FEATURE:
Highlighting an Iconic Album from a Masterful Artist…
George Michael’s Faith at Thirty-Five
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I wrote about…
IN THIS PHOTO: George Michael in 1987
George Michael’s Faith at the end of last year. I am coming back to it because, on 30th October, it turns thirty-five. During one of the all-time best years for music – where titans like Michael Jackson and Prince were battling it out -, Michael released his masterpiece. There was a certain amount of pressure and expectation. The former Wham! songwriter and co-lead (with Andrew Ridgeley) stepped out of the shadow of the duo and released a solo album that was a step up in terms of its confidence and subject matter. More sexual, provocative, and accomplished, this was George Michael writing and performing some of the best material of his career. The opening three tracks, Faith, Father Figure, and I Want Your Sex (Parts 1 & 2), are classics in his cannon. Reaching number one around the world (including the U.K. and U.S.), Faith is one of the all-time great albums! In addition to playing various instruments on the album, Michael wrote and produced every track on the recording except for one, Look at Your Hands, which he co-wrote with David Austin. Faith is an amazingly rich album. Mixing introspection with sumptuous R&B, this is a blend of fiery and sexy together with the more soulful and soul-searching. Faith is one of the best-selling albums of all time, having sold over twenty-five million copies worldwide. The album won Album of the Year at the 31st Grammy Awards. Michael won three awards at the 1989 American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Album. Faith is also regarded and ranked as one of the best albums ever. Quite an achievement for your debut!
Not that Wham! were necessarily cheesy or commercial. They were phenomenal. It is just that Faith is such an adult and contemporary album by comparison. Sounding far less dated than their work, George Michael’s vocals and compositions are so expressive, sophisticated, compelling, and diverse. Songs like Look at Your Hands seem miles away from what he was singing with Wham! only a few years earlier (the duo’s second and final album, Make It Big, was released in 1984)! As I do with album anniversaries, I am going to bring in some reviews. There is one from 1988, in addition to a couple of relatively recent ones. First, Albumism revisited Faith on its thirtieth anniversary in 2017:
“Musically speaking, 1987 was a year of titans. In just that 12-month span alone, Prince and Michael Jackson went head-to-head with Sign O’ the Times and Bad, albums later recognized as flashpoints in their respective careers. Then, there was the story of George Michael’s solo ascendancy. He had come to be revered and reviled as one-half of the anodyne pop pair Wham!. As has been well documented, Michael’s growing artistic restlessness came to a head with the Quiet Storm seduction of “Careless Whisper” in 1984. And while it was billed as a Wham! single, it was, for all intents and purposes, a George Michael solo affair. The sparse breadth of “A Different Corner” took this creative growth a step further.
Not long thereafter, Andrew Ridgeley and Michael parted, closing off a consistent run of charters that began with “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” in 1982. But it was what came next that rendered “Careless Whisper” and “A Different Corner” mere pop politesse.
Faith, Michael’s first solo offering, was released in late October of 1987; as of October 2017, it sits at over 20 million units sold worldwide. Seven singles were lifted from Faith from June 1987 to November 1988—“I Want Your Sex,” “Faith,” “Hard Day,” “Father Figure,” “One More Try,” “Monkey,” and “Kissing a Fool.” All of them dominated globally and can be heard playing somewhere in the world today. Nominations and wins for Grammys, American Music Awards, BRITs and Ivor Novellos were plentiful.
Additionally, Faith made Michael the first Caucasian to top the US Top Black Albums Chart, as it was then called. This happened 17 years after fellow Briton Dusty Springfield’s landmark Dusty in Memphis (1969) caused a stir on both sides of the Atlantic. Further, it was also eight years after Teena Marie (born Mary Christine Brockert) became the first white act to legitimately begin with—and be solely supported by—a black consumer base courtesy of her debut Wild and Peaceful (1979) on Motown Records.
But who can forget the visual set pieces for Faith? Their celluloid fantasies made Michael accessible to everyone, from (gay) men to (straight) women. The statistical accoutrement of Faith is deliriously endless, but don’t be distracted from the heart of the record’s purpose and ultimate triumph. Despite Michael’s deft knowledge of the “pop star playbook” in the age of MTV, he never let the music slide. He had done his homework on everyone from Stevie Wonder to Aretha Franklin, from Patrice Rushen to Prince, and it all came across in the sonics of Faith. Excusing “Look at Your Hands,” co-scripted with David Austin, Michael entered the exclusive club of “written, arranged, produced and composed by” on his debut effort.
The title track is the earworm of the 10 cuts on the LP. “Faith” stitches gospel, blues and rock together with an irrepressible hook and guitar lick so effervescent, it seems as if 30 years has barely lapsed since it jumped onto the airwaves back in 1987.
Live-based instrumentation (organic) and electro-funk tech (inorganic) principles forge a heady merger on “Hard Day,” “Monkey,” and “I Want You Sex.” The latter track is the flashiest jam on the album. Split into three parts—“Rhythm One: Lust,” “Rhythm Two: Brass in Love,” “Rhythm Three: A Last Request”—one can hear the fusion (and progression) between the synthetic and natural aesthetics, climaxing into something entirely new that pulls from both classic and modern pop and soul production idioms. It didn’t hurt that “I Want Your Sex” is danceable as fuck with a keen narrative, which opens the door toward examining Faith’s songwriting on the whole.
Michael understood the verse/bridge/chorus structure and the aforementioned “Faith” and “Monkey” evince this in their appeal to radio, but they weren’t total fluff either. The songs had words worth scanning the liner notes for, to read and ponder on. Four ballads make a sturdy case for Michael’s lyrical maturity: “Hand to Mouth,” “Father Figure,” “One More Try” and “Kissing a Fool.” “Hand to Mouth” was Michael’s first admirable stab at social commentary; he fully realized his potential with this writing avenue at length on Faith’s follow-up, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990).
The remaining trio of ballads have Michael opening the door on his sexuality, albeit slyly. The careful usage of certain pronouns is key to mask overtness, as needed. However, the sensitivity, darkness and humanity channeled by Michael’s tactile vocal performance in “One More Try” reveal the undeniable source of autobiographical gay romance (and heartbreak). As a result, Michael was soundtracking an entire generation of young gay men having similar experiences: “I've had enough of danger / And people on the streets / I'm looking out for angels / Just trying to find some peace / Now I think it's time that you let me know / So if you love me, say you love me / But if you don't just let me go / 'Cause teacher there are things that I don't want to learn / And the last one I had made me cry / So I don't want to learn to / Hold you, touch you, think that you're mine / Because it ain't no joy / For an uptown boy / Whose teacher has told him goodbye, goodbye, goodbye…”
There is a very human story about George Michael’s own journey toward his eventual self-acceptance that lies at the heart of the legend of Faith. Those steps in his journey were assisted by his love of both pop and R&B music as an outlet for him. By striking an authentic balance between the two genres, he eschewed the vanity of affectation and was driven by humble admiration instead. This ensured the record’s appeal to two audiences without forsaking one (white) or patronizing another (black), and that’s a legacy worth leaving behind”.
One might assume there would be resistance or a transition accepting George Michael as a solo artist, as he was so renowned and associated with Wham! Even if Michael still had to hide his sexuality and could not be as honest in his music as he would be later in his career, Faith still bursts with self-confidence and intensity! The album turned Michael into an international superstar and made him an icon and pin-up of the MTV generation. At such an exciting time for music, George Michael was rivaling U.S. superstars and releasing music that is still so loved to this day. This is what Rolling Stone wrote in 1988:
“GEORGE MICHAEL IS a natural. Even as the pinup images of Wham! fade to gray, singles like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Careless Whisper” remain indelible — they’re virtually impossible to forget, whether you actually like them or not. Just twenty-four, Michael has emerged as one of pop music’s leading artisans, a painstaking craftsman who combines a graceful knack for vocal hooks with an uncanny ability to ransack the past for musical ideas and still sound fresh.
Just a cursory spin of his official solo debut is enough to spell out blockbuster even in non-music-biz minds. It would be easy to dub George Michael the Elton John of the Eighties; too easy, because for all its craft and catchiness, Faith is grounded in a passion and personal commitment as palpable as the grinding bump beat of “I Want Your Sex.” And with this album, George finally proves once and for all that he’s no mere genius chart hack.
Unsurprisingly, Faith is the move toward adulthood, signaled by the conscientiously horny “I Want Your Sex.” Sure, songs about drug abuse, abused wives, Thatcherism and the choice between monogamy and freelance lust are nothing new, but how many other current singer-songwriters can evoke a personal stake in their subject matter? One of Michael’s secret weapons is his knowledge that the power and eloquence of soul music come from simply singing what you feel. And as Faith proves, he’s got the equipment to render some relatively complex feelings.
Faith is not some cynical hit pack; it’s a concept album of sorts. After the rockabilly shock of the title track kicks things off, each song segues neatly into the next. The disco groove varies from urban thump to slow tropical heat wave, but it doesn’t let up until the very end. Key words, like faith, trust and understanding, pop up in song after song, and the issue of communication between lovers, and the lack thereof, is examined from numerous angles.
On “Look at Your Hands” a younger man expresses anger at his married ex-girlfriend’s battered state. She’s got “two fat children and a drunken man,” and the singer’s outrage comes as much from jealousy as from a sense of injustice: “You shoulda been my woman when you had the chance/Bet you don’t/Bet you don’t/Bet you don’t/Like your life now.” That nagging hook will undoubtedly haunt Hot Radio in the near future, as will the similarly insistent “ay-yi-yi-yi” chorus of “Monkey.” An antidrug number, “Monkey” is not a lecture but rather an exasperated lover’s question: “Do you love the monkey or do you love me?”
Faith is very much a George Michael showcase: he coproduced, wrote all the songs, plays many instruments and handles the lion’s share of vocals, including a wide, weird range of backup voices. Yet his overriding respect for melody and his sense of restraint, as evidenced in the economical arrangements on Faith, as well as in his singing, are really quite remarkable in this Age of Ego.
Of course, George Michael is only human. Occasionally his ambitions outdistance his ability. Attempting the elegantly sweaty seduction number “Father Figure,” he still sounds wet behind the ears; his voice isn’t husky enough for the role. Marvin Gaye he’s not. George Michael is much more convincing when he sings about the other end of such a relationship: “One More Try” is an undeniable, heart-wrenching teenage plea (“Teacher there are things/That I don’t want to learn”).
At times he’s almost too good. The Stevie Wonder-ized second section of “I Want Your Sex” is livelier and more adventurous than the usual dance mix, but included on the album, it still seems like an indulgence. And the concluding number, a pseudo torch song called “Kissing a Fool,” recalls one of Barry Manilow’s forays down Memory Lane with painful accuracy. It’s a sentimental dead end. But the rest of Faith displays Michael’s intuitive understanding of pop music and his increasingly intelligent use of his power to communicate to an ever-growing audience”.
I want to highlight AllMusic’s opinions about one of the 1980s’ defining and best albums. Such a staggering and nuanced album, I am discovering layers and thrills decades after I first heard Faith. From its super-cool-yet-mysterious cover to the wonderful production work from George Michael, this is such a personal and fascinating album:
“A superbly crafted mainstream pop/rock masterpiece, Faith made George Michael an international solo star, selling over ten million copies in the U.S. alone as of 2000. Perhaps even more impressively, it also made him the first white solo artist to hit number one on the R&B album charts. Michael had already proven the soulful power of his pipes by singing a duet with Aretha Franklin on the 1987 smash "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," but he went even farther when it came to crafting his own material, using sophisticated '70s soul as an indispensable part of his foundation. Of course, it's only a part. Faith's ingenuity lies in the way it straddles pop, adult contemporary, R&B, and dance music as though there were no distinctions between them. In addition to his basic repertoire of funky dance-pop and airy, shimmering ballads, Michael appropriates the Bo Diddley beat for the rockabilly-tinged title track, and proves himself a better-than-decent torch singer on the cocktail jazz of "Kissing a Fool." Michael arranged and produced the album himself, and the familiarity of many of these songs can obscure his skills in those departments -- close listening reveals his knack for shifting elements in and out of the mix and adding subtle embellishments when a little emphasis or variety is needed. Though Faith couldn't completely shake Michael's bubblegum image in some quarters, the album's themes were decidedly adult. "I Want Your Sex" was the most notorious example, of course, but even the love songs were strikingly personal and mature, grappling with complex adult desires and scarred by past heartbreak. All of it adds up to one of the finest pop albums of the '80s, setting a high-water mark that Michael was only able to reach in isolated moments afterward”.
A remastered version of Faith was released in 2011. The BBC shared their view about a classic. I am not sure how easy it is to get a vinyl copy of Faith. There was nothing announced for its thirty-fifth anniversary. We sadly lost George Michael on Christmas Day 2016. He would have been humbled to see that, nearly six years after his death, people are still holding Faith in the highest regard. It is a work of brilliance that will ensure and inspire for generations to come:
“Even now, by today’s accelerated standards, that in a five-year span George Michael went from singing about having fun on the dole, simultaneously launching a solo career while clocking up a string of global chart-toppers with his mate Andrew, to multi-platinum success in America, is still rather mind-blowing.
It’s a career trajectory that has fuelled the most ambitious artists in his wake, desperate to emulate such a broad crossover. And who could blame them? The stats speak for themselves – 1987’s Faith album, here reissued across multiple formats including a special edition including bonus remixes and promo videos, sold 20 million worldwide, six of its 10 tracks were released as singles, and four of those went number one in the US (although curiously none of them went to number one in the UK). It contained some of his most enduring tunes, not least the title-track itself.
Ninety-nine percent made, produced, played and written by George himself, there are songs on here that would go on to outlive their parent album. Take One More Try, a timeless bit of soul imbued with regret and longing, and a wisdom that betrays the then-24-year-old artist behind it. The gospel-tinged Father Figure and jazzy Kissing a Fool too made those "new Elton John" claims not just a load of bluff. Time perhaps hasn’t been so kind to the Synclavier-soaked 80s-ness of Monkey, and, bearing in mind it was banned for being too raunchy at the time, I Want Your Sex seems positively quaint nearly 25 years on.
Of course hindsight is a handy tool, allowing one to spot the signs of what was to come more easily than one could at the time. But stripped of the nonsense – the car crashes, the spliffs, the troubled soul who ill-advisedly nips out for some late-night liaisons and the recent prison spell – Faith still endures as one of the more listenable major releases of the 80s. While he’d never scale these heights again – he started his retreat from the frontline after touring it solidly for two years – Faith made George into a proper international superstar, confirming his rightful place at pop’s top table. Listening to it today, marvelling at his seemingly effortless way with a tune, it’s understandable why it remains a classic of its era”.
On 30th October, fans around the world will celebrate thirty-five years of George Michael’s incredible debut solo album. I don’t think he had a point to prove when Wham! split, but you can feel and hear this artist step into the spotlight and rise to the challenge. Faith ranks alongside the greatest albums ever. So many people have dived into this amazing album through the years. It was acclaimed in 1987 and it remains one of these records that will never age. When it comes to the genius and importance of George Michael’s debut album, we will…
NEVER lose that faith.