Older (George Michael album)
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| Older | |||||
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| Studio album by George Michael | |||||
| Released | May 14, 1996 | ||||
| Recorded | 1993-1996 | ||||
| Genre | Blue-eyed soul |
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| Length | 58:43 | ||||
| Label | DreamWorks (U.S.)/ Virgin (Rest Of World) |
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| Producer | George Michael and Jon Douglas | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| George Michael chronology | |||||
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Older is the third studio album from George Michael, released May 14, 1996 (see 1996 in music). The album's U.S. and Canada release was particularly notable as it was the first album released by the now-defunct DreamWorks Records. The album produced a number of hit singles, making Michael become the first artist in UK chart history to have six top 3 singles from one album.[citation needed]
"Older" currently sits as the 97th best selling album of all time in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] History
Following the release of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, Michael accused his record company, Epic Records, of failing to promote the album as well as lacklustre support for his charity recordings (particularly contributions to the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series) and requested to be released from his contract.[citation needed] A bitter legal battle ensued through the courts, ultimately resulting in a loss to Michael. During the court battle, Michael stated that he would refuse to release any new material through Epic under his name should he lose the lawsuit.[citation needed]
Whilst essentially holding true to his word, Michael wasn't completely absent from the recording world during the six years between Listen Without Prejudice and Older, contributing several tracks to the charity album Red Hot + Dance in 1992 (see 1992 in music), as well as performing at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium (an EP of Michael's performances with Queen and Lisa Stansfield was released in 1993 on Parlophone and Hollywood Records for the U.S. and Canada markets).
Whilst Older initially sold well (Containing two US Top Ten hits in Jesus to a child and Fast Love), debuting at number one in the UK and number 6 on the Billboard 200, sales were down on previous releases. Critical reaction to the album was decidedly lukewarm, with All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine declaring that it "lack[ed] the carefree spark of his earlier work." To date, Older has reached worldwide sales of approximately 12 million.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by George Michael except where indicated.
- "Jesus to a Child" – 6:51
- "FastLove" (George Michael, Jon Douglas) – 5:24
- "Older" – 5:33
- "Spinning the Wheel" (George Michael, Jon Douglas) – 6:21
- "It Doesn't Really Matter" – 4:50
- "The Strangest Thing" – 6:01
- "To Be Forgiven" – 5:21
- "Move On" – 4:45
- "Star People"* – 5:16
- "You Have Been Loved" (George Michael, David Austin) – 5:30
- "Free" – 3:00
[edit] Non-album tracks
[edit] Original songs
- "You Know That I Want To" - 4:36 (from the Spinning the Wheel single)
- "Safe" - 4:36 (from the Spinning the Wheel single)
- "I Can't Make You Love Me" - 5:21 (from the Older single)
- "I'm Your Man '96" - 4:12 (from the Fastlove single)
[edit] New recordings
- "One More Try" (live gospel version) - 5:21 (from the Jesus to a Child single)
- "Freedom 94" (live) - 6:04 (from the Jesus to a Child single)
- "The Strangest Thing" (live) - 6:01 (from the Older single)
- "Everything She Wants" (from the MTV Unplugged) - 4:37 (from the Star People 97 single)
- "Star People" (from the MTV Unplugged) - 6:01 (from the Star People 97 single)
- "Father Figure" (from the MTV Unplugged) - (6:13) (from the You Have Been Loved single)
- "Praying For Time" (from the MTV Unplugged) - (5:22) (from the You Have Been Loved single)
[edit] Alternative
- "Older" (instrumental) - 5:18 (from the Jesus to a Child single)
- "Jesus to a Child" (radio edit) - 4:15 (from the Jesus to a Child promo single)
- "Fastlove" (Part II) (Fully Extended Mix) - 9:27 (from the Fastlove 12" single)
- "Fastlove" (Part II) (edit) - 4:39 (from the FastLove single)
- "FastLove" (Part II) (Fully Extended Mix - edit) - 4:51 (from the Fastlove single)
- "Spinning the Wheel" (radio edit) - 4:57 (from the Spinning the Wheel single)
- "Spinning the Wheel" (Forthright Edit) - 6:50 (from the Spinning the Wheel single)
- "Spinning the Wheel" (Forthright Club Mix) - 8:11 (from the Spinning the Wheel 12" single)
- "Spinning the Wheel" (Dub) - 6:37 (from the Spinning the Wheel 12" single)
- "Spinning the Wheel (Forthright Remix - 7" Version) (4:41) (from the Spinning the Wheel single)
- "FastLove" (Forthright Remix - 12" version) (8:37) (from the Spinning the Wheel 12" single)
- "FastLove" (Forthright Remix - 7" Version) (4:23) (from the Spinning the Wheel single)
- "Older" (radio edit) - 4:59 (from the Older single)
- "Star People" (Galaxy Mix) - (8:05) (from the Star People 97 single)
- "Star People" (Galaxy Dub Mix) - (7:14) (from the Star People 97 single)
- "Star People" (Forthright Club Mix) - (9:17) (from the Star People 97 single)
- "Star People" (Forthright Edit) - (4:28) (from the Star People 97 single)
- "Star People" (Forthright Remix Dub) (7:27) (from the Star People 97 12" single)
- "Star People" (Healy, Amos, Coglin Club Mix - Galaxy Club Mix) (8:06) (from the Star People 97 12" single)
- "Star People" (Supernova Dub) (from the Star People 97 12" single)
- "The Strangest Thing 97" (Radio Edit) - 4:40 (from the You Have Been Loved single)
- "The Strangest Thing 97" (Loop Ratz Mix) - (8:46) (from the You Have Been Loved 12" single)
- "The Strangest Thing 97" (Dub Version) - (8:46) (from the You Have Been Loved 12" single)
[edit] Personnel
- Elton John - background vocals
- George Michael - vocals, various instruments, programming
- Steve Sidwell - trumpet
- Andy Hamilton - saxophone
- Chris Cameron - strings, Fender Rhodes electric piano, keyboards
- Hugh Burns - acoustic guitar
- Fayyaz Virji - trombone
- Chris Davis
- David Austin
- Stuart Brooks - trumpet, flugelhorn
[edit] Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | UK | 1 (92 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | Billboard 200 | 6 (17 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | Netherland | 1 (105 weeks on charts) |
| 1996 | Australia | 1 (41 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | CZECH REP. | 2 (26 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | Austria | 1 (33 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | France | 1 (27 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | Sweden | 1 (39 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | Finland | 3 (12 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | Norway | 1 (32 weeks in charts) |
| 1996 | New Zealand | 3 (35 weeks in charts) |
[edit] Singles
- Jesus To A Child (January 8, 1996) UK #1 (1 week) (silver), US #7 (gold)
- Fastlove (April 22, 1996) UK #1 (3 weeks) (gold), US #6 (gold)
- Spinning the Wheel (August 19, 1996) UK #2 (1 week) (silver) (the single was knocked-off the top spot by Spice Girls's Wannabe)
- Older / I Can't Make You Love Me (January 20, 1997) UK #3
- Star People '97 (April 28, 1997) UK #2 (1 week) (a re-recorded and remixed version of the album version of Star People, the single was knocked-off the top spot by Gary Barlow's Love Won't Wait)
- You Have Been Loved / The Strangest Thing '97 (September 8, 1997) UK #2 (1 week) (The Strangest Thing '97 is a remixed version of The Strangest Thing; it was knocked-off the top spot by Elton John's Candle in the Wind '97 charity single)
[edit] Awards
In 1996, George was voted 'Best British Male', at the MTV Europe Awards and the BRITs; and at The Ivor Novello Awards, he was awarded the prestigious title of 'Songwriter of The Year' for the third time.[citation needed]
At the beginning of October 1996, George performed his first live shows for five years with a gig for Radio 1 FM followed by an Unplugged Session for MTV. Although these concerts were attended by the smallest audiences George has ever played to, he claims they were nevertheless two of the most enjoyable, due to the intimacy of the occasion.[citation needed] The Radio 1FM audience consisted of just 200 people and the MTV Unplugged session slightly larger at 500. Both audiences included competition winners, some of whom had flown to London from all over the world, as well as various specially invited guests.[citation needed]
[edit] Gay looking
George Michael talks on The Oprah Winfrey Show[1]:
"The way my image changed in Europe was that I looked very different, I had very short hair—I had really a kind of gay look in a way. I think I was trying to tell people I was okay with it, I just really didn't want to share it with journalists. The album I made in the middle nineties called Older was a tribute to Anselmo, really; there was a dedication to him on the album and fairly obvious male references. To my fans and the people that were really listening, I felt like I was trying to come out with them."
[edit] References
- ^ www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200405/20040526/tows_slide_20040526_01.jhtml
[edit] External links
| Preceded by To the Faithful Departed by The Cranberries |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album May 26 - June 1, 1996 |
Succeeded by Down on the Upside by Soundgarden |
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