception. While he would quite frankly label his image during Wham! a “fraud” in his 1990 book Bare, he wasn’t comfortable with the Faith image retrospectively either. George elaborates, “The reference to MTV really talks about the way I reinvented myself for MTV when Wham! finished, and, obviously, very successfully because it was a completely different phase of my career. And I’m just really again, its, it talks about the fact that, aaah, I worked as a strategist really. I was kind of managing this person that was half of Wham! and then needed to change, and was still not me, really. I mean, both of the images, the old Wham! image even though it was far more embarrassing to me now than the image from Faith, they were, to some degree, both fairly removed from me as a person. And the song just deals with the fact that I’m not going to do that anymore. I mean, its about as confessional as you can get, really.”

While much of the material being worked on by Michael during this period was significantly more down-tempo, Freedom!’90 would recall elements of his previous dance tracks. Beginning with an assortment of funky percussion, the composition begins to build in layers with prominent keys and an emerging bass before erupting into the most irresistible groove. Background vocals that appear during the chorus, sung by Michael and singer Shirley Lewis give the track a further transcendent sound. Once again, George would have key input in composing the track, playing the bass and percussion alongside Danny Cummings, Chris Cameron on keyboards and Phil Palmer on guitar.

While George had begun exploring more eclectic genres during this period, his ability to create catchy and irresistible pop hooks would continue to be present, albeit behind an intense lyrical backdrop. The contrast between the ecstatic joy of the composition with the emotional tribulation expressed in the lyrics and Michael’s dramatically intense vocal performance was not lost on the artist as he elaborates, “It’s closer to a Wham! track than anything off Faith and part of the reason for making it like that is because it’s about Wham! and about the past and how I feel differently about all that now. (But today the way I play the game is not the same/No way/Think I’m gonna get me some happy). I like the fact that it’s such a pop song you don’t really take in the lyric until you’ve heard it two or three times. I also like that because it extends the life of a record — you can enjoy it on different levels. But, yeah, thinking about it, there’s some pretty miserable stuff on this album.”

While George was going through some-what of a career transition after Faith, it’s clear from the writing of this track in 1989, that he would have a clear direction of how he would want to be perceived with the album release a year later. Freedom! 90 would be a foreshadowing of what would come with the marketing of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, as Michael would steer away from traditional promotion and let the music speak for itself as he strips off the clothes that ultimately, do not make the man. While this appropriate approach for Michael would form the rift between the artist and his record company culminating in a court case years later, fans would well and truly have faith in the sound, regardless of if there was a physical entity to sell what was and always will be truly timeless music.

Praying For Time: Recorded October 1989

George Michael could write introspective songs in a way few artists could. His ability to evoke vulnerability and pain in the form of lyrical expression would be one of the key reasons why his work has the ability to connect with listeners in a way few artists can compare. During these sessions, Michael would continue to grow and develop as a songwriter as he would push himself to write a song that truly looks outward on the world around him, rather than the internal conflicts that shaped much of his work.

Praying For Time would be an example of Michael’s increasing social awareness, as he would take a pessimistic view of society and the lack of humanity and compassion in the world. This was not necessarily a new lyrical theme for George to touch on as elements of this same concept were explored on a previous track, Hand To Mouth, released on Faith two years earlier. Michael would elaborate on what inspired the track in a 1987 promotional interview before the album’s release, “It’s the first thing I’ve done that’s even vaguely political. Normally I believe in dealing with personal politics without involving governmental issues simply because so many other people do it and because other people do it a lot better than I probably could.”

What makes Michael’s song writing so powerful is his ability to commentate on the human condition. Hand To Mouth does not deal with the political and economical reasons for poverty, but rather the ramifications of this injustice and how it effects the life of “Jimmy” who finds himself turning to crime and an orphaned young girl. George elaborated on the track further, “ The way our country is leaning towards, obviously the basis for it is because our government thinks it’s protecting itself by doing this, but the way our country is leaning towards American values in terms of welfare and in terms of the individual and the individuals responsibility. It’s just a comment about how vicious it is, the way that’s happening is very wrong I think, it scares me a lot… it leaves such a huge number of people who cant fend for themselves with no choice.”

During this interview, Michael would cite specific concerns around the lack of ethical responsibility that comes from financial gain in the media industry and the dissolution of welfare in the UK , specifying “There are an awful lot of decisions that have to be made, business decisions that are made by entrepreneurial types which are very obviously to other people’s disadvantage. But there are certain situations where you see that young people who want to make money have to walk over each other.” George would not only challenge himself musically during these post- Faith sessions but also as a writer expanding on the social themes he had previously explored to a lesser extent on earlier releases as he notes, “There comes a point where you have to write something which you have not written before and which your interest in any particular topic or subject will inspire you. I suppose that’s why eventually most lyricists do approach wider topics than sex and love.”

With Praying For Time, Michael ponders the lack of compassion in the world that leads to the kind of horrific circumstances he detailed years earlier in Hand To Mouth. The writing of the track would happen quite swiftly and organically as George elaborates, “The first two lines of the chorus, the lines — Its so hard to love, there’s so much to hate — came into my head, and very often that’s the way a song will start with me, just a lyric will come into my head…I remember when it came into mine, I was just driving along, just on my way to get, you know, some gas…And it just came into my head. Its almost like you get a little message. Then you have to work around that, think of a melody for those words. And once you’ve got that nucleus, then, then you’re inspired to write the rest of the song. But it was something that I wrote it in about two or three days. I have no idea, really, why I wrote it. It just came very strongly to me. But all the best things come to me that way, you know. You almost feel like a channel when that happens.”

Michael would note how the creative process would evolve during these sessions with lyrics becoming the initial focal point of a track rather than melody to guide the development of the song. He elaborates, “With this album, the lyrics tended to come first. Definitely, the inspiration came from the lyrics, rather than, ahhh, melodies. And then it was a matter of finding melodies in my head to match, and equal, the power of the lyrics. Probably, it’s the first time that’s happened. I mean, I think until now, my overall priority has been with melody. I think probably until now, I was a little bit reluctant to tell the world about what I felt about certain things. I think that comes one, from being English, because the English tend to have a real…especially in my position, when it comes to pop stars, its very frowned upon to take yourself seriously if you have been any kind of, aaah, lightweight pop star in the past, you know. So, I was kind of nervous of doing that. But also, I think as you get older you, aaah, you form your opinions much more strongly. They kind of crystallise.”

Praying For Time would be a clear example of this new song-writing process.

These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers

George paints a vivid and apocalyptic portrait of society with the opening verse, describing the “days of the open hand” and the “beggars and the choosers.” He elaborates on the meaning of those specific terms, “The open hand to me represents the vast numbers of people, and specifically in this country vast number of people who are actually on the poverty line or below the poverty line which is something that is gonna go on…I like the idea of beggars and the choosers because you take a phrase… “beggars can’t be choosers” and you completely change it, in other words beggars and the choosers and nothing in-between… It does seem to be not that much in between these days.

Michael implores the reader to take note and observe what has become of society as the poverty line continues to blur and the disproportion in wealth between the poor beggars and the affluent choosers reaches dire proportions.

This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses

As the track continues, George shatters the illusion of convenient ignorance as an excuse for the neglect of the unfortunate, as he elaborates, “That verse is really about the fact that the hungry men of today are completely, there is a full knowledge of them, people know what’s going on in this country and abroad and the legitimate excuse of yesterday was that ignorance and that’s gone obviously. In other words the hungry man of today is a well know fact.”

The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much
But we’ll take our chances
’Cause God’s stopped keeping score

I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us all out to play
Turned his back and all God’s children
Crept out the back door

As the chorus emerges, Michael attempts to explain the emergence of individualism in society as a breakdown in morality, akin to that of children escaping the watch of a just God. George notes, “I’ve always liked the term somehow “God’s children” as though we were that innocent in a way and the idea being that we ran out on God in a sense, crept out the back door. And because of that, we re left to make our own decisions, “We’ll take our chances because God stopped keeping score” is like saying there’s no one here to pull back the reigns so we have to make our own decisions.”

Michael posits that the root cause of such ambivalence and lack of compassion for each other comes from fear that we must preserve ourselves as time and resources run out, while taking part in acts of charity are somewhat of a formality to curb feelings of guilt. George elaborates, ‘’It’s my way of trying to figure out why it’s so hard for people to be good to each other. I believe the problem is conditional as opposed to being something inherent in mankind. The media has affected everybody’s consciousness much more than most people will admit. Because of the media, the way the world is perceived is as a place where resources and time are running out. We’re taught that you have to grab what you can before it’s gone. It’s almost as if there isn’t time for compassion.’’

Praying For Time is a view on society without hope or a sense of salvation, somewhat a reflection of the view of its creator as Michael would describe himself as a fatalist when it came to governmental issues. As a reflection of evolving times, George would perform the song on his acclaimed Symphonica tour decades later, adding new lyrics as his worldview continued to evolve.

I sang twenty years and a day
But nothing changed
The human race
Found some other God
And walked into the flames

Michael would elaborate on his choice to add new lyrics online in 2014 tweeting, “I thought it was worth mentioning that more than twenty years since I wrote the song, nothing substantial has changed…In fact there is probably more to fear in the world today than ever. Not that I ever believed a song could ever make any difference.”

While George may not have believed that the song could make a difference, Praying For Time is not a call for action to change the world, but rather a commentary on socio-economic justice, an outlook that can be just as powerful and provocative.

The track begins with somewhat of a sonic clash as an assortment of instruments including percussion and acoustic guitar enter as a keyboard line emerges soon after. The composition is hard-hitting and dramatic, further exemplified by Michael’s sublime, passionate vocals as he conveys the urgency of the lyrics, instantly captivating the listener. Michael’s vocals do not evoke feelings of anger or frustration, but despair.

At the time of the release, the track would draw comparisons to John Lennon in terms of the tone, an observation that Michael notes isn’t necessarily inaccurate, but he more so drew similarity with the vocal styling. He elaborates, “I think there’s a lot less John Lennon in there than people relate to it… I think that the thing that I associate with John Lennon is simply the vocal sound. And there was this kind of very close, repeat, kind of echo that Lennon used a lot, especially in the Phil Spector sessions. And I used that once the song was already written and down, I started to think that the song has that kind of feel to it, the song has that kind of feel, so I’m gonna see if it works to use that kind of vocal. And its kind of, I suppose in a sense, its a tribute when you, when you make a very direct reference. To me that’s my way of kind of showing the people that I think have made admirable music, really. You know, I felt passionate about what I was singing and that’s I think, if anything, I hope that’s what people relate to Lennon’s stuff. I hope that that is the connection because I did really feel something when I was singing this.”

It’s clear during these sessions that Michael would continue to push himself as songwriter, not content in re-creating the same formula of Faith but rather, branch into developing the confronting and serious lyrical themes referenced in Hand To Mouth and exemplified further as evident on Praying For Time.

They Won’t Go When I Go — Live Recording February 1990

To say that George Michael admired fellow musician Stevie Wonder would be somewhat of an understatement. Throughout his career, Michael would take the opportunity to perform a vast assortment of Wonder’s songs in a live setting, both during the days of Wham! and on the Faith Tour. By 1988 alone, George had performed his own interpretation of over half a dozen tracks from the music pioneer’ s vast discography, including dazzling renditions of I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever), Village Ghetto Land, Love Is In Need Of Love Today, among many others. Michael would elaborate on this trend, “The reason for me doing so many Stevie Wonder covers, I’ve done over various sets, I’ve done like four or five Stevie Wonder covers, apart from the fact that I consider him to be an incredible writer. His voice…. the key that he was writing for at that time is perfectly suited to my voice and somehow I manage to really get something out of his songs live.” George would have the opportunity to share the stage with Wonder a number of times, performing Love Is In Need Of Love Today at the Apollo and an electrifying performance of Living For The City with the musician on VH1, demonstrating a clear musical chemistry between the two artists.

During the sessions that would ultimately birth Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, Michael would go a step further than live covers and record a studio version of Wonder’s sublime They Won’t Go When I Go; a track from his 1974 album, Fullfillingness’ First Finale. George would choose to record his own cover of this song in particular as he felt there was an opportunity to re-interpret the track and take it in a different direction sonically. Michael discussed further in a 1990 interview, “If I think a song has been perfectly recorded in the first place, then I don’t really wanna try and re-record it which is what I wouldn’t for instance do Pastime Paradise, which is another Stevie Wonder song, because it’s perfect as is. If something is a recording that you think you could do another way and it’ll work that way, as was the case with the cover I ended up doing on the album, then it’s worth doing.”

While the already sparse composition does not differ drastically between the two versions, Michael’s cover would omit the iconic T.O.N.T.O synthesizer used prominently by Wonder on the original, and instead fill the soundscape with only keys, played by Chris Cameron. Michael felt by omitting this aspect of the instrumentation, this would lead to other parts of the composition having a greater impact as he notes, “I think at the time he’d kind of just discovered synthesizers, and there was so much synthesizer work going on that I thought it was detracting from what he was doing as a singer, so I grabbed that opportunity and thought, right, I’ll take this song and strip it down just to piano and vocal, and see how it goes, and I was really pleased with the result.”

Michael would record numerous lead vocal takes of the track with each being as convincing and powerful as the next, displaying the singer’s incredible vocal technique and dedication to creating the best performance possible. Another aspect of Wonder’s original track that George would endeavour to replicate, albeit with his own spin, are the haunting background vocals that envelop the track.

The artist would return to the track after recording the lead vocals to record each of these, layering the multiple different takes to create the visceral backdrop of vocal harmonies that define the song. Michael would note the challenges of recording all of the vocals himself, “I did the backup vocals on the track, and its difficult because, one of the things about doing your own backing vocals is that your timing is obviously, naturally, always going to be the same. So you have to think about, if you’re doing something like this where you want to get that kind of gospel feel, you have to think about trying to make the voices try to sound like different people. You have to change the tone and change the timing of each vocal, so that they don’t all just move as one backup vocal. It was quite interesting to have to do that, but I mean, it worked because I think, in general, people don’t think that, it doesn’t occur to them, that those backup vocals were me.”

Wonder would elaborate on the meaning of the track, “It’s a thought that at the end of the day, we come alone in this world and we will die alone and it’s what we do in between that’s gonna determine how and what we’ll be remembered as and what we can think about in spirit.”

It’s interesting to the parallel between the dark lyrical content featured in They Won’t Go When I Go with Michael’s own lyrical creation, Praying For Time, recorded a few months earlier.

The greed of man will be
Far away from me
And my soul will be free
They won’t go when I go

Since my soul conceived
All that I believe
The kingdom I will see
’Cause they won’t go when I go

They Won’t Go When I Go could be seen in the context of the album as a self-affirmation as George separates himself from the greed and selfishness of those he details in Praying For Time and finds spiritual salvation through the words of Stevie Wonder. The release of this track on Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 would be somewhat of a foreshadowing of future projects, as Michael would embark on recording an entire album of cover songs in 1999 as featured on his Songs From The Last Century Album.

Waiting For That Day: Recorded March 1990

George Michael would be inspired by a wealth of artists and musical styles throughout his career that would help shape and nurture his eclectic musical identity. With the release of Faith in 1987, Michael would demonstrate a clear influence of various musical styles, many of which were defined and mastered by black artists at the time. Between the soulful ballad One More Try and the sparse dance elements of Hard Day, Michael was creating music very much popularised by American artists. He would recall in a promotional interview for Faith, “The funk records are me doing what I want to do from the point of view of, I spend an awful lot of my time listening to modern black music and dancing in clubs and stuff like that. So to me that’s a reflection of my life at the moment.”

Faith would not only be a massive commercial success, it would cross racial boundaries reaching number one on the American RNB charts, a feat that to that day had not been accomplished by a white artist. George recollected, ‘“One of the most remarkable things about my career in America was that from day one, black audiences accepted me without question as a singer, performer, and songwriter. They didn’t really allow the stigma that was attached to wearing the shorts and the girls screaming to get in the way of what they were actually listening to… I was much happier with (Faith) being the №1 Black album than I was when it became the №1 pop album. There was much more of a sense of achievement.”

While Michael was not exclusively a soul singer, it’s clear that this style would be a prominent part of his vocal identity, a reflection of the influences that shaped him growing up and his talent as a singer. He would credit this as another factor that would lead to his embracement by the black community, “I think that my definition of “soul” is something that comes from the heart, as a singer, something that goes from the heart to the mouth and bypasses the head. I, I definitely know that I never thought I sounded black. When people say how come I have a black following, how come I’ve had that much support from the R&B, I think its really because I’ve tried to do that. As I’ve, as I’ve progressed as a singer with each album, I think I try and say what I feel and really make that jump from the heart to the mouth, and really kind of try to pretend that there’s no kind of thought process in between. Every time I go back into the studio, I think I get closer to doing that.”

In 1989, Michael would win a number of American Music Awards, including Best Male Artist in the Soul/RNB category and Best Album respectively. This would cause an air of controversy as black artists typically won these awards. Artists such as Gladys Knight would point out the clear contradictions and discrimination within the music industry, elaborating in an interview, “The black male artist works very hard to get his due and if Bobby Brown had across the board play and he could compete in the same categories George Michael competes in, that would be a whole other thing.”

George understood that this was not a criticism of him personally but rather the system noting, “This was the same point in time when Public Enemy arrived and Spike Lee arrived. Suddenly cross-over was not hip. And I see their point, I saw their point at the time, I just felt it was sad that white and black people recording together was suddenly dancing with the enemy.”

All of these circumstances would have an effect on the development of Michael’s follow-up to Faith as he would consolidate all of his influences in creating work that sounded neither black nor white. As Michael notes, “I suddenly couldn’t get anywhere near radio, black radio and that was the reason really, Listen Without Prejudice was called Listen Without Prejudice. It was me saying here’s an album that has bits of gospel, bits of RNB, some very white stuff, and it was just trying to say “let me be both of these things without being one or the other.”

While this backlash would clearly have an impact on Michael’s future musical direction, he would also note how his influences would morph as he his need to express sexuality waned, “I’ve associated black music with sexuality and expression and tried to really pull those things out of myself by throwing myself into that genre. I find that as I back off of the, that sexual projection which I do find I have started to do, I find it less necessary to place myself with black music. After all, I grew up listening very much to a mixture of black and white music. I loved Elton John; I loved other white artists in the 70’s. It was only really the later half of my teens that I really got influenced by black music. It’s almost like now, I choose to use black music specifically or to draw from black influences specifically when that is what I want to express.”

Waiting For That Day would be the most evident example of this fusion of genres right down to the utilisation of samples to create a soundscape that borrows influence from black and white artists alike. The genesis of the track began over a conversation between Michael and friends as he aired his annoyance at the frequent use of a James Brown sample on a number of recent hits. George elaborates, “This particular song which wasn’t the normal writing process because I had the idea for the mood as opposed to a song. I was with some friends and I was complaining about the fact that something like five or six of the records in the top thirty at any particular time, were based around a sample of a drum track which was the intro to a James Brown song called Funky Drummer, which has now became one of the most well used drum tracks of all time I would imagine. I had this idea of taking this or taking that particular drum track and placing something completely different, something completely out of context over the top of it. ”

George would place a folk-like guitar line over a slowed down sample of the Funky Drummer beat and a bass line, creating a sparse yet interesting arrangement. Through playing with some notes on a keyboard during the track’s development, Michael would add chords that would not only compliment the drum loop and guitar, but also steer the direction of the track into different areas, sonically. The artist would elaborate, “So I started writing around that and then just playing about with a keyboard, I just found the two chords that went with those guitar chords…“Which is a very 60’s sound…The sound itself made me think that maybe I should take the song in a slightly different direction.”

The result is a unique composition that recalls elements of funk, pronounced by the James Brown sampled drum beat, folk with the prominent guitar riff and 60’s rock with the Procul Harem reminiscent keyboard. Michael would demonstrate with Waiting For That Day that his musical influences would span genres and generations. Michael elaborates, “So then I basically had to write something that fit that feel. This is the first track on this particular album anyway where I’ve just found the feel before I had any idea what I was going to write over the top. And I tried all kinds of things and at the end of the day I decided to go for something really white sounding influence wise, just to kind of off-set that very overused black rhythm.”

As Michael’s approach to creating music would begin to evolve during this period, Waiting For That Day would be one of the exceptions to the rule as the mood for the track would come to Michael before the lyrics as he notes, “I quite often start with a backing track and I used to start with a melody in my head. And when you’re trying to make number ones and you’re trying to go for the jugular every time, that, well that seems to be a good way is to literally write the melody first. But the second half of my career, I’ve kind of started off with trying to get a feel that is all of its own — before you even, you know, to try and get people feeling something before you even sing a word. I’ll get that mood going and then I’ll write over the top of that. That’s why it works for me.

With the instrumental completed and the mood of the track taking shape, Michael would begin to write the lyrics as he vividly conveys the loneliness and pain that comes with the unrequited feelings of a relationship that has long since past. This inability to move on leads to a focus on what is gone rather than the promise of something new and fulfilling, as each new potential partner is compared and dismissed.

Now every day I see you in some other face
They crack a smile, talk a while
Try to take your place
My memory serves me far too well

I just sit here on this mountain
Thinking to myself
You’re a fool boy
Why don’t you go down
Find somebody
Find somebody else
My memory serves me far too well

Michael describes the inability to escape the memory of this past relationship while recognising the need to move on. He takes full accountability for the dissolution as others encourage him to forgive himself, though the constant reminder of his past won’t allow him to as he continues to remark, “My memory serves me far too well.”

He finds no joy in the new day ahead, as he can only find closure and a sense of finality with reuniting as he proclaims, “I deserve to see your face again.” Michael perfectly encapsulates this feeling of being stuck in somewhat of a proverbial limbo after a break up, as we obsess over the past mistakes rather than the future opportunities that may come from someone else. George breaks this semblance down to the bare truth with the help of a 1969 Rolling Stones track, uttering, “You can’t always get what you want.” Michael would elaborate on the lyrical reference, “The reference to the Rolling Stones song was just that, really, it was a reference which, apart from melodically over those two chords working perfectly, you know, it, it just was my way of kind of, of tailing off the song because, uhhh, the song in some sense is about a relationship which has been over, but, aaaah, I wanted to kind of rekindle. And the idea being that it had been obvious that in the interim period neither party had got what they wanted out of life, and maybe it was time to reassess the situation, i.e. come back, you know — didn’t work by the way.”

Waiting For That Day is a testament of Michael’s ability not only to compose an arrangement that strays from the typical, but also more importantly as a songwriter as he encapsulates universal feelings of heartbreak with a vulnerability that creates personal semblance with each listen. As he would note, “The best way to write something lasting is to be very personal. It’s not picking the bones. I don’t think you can take your personal experiences and water them down for people. I do feel vulnerable but that’s one of the main things that sets me apart from other people in my position. I allow myself to be that involved.”

Mother’s Pride: Recorded April 1990

As the sessions for the album were nearing completion, Michael would once again explore darker themes in his song writing with the recording of Mother’s Pride. The track would be somewhat of a commentary on the perception of how mothers and fathers influence their children; Michael would explore this idea through a social lens, in particular, conscription in war. He elaborates on the track further, “Mother’s Pride has the most direct message, I think, on the album, really. There can’t be that many interpretations of this. Its really women’s roll in war, I suppose, because war is always presumed to be male territory and women stand back. And I think the fact that men go into war, and their whole attitude to aggression and fighting, or whatever, that feeling. I think part of it is instinctive, but I think part of it is instinctive in women, too. I think the pride they feel in their husbands or their sons, and also that need to harden their sons, you know, is there in them, too. I think, although a lot of women, very rationally, would say that they want their sons to become very caring, kind of non-sexist, all this kind of “new man” thing, I think even though they, rationally, that’s what they want, I think instinctively its kind of hard to do.”

In a similar vein to how Michael constructed the composition for They Won’t Go When I Go, Mother’s Pride is stripped to just keys with Michael’s dramatic vocals taking centre stage. This is once again potentially a reflection of the serious subject matter George explores in the lyrics. Interestingly, the track would receive airplay on US radio, usually being played with messages of support to soldiers fighting in the Gulf War.

Heal The Pain: Recorded June 1990

George would be influenced by a variety of different artists during this period as he continued to broaden his musical palette and in turn take his artistic direction into many different avenues. During these sessions in particular, Michael began to listen to The Beatles intently to the point that they would become a significant influence in the shaping of some tracks featured on Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Michael elaborates, “It was my time to discover the Beatles, and at the time I was big into Abbey Road and Revolver and you know, it’s the people that you’re trying to emulate sometimes that can bring you up.”

Heal The Pain would arguably be the greatest example of this emulation with various aspects of the composition and melody recalling elements of a McCartney creation. Michael’s exquisitely arranged background harmonies along side the prominent guitar riff and light percussion give the track a warmth that both compliments and contrasts many of other compositions on the album, acting as somewhat of a sonic escape. While Phil Palmer would once again play guitar on the track, Michael would also lend his own abilities, playing acoustic guitar. George would elaborate further on how the work of The Beatles and McCartney in particular would inspire the sound of Heal The Pain, “Heal the Pain is kind of my tribute to, aaah, middle period Beatles records, really. Because one of the things that I have been listening to the past two or three years, is the Beatles. I think every generation, at some point, listens to the Beatles and, probably, will continue to do so. I think the Beatles and the Stones, the Beach Boys, basically the first group of artists that wrote for themselves, and represented their own generations. I think its a very, very inspiring period, definitely, for songwriters. I think, if anything, Heal the Pain is, in terms of sound, the most derivative thing I’ve ever done, but its such an obvious reference that I don’t think that anybody would take it as anything other than a tribute, really. “

While George’s assessment of his own musical creation as “derivative” may seem critical, he merely acknowledges his need to capture the sound of a Beatles composition via his own mode of expression, as he became increasingly passionate of this vast catalogue of work he was discovering. Michael notes, “I made one record to show how much I loved Lennon, I made another record to show how much I love McCartney.” Over two decades later, George would have the opportunity to record a version of Heal The Pain with McCartney himself and release it as a bonus track on his 2008 greatest hits release, TwentyFive. While the composition would not differ greatly from the original 1990 recording, the sublime interplay between Michael and McCartney’s voices and the luscious harmonies would express a clear musical chemistry between the two artists, and a dream come true for George. He expressed, “I never dreamed McCartney would ever sing it and when he sings it, it sounds like a Paul McCartney record. It was the most surreal moment of my career I think, to have Paul McCartney singing something that I wrote as a tribute to Paul McCartney I don’t think I’d have the nerve to ask him when I wrote it.”

While so much of what Michael was writing at this time focused on fractured relationships, Heal The Pain is a noticeable deviation in lyrical content, potentially a reflection of the lightness and warmth of the composition. Rather than detailing the effects of internalised pain as reflected on Something To Save, in Heal The Pain, Michael offers emotional support to a lover or friend in need.

Soul Free: Recorded June 1990

While much of the material that would comprise Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 would be inspired by sounds of the past, George would also be influenced by contemporary genres as he began recording what would be one of the final songs completed during these sessions. The album would be noticeably absent of dance tracks as compared to Faith and it’s various singles, which were filled with a number of club friendly hits and remixes. This is by part a reflection of Michael’s own issues with the genre, which he felt was slowly diminishing in quality. George elaborates, “Dance music has lost something, I think. These days when I hear a dance record on the radio I switch stations. I think that’s the reason this album has got so little dance music on it: one of the things I always loved about dance music was that you associated it with night-time, pulling, it was sexy. Radio just isn’t sexy. You can’t get away from dance music now. It isn’t a specialist area anymore, it’s there with everything, it’s there with graphics on BBC1. There’s no allure or sexiness in it.”

Technology and the capability to utilise drum machines to create a convincing funk record is another factor that George would posit as having an effect on the direction and identity of modern black dance music, “The big shame about modern black music is that, to a degree, anybody can pick up a machine and make a funk record, White people have always imitated black artists because black artists were doing something a lot of white musicians could only aspire to. And to have that reduced to a mechanical form of culture is really just a shame. A lot of white producers and white artists can make good dance records mechanically; the imitation is pretty much as good as the real thing. “It’s a shame I can do it,” he says, laughing. “It’s a shame I can make a record which I think actually stands up to a lot of black dance records. Being able to express real emotion is something that’s always come a lot more naturally to black musicians than to white musicians. And to negate that difference by using machines just seems a shame.”

Soul Free would be Michael’s own interpretation of the sparse, British/RNB dance music genre that began to emerge during the late 1980’s. In particular, George was aware of British RNB group Soul II Soul who’s 1989 album Club Classics: Vol. One: had quickly climbed the charts, largely propelled by hits, Back To Life and Keep On Movin. Michael would elaborate in a 1990 interview, “In terms of the dance music that’s been about in the last couple of years I would say obviously they’re the leaders. They are the only group that have really got a very, very distinctive sound.”

The foundation of the composition, including the looped drum beat and bass line would be the most significant aspects that would recall a Soul II Soul track, a point not lost on Michael. A highlight of the track are George’s vocals with his use of falsetto during the verses, exuding a loose and passionate quality.

He would recollect on the recording of these sublime vocals, “Soul Free, in terms of a vocal, I think its got the most release on it, maybe. It really kind of blasted. And I had real fun doing it, but I’d like to think that I do it all over the album. You know, I’ve really tried to, to be as honest a singer as I can this time.” The track would not be the only manifestation of Michael’s admiration of Soul II Soul; he’d also record a remix of Freedom 90, entitled the Back To Reality Mix in which he would interpolate the lyrics to Back To Life with Freedom! 90.

Soul Free would be a reflection of some of the material that Michael would record near the end of these sessions, which were far more dance oriented then what had been recorded earlier. Around this time, George would also create a number of other similar up-tempo dance tracks that were intended for the follow up release after Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. As glistened from the title, Vol. 1 was originally going to be followed with Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2, an album that was going to be comprised of predominately dance tracks; a contrast in sound from Vol. 1. There is no indication that there was a configuration or tentative track list confirmed for the project, however Michael mentioned in a 1990 interview just before the release of Vol.1 that some songs had been completed for the follow-up, “I don’t tend to write a song and then decide whether it’s good enough or not, I tend to get about a third of the way through and decided whether it’s worth doing and if not I throw it away. I’ve got about four songs ready and recorded for the second part of this album so that’s the most I’ve ever had ready.” One of these tracks likely recorded and shelved for Vol.2 is the irresistibly fun dance classic, Too Funky. Michael Pagnotta who was George’s publicist at the time would note the track as being one of the four intended for Part 2 as he elaborates,“It was originally intended as the follow-up to Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, but given the sour state of relations between George and his record label, Sony, at that time, there would never be a Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2.”

The other three tracks that were most likely contenders for the follow up are Happy, Do You Really Want To Know and Disco with all three sharing an up-tempo, very heavy dance element in their composition. As the relationship between George and Sony began to strain after the release of Vol. 1, the concept of a follow up would be largely abandoned and by 1993, Michael had engrossed himself in a new project, entitled Trojan Souls. Happy, Do You Really Want To Know and Too Funky would appear instead on the 1992 AIDS benefit album, Red Hot + Dance, alongside tracks by Madonna and other artists. While he had been delving into arguably less commercial genres and sounds during these sessions, it’s important to note as demonstrated on tracks like Soul Free and Disco that George would continue to create his own spin on RNB/dance music, a genre that he would explore throughout his career.

Waiting (Reprise): Recorded July 1990.

In July of 1990, Michael would record what would be the final song completed during these sessions that would form the bookend of the album. Waiting (Reprise) is somewhat of a short interlude to close the album, recalling elements of Waiting For That Day both lyrically and sonically with the composition deconstructed to just acoustic guitar, background vocals and intermittent keys. As the first track recorded for the sessions began with acoustic guitar, as did the final song. Lyrically, the track is somewhat of a continuation of the themes expressed in Waiting For That Day. This time though, there is a form of self-actualisation as Michael identifies what is in the way of his desired outcome.

Well there ain’t no point in moving on
Until you’ve got somewhere to go
And the road that I have walked upon
Well it filled my pockets
And emptied out my soul

All those insecurities
That have held me down for so long
I can’t say I’ve found a cure for these
But at least I know them
So they’re not so strong

While it is somewhat implied to view these lyrics in the context of a romantic relationship, specifically the one referenced in Waiting For That Day, there is potentially an underlying meaning in which Michael is directly talking to the listener as he sheds his old persona and instead reveals the true George Michael. With both a strength and vulnerability, Michael pleads to the listener, “Don’t people change, here I am.” Is this directed at a lover or his fanbase as he reveals the new public face of George Michael?

Waiting (Reprise) acts as somewhat of an arch that ties in all of the various running lyrical threads that comprise Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 as George remarks, Well there’s one year of my life in these songs And some of them are about you. As the final note of the song dissipates, you can’t help but feel that you’ve been witness to somewhat of a musical journey into various states of George Michael. There is the song-writer who has growing concerns for the state of the world, the emancipated artist who comes to the realisation that fame and adulation is secondary to artistic growth, and finally, the wounded lover who expresses universal feelings of heartbreak in a way that truly resonates with the listener.

With the track-listing completed and the album configured, Michael would begin the task of dismantling the public image largely associated with Faith, and create a promotional campaign for Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 that would be tied first and foremost to the music. George would declare in an interview in October 1990, “I’m moving out of the promotional, selling myself side of things. Because that’s what interviews always are. It’s pure sell. I’m stopping because I just realised that it makes me unhappy. The person that I think I was when I started is not the same person as I am now. It’s a difficult thing to explain… but the period when most people grow up, I didn’t. I went from school to being a pop star, which isn’t real, life and my growing up period happened quite late — in the last three years. Now I’ve realised that I don’t want to sell myself anymore and not just that, I don’t really want to be visible any more. I still really love making music and I still really want people to like my music. But I want them to like it for what it is. I’m not overly concerned about selling millions and millions of records.”

While the first single to be released off Faith would be the insatiable funk/dance anthem I Want Your Sex, complimented by a shirtless Michael in the video, Praying For Time would be the first taste the public would get of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 with a video without a face, simply a text of the lyrics. This is a very clear example of Michael’s new outlook and intention with the marketing of the album with a focus on the craft, rather than a video to sell a particular vision of the lyrics. George would also cite the content of the album as being another key reason why he felt video was unnecessary and could potentially distort the intention of the lyrics as he elaborates, “I think they understand my refusal to do videos because a lot of the records on this new album hark back to a period — late ’60s, early ’70s — when video wasn’t needed to accompany records. The songs, I think, will work better if you haven’t got my face to contend with (laughs). It can be very off-putting (laughs). If I was being very business-like about this I’d realise there’s a huge risk involved but I just want people to use their imaginations and not have the automatic video with each record. Making videos makes me so unhappy, it really does, and the way I see it, if I’m unhappy I can’t make decent music. There were songs on Faith when I thought, I’m really pleased with that, now please God don’t let me fuck up the video! That’s not the way it should be. I’m definitely taking a big chunk out of my audience by doing this but… I’ve got to think about myself and my life. I want to get it into line.”

George would not appear in any of the music videos released from the album with the most iconic video from this project, Freedom!‘90 being filled with various supermodels and directed by David Fincher. The critically lauded video would feature items tied to Michael’s previous image, including the Faith jacket and guitar literally exploding. The artist would also not appear on the album cover with George instead using a beach shot from 1940, entitled Crowd At Coney Island by Weegee. Similarly, the press release distributed by Sony to various publications just before the albums release was noticeably sparse and direct.

The George Michael in the videos doesn’t really exist. But the songwriter is real. And so are the songs. The only thing that really matters is making music that will still mean something to people in twenty or thirty years time.

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 would not outsell Faith in the United States, however the album would still be a commercial success in various territories around the world and attain critical success from some publications. All of this is beside the point however, as Michael would mention throughout many interviews that selling was not his priority. He would note at the time that most importantly, he was happy with his artistic growth during this period, something far more tangible and enriching than commercial success. George elaborates, “I’ve realised that I have a lot more respect for my own music than I used to have. I actually believe in what I do as a musician now, divorced completely from the imagery. And I’ve come to the point where I know that creating that imagery makes me unhappy now. What I didn’t want to do was just suddenly stop and step back and try and create some sort of mystique. I want people to know that for the foreseeable future, unless there’s something really important to say — which I don’t think there will be — I’m going to kind of disappear. I’ve made a platform for myself now from which I can make music and that’s all. It’s not me going, Oh I’m such a serious musician who takes himself so seriously that people should only hear the music. It’s just now I think the music is strong enough to stand up on its own… and my priority now is to keep myself happy.”

It’s important to note how much courage it would have taken for Michael to go down this road after the success of Faith. Rather than attempt to please his record label or even a segment of the public audience that craved the four-minute hits, George would let his own artistic desires guide his next move. The inaccurate persona was discarded, focus was placed directly back on the art and Michael was proud of his accomplishment. Retrospectively in an interview many years later, George would be more critical of the album, exclaiming, “I think maybe one of the reasons I find Faith — and Listen Without Prejudice — harder to listen to than anything after, is that I can hear the effort. I can hear a front.” While he would describe the front as somewhat of an overcompensation to show he was a serious lyricist, this is one of the key elements that make Michael’s catalogue so incredible. George was by no means a prolific writer, with only four full-length albums of original material and an assortment of EPs to his discography, however, what makes the content so brilliant is Michael’s constant need to improve on his own work. While to a listener, an album as strong as Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1 is an incredible piece of work, Michael would retrospectively find elements that he felt he would improve on in later work.

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is not only a sublime artistic statement; it is a key record in the small but incredible discography of George Michael. A record released at a time in which Michael would remove himself from the chains of traditional promotion and selling and instead showcase his talent to the world, unfiltered. As Michael would declare as the final lyric on the album, “Here I am.”

“I want to leave something as a writer and I think to have a passion or to have something that drives you on through life in a creative sense, most of us want to leave something, want to have something that will be remembered without people really having to search in their memory. I want to leave songs, I believe I can leave songs that will mean something to other generations.” — George Michael

Connect with The Double A-Side on social media!

Facebook|Twitter|Instagram

Special Thanks: John Cameron of JCSMusicology

References:

Faith Interview: (1987)| George Michael’s The Quest For The Quiet: (The Age 1991)| George Michael’s Freedom (2017)| George Michael in Q Magazine Interview (June 1988)| George Michael in Q Magazine Interview (October 1990)| George Michael Mini Profile Video (1990)| George Michael on Fame And Freedom –New York Times Interview (September 1990)| Sound on Sound — Classic Tracks — Faith| George Michael Interview — Attitude Magazine (May 2004)| George Michael Speaks Out — Tiger Beat (1986)| George Michael Interview — The Record (1988)| George Michael’s Case Against Fame — The LA Times Interview (1990)| George Michael Parkinson Interview (1998)| George Michael Southbank Show (1990)| Twitter| Listen Without Prejudice Interview Responses (1990)| George Michael Radio One Interview (August, 1990)| George Michael Spin Interview (Nov/Dec 1987)| George Michael Blitz Interview (June 1988)| George Michael: The Red Line Interview (2016)