George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 (1990)

I have largely avoided gaining knowledge of George Michael. Not intentionally, it just happened. He's one of those names that a lot of people love and occasionally pops up in internet music articles. I get that a lot of people who grew up in the 80s and 90s liked his music. But I had no idea what kind of music he played or what he sounded like. I also think I tended to confuse him with Boy George, which I'm pretty sure George Michael fans would find offensive.

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 starts with a cheesy 80s-esque anthem that would be fitting as a celebrity charity single. To my ears it's the equivalent of a fountain soda with too much syrup in the mix... so sugary it makes my face contract.

I really don't want to listen to this whole album. Less than one and a half songs in and I'm feeling it's going to be the softest synth-loaded sitcom-quality inspirational drivel I've heard in a long time. "They Won't Go When I Go" features George Michael harmonizing with himself over a haunting piano melody. It's really awful. His voice isn't particularly remarkable and probably worked better when he was in the 80s pop group Wham! Having him sing a dark concerto piece doesn't fit his talents, and the mix is awful- the overdubbed harmony parts don't blend together really well, so they sound like five George Michaels all trying to sing louder than each other.

Michael's overly breathy tenor is used to a ridiculous extreme on "Cowboys and Angels". It's supposed to be a dark swinging lounge-blues number, but it's smothered with so much echoey emptiness. The song gives me the feeling that it was recorded in a dark, empty ballroom filled with dry-ice fog.

The artist I'm most reminded of right now is Koffi Olomide. His music was equally soft and inconsequential at a time when so much of music (rap, hip-hop, alternative rock, grunge) was getting harder and more powerful. For some reason I can forgive Koffi Olomide maybe just because his album was so dated that it was sorta charming, and it felt a bit more fun and laid back. George Michael is clearly going for something inspiring, touching, and maybe even epic, and the failure is just so glaring.

The copy I downloaded from Rdio was corrupted, so I missed the last song and a half. It doesn't really matter. I hated this album. 1 star.