When you really take a look at the musical legacy of George Michael, it’s a bit surprising how little music he actually put out. His stardom is built upon three hit albums. One was Make It Big with Wham! The others were his first two solo albums, Faith and Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. There were two other albums with Wham! as well as two more solo efforts, not to mention some live releases and collections of covers. But it is fair to say that George Michael would be a forgotten artist without Big, Faith and Listen.
That’s not meant to be a criticism. Those three albums are indeed legacy-worthy. We’ve certainly seen other artists build a legacy upon much less.
Next month, after more than a year of delay, a super deluxe edition of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is finally set to be released. This was Michael’s last great album, released in 1990, before lawsuits and scandals derailed his career. He managed to score a few small hits six years later with Older, but it paled in comparison to his previous effort. In 2004, Patience failed to crack the top ten in the US and produced no hit singles. It would be his final album of new material.
So a deluxe edition of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 feels like a good memorial to an artist who could have become so much more. I’m not sure that, had he not passed away last Christmas, he could have returned to musical prominence or relevance. But based on the strength of Listen, I have faith it could have been possible. It wasn’t his biggest hit album, but I do think it was his greatest artistic accomplishment. “Freedom ’90,” made it clear he had ambitions beyond MTV. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 showed he was capable of so much more. And had circumstances not distracted him from his craft, we may have seen incredible things on Vol 2… or Vol. 3 and beyond.
This week, we’re getting the first “single” from the new deluxe edition of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. “Fantasy” is a song that has been around for a long time and was released as a b-side and in remixed form previously. Before his death, George Michael asked Nile Rodgers to re-work the track yet again. This new version of the song appears on the new 2CD edition of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Unfortunately, it will only be a download for the super deluxe edition, which had already been manufactured and subsequently delayed before the track was completed.
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 comes out (finally) on October 20. Here are the track lists for the 2CD and super deluxe versions:
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (2CD Special Edition)
Disc 1- Remastered Original Album
01. Praying for Time
02. Freedom! ’90
03. They Won’t Go When I Go
04. Something to Save
05. Cowboys and Angels
06. Waiting for That Day
07. Mothers Pride
08. Heal the Pain
09. Soul Free
10. Waiting (Reprise)
Disc 2- MTV Unplugged
01. Freedom! ’90
02. Fastlove
03. I Can’t Make You Love Me
04. Father Figure
05. You Have Been Loved
06. Everything She Wants
07. The Strangest Thing
08. Older
09. Star People
10. Praying for Time
11. Fantasy (feat. Nile Rodgers)
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (Super Deluxe Edition)
Disc 1- Remastered Original Album
01. Praying for Time
02. Freedom! ’90
03. They Won’t Go When I Go
04. Something to Save
05. Cowboys and Angels
06. Waiting for That Day
07. Mothers Pride
08. Heal the Pain
09. Soul Free
10. Waiting (Reprise)
Disc 2- MTV Unplugged
01. Freedom! ’90
02. Fastlove
03. I Can’t Make You Love Me
04. Father Figure
05. You Have Been Loved
06. Everything She Wants
07. The Strangest Thing
08. Older
09. Star People
10. Praying for Time
Disc 3- B-sides & Remixes
01. Soul Free (Special Radio Edit)
02. Freedom! ’90 (Back To Reality Mix)
03. Freedom! ’90 (Back To Reality Mix Edit)
04. Fantasy ’90
05. Freedom! ’90 (Edit)
06. Cowboys and Angels (Edit)
07. If You Were My Woman
08. Too Funky (Edit)
09. Crazyman Dance
10. Do You Really Want to Know
11. Happy
12. Too Funky (Extended)
13. Too Jazzy (Happy Mix)
14. Fantasy ’98
15. Heal the Pain (with Paul McCartney)
16. Desafinado (with Astrud Gilberto)
Disc 4- DVD
01. The South Bank Show 1990
02. Freedom! ’90
03. Praying for Time
04. Freedom! ’90 (MTV 10th anniversary)
