Apple Music Rank: 91
Album: Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
Artist: George Michael
Year: 1990
Genre: Pop
Was I familiar with George Michael? I’m more familiar with George Michael Bluth. As for George Michael the singer/songwriter, I know him better as half of Wham! than as a solo artist. Few things triggered my dad’s rage more quickly than being blindsided by “I Want Your Sex” on the radio when the family was in the car together. I remember sitting in the backseat as a kid thinking, “He hasn’t noticed what’s on the radio yet. I can’t wait until he does.” 30 seconds later we’d be treated to a tirade that included far more expletives than anything George Michael was saying. Even if I loved his music, it would’ve been a problem if dad caught me in the house with anything bearing George Michael’s name.
Had I heard Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 before? Outside of the single “Freedom! ’90”, no.
Thoughts on Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1: My first thought has nothing to do with this album specifically and applies to a lot of albums from this era: This album sounds like shit. I don’t understand music engineering and mixing as much as I wish I did, so I’m not the person to describe this. My guess is that people were playing with new recording tools and things were becoming more digital. This album sounds hollow and like someone cranked up the high end and the reverb. It sounds like it was recorded in a garbage can. Not the Rubbermaid kind. The old, metal, Oscar the Grouch kind. I wonder if recording changed to sound better on the CD format. It’s cold. The songs on this album are so large and grandiose. Music like this deserves to be warmer. I should see if there’s been a vinyl remaster or something.
I joked above about my dad and the song “I Want Your Sex” and it’s all true. The other half of that story is that even when I was 11 or 12 years old when it peaked in popularity, I thought it was idiotic. I want your sex? Did/do people talk like that? Also, listen to the way he’s singing it. It’s so over the top. It wasn’t until I came across that song decades later that I was able to look past the ridiculous concept and lyrics and realized that song is funky as a motherfucker. Then there was “Faith”. I wasn’t a fan of the song and my lasting memory of it is not even the song or classic video, but Dana Carvey mercilessly mocking it on Saturday Night Live.
That is what I knew of George Michael in 1990 when he released Listen Without Prejudice and that’s why I didn’t listen to it. Well, that and the fact that by 1990 I was already deep into hip hop and R&B. I didn’t care much about the old guy from Wham! who also sang “I Want Your Sex” at that point. Even if I had listened when I was 14, I wouldn’t have been old enough to appreciate it. This album is ambitious. George Michael is swinging for the fences. My complaint about it now – aside from the audio quality – is that it feels disjointed. I think he was trying a bit of everything instead of sticking with one concept for the album. A few songs sound like acoustic guitar singer/songwriter stuff. A few songs are power ballads. A few sound like generic early-90s pop/R&B. A bold Stevie Wonder cover. They’re all thrown together in an order that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
And then there’s “Freedom! ’90“. One of – if not THE – the great pop anthems of my lifetime with a legendary video to accompany it. The rare timeless song that gets better with age. George Michael cemented himself as one of the icons of this era on “Freedom”.
Favorite track: Gotta be “Freedom! ’90”. It clocks in at 6:31, yet somehow still feels like it’s over too quickly when it ends.
Will I listen to Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 again? Not until I’m able to check out Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 2. Seriously, why wasn’t there a Volume 2? It would’ve made more sense to make this a double album and put the poppier stuff on one and the acoustic singer/songwriter stuff on another. For real, I won’t seek this album out but I respect the hell out of George Michael for it. Just not in my wheelhouse.
Would I buy it on vinyl? Only as an experiment to see if a good vinyl copy sounds better than the hollow shit I hear on streaming.
To access more expert analysis of the Apple 100 Best Albums list click here.
mookiefantana 