George Michael – Older (1996) CD Album

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George Michael – Older (1996)Older is the fourth studio album by George Michael, released in May 1996 on Virgin Records and produced entirely by Michael himself. The album was writ ten and recorded in the aftermath of the death of his partner Anselmo Feleppa from an AIDS-related illness in March 1993, and its themes of grief, loss, mortality and survival give it an emotional depth and personal honesty that distinguishes it from anything else in Michael's catalogue. It debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and sold over 5 million copies worldwide, spawning four UK Top 5 singles. Jesus to a Child — Michael's direct tribute to Feleppa — spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and is one of the most emotionally raw and musically ambitious singles of his career. The album's sound — jazz-inflected, orchestrally arranged, unhurried and deeply atmospheric — represented a complete departure from the commercial pop of his earlier work and demonstrated a songwriter and producer of extraordinary maturity and artistic confidence. It closes with Free, a brief, unaccompanied vocal piece that serves as a coda of quiet, hard-won peace.Highlights Jesus to a Child — George Michael's tribute to Anselmo Feleppa and one of the most emotionally devastating British pop singles of the 1990s; a slow, jazz-inflected ballad of six minutes and fifty seconds that builds with extraordinary patience and restraint before opening into a chorus of overwhelming emotional force. Three weeks at UK No. 1. Fastlove — The album's most immediately accessible and commercially effective track; a driving, funk-influenced dance-pop song with a sample of Patrice Rushen's Forget Me Nots that gives it an irresistible groove, and one of the most joyful and energetic moments in Michael's solo catalogue. Spinning the Wheel — One of the album's most musically sophisticated and lyrically complex tracks; a slow-burning, jazz-influenced song about risk and desire that showcases Michael's production at its most atmospheric and his songwriting at its most emotionally nuanced. You Have Been Loved — The album's most quietly devastating ballad and one of its most personal; a spare, piano-led song that addresses loss and grief with a directness and simplicity that is completely disarming, and one of the most underrated songs in Michael's entire catalogue. The Strangest Thing — A six-minute atmospheric ballad that demonstrates the full range of Michael's production ambition; a slowly evolving, orchestrally arranged song that gives the album one of its most cinematic and emotionally complex moments and showcases his voice at its most controlled and expressive. CD Details Title: Older Artist: George Michael Year: 1996 Label: Virgin Records / Universal Music Producer: George Michael Format: CD Album Tracks: 11 Barcode: 724384139223 ConditionCondition: Good/Good — see our Condition Grading Guide.Browse our full 1990s CD collection. You might also enjoy our Blu-ray titles or our Vinyl Records. Show more