Faith

Pretty solid album

George Michael's first solo outing after having broken up the family friendly group, Wham!, has always struck me as a "look how adult I am now" album. Others have done the same thing, and they always just come off as cringe to me. It's not a terrible album, and Michael was a talented performer, but so many of the songs I just can't take seriously.

Maybe it's just because I'm a lesbian, but there's something just so unbelievably unsexy to me about music with a male vocalist. Like he's just trying to damn hard to be sexy in this, but I just find it so boring and a little bit cringey. He's just blabbing on about how horny he is and how much he wants to have sex (I hope not with me), and it's just like ok buddy???? I'm happy for you that you're expressing yourself but please don't get me involved. Even beyond the embarrassing attempt at being sexy, this is just so boring and generic. For someone considered to be so prolific, George Michael is genuinely one of the least interesting artists I have listened to, and I continue to be disappointed by his music every time.

On the wrong side of 80's cheesiness for me. I have no interest in albums that fall into that category, and even less interest when they are 51 minutes long.

Du godeste, hr. Michael 3.9

Mild 80s pop. Easy listening

i mean what do you want me to say

Some songs I recognised but this guy gives bad vibes for some reason. Maybe the Christianity. Who's to say?

Not for me

En 1987, j’avais dix-sept ans et sur tous les écrans cathodiques passait en boucle un clip impossible à esquiver : un type gominé, barbe de trois jours millimétrée, lunettes de soleil Aviator greffées sur le nez, boucle d'oreille en forme de croix, jean troué pile où il faut et perfecto en cuir noir. Le gars tenait une guitare acoustique dont il savait à peine plaquer trois accords potables, secouait son cul face caméra avec une insistance presque embarrassante, et ne semblait vouloir rien d'autre que mon sexe. Le mien, ou plutôt celui d’un ou d’une autre, car soyons honnêtes, à l’époque, il y avait déjà comme qui dirait anguille sous roche, voire carrément baleine sous gravillons. Tout le marketing de CBS Records transpirait l’hétérosexualité conquérante de façade, le fantasme absolu pour adolescentes en montée d'hormones et ménagères en mal de frissons, alors que le pot aux roses crevait déjà les yeux de n'importe quel observateur un tant soit peu lucide. Alors oui, la nostalgie a son mot à dire, mais une fois qu'on a évacué le souvenir des boums de lycée, des vestes à épaulettes et de l'odeur du déodorant bon marché, que reste-t-il quarante ans après ? La réponse est cruelle, pas grand-chose. L'album a pris un coup de vieux absolument monumental, à cause d'une production typiquement binaire qui hurle "ANNÉES 80" à chaque coup de caisse claire réverbérée. Alors déjà à l’époque, je n’étais pas fan, mais aujourd'hui après avoir remis le disque sur la platine mon constat n’a pas bougé, nous avons face à nous un pur produit de consommation jetable, emballé dans du papier doré, et absolument rien d’autre. Déjà, il faut se replacer un instant dans le contexte pour comprendre l'escroquerie culturelle qui entoure la canonisation de ce disque. En 1986, George Michael enterre Wham! au stade de Wembley devant des dizaines de milliers de fans éplorées. Andrew Ridgeley part gentiment s'effacer dans l'oubli doré des rentiers de la pop, et Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou décide qu'il est grand temps d'être pris au sérieux par les adultes. Mais comment fait un chanteur de bubblegum pop pour se racheter une virginité artistique aux yeux de l'intelligentsia musicale sans pour autant lâcher la poule aux œufs d'or des ventes de masse ? Il singe les codes de la rébellion rockabilly, il emprunte maladroitement au rhythm and blues noir américain, et il se colle un vernis de pseudo-auteur-compositeur tourmenté sur des rythmiques synthétiques programmées à la va-vite sur des machines numériques hors de prix. Quand l’album débarque à l’automne 1987, le rouleau compresseur promotionnel est titanesque, et on nous a matraqué les oreilles jusqu'à l'écœurement avec deux ou trois tubes incontournables. Bon, ne soyons pas totalement de mauvaise foi, le morceau-titre possède une efficacité redoutable dans son genre. Cette intro à l’orgue d’église qui reprend pompeusement le thème de « Careless Whisper » pour signifier la mort du passé et la résurrection du chanteur adulte, ce rythme piqué à Bo Diddley, cette acoustique sèche qui claque… Ça fonctionne trois minutes car c'est taillé avant tout pour les radios FM. Même chose pour l'infâme « I Want Your Sex », qui a surtout fait parler de lui grâce à une censure bien opportune de la BBC et de quelques ligues de vertu américaines qui n'avaient visiblement rien de plus intelligent à foutre. En réalité, le morceau n'avait rien de sulfureux : c'est un funk blanc en plastique, anémique et mécanique, qui tente d'imiter Prince sans jamais en approcher le quart du millième de la sueur du génie pervers. Une fois qu'on a fait le tour de ces locomotives promotionnelles et de la ballade de rigueur « Father Figure » qui surnage péniblement grâce à un refrain un peu plus soigné que le reste, qu'est-ce qui meuble les trois quarts restants de la galette ? Rien, juste le vide intersidéral. Putain, il faut être honnête deux minutes, l’album est indigne d'un soi-disant chef-d'œuvre censé figurer au panthéon des disques indispensables. Faith c'est de la musique d'ascenseur pour centre commercial flambant neuf, calibrée pour combler le silence entre deux spots publicitaires de MTV. Chaque arrangement sent le calcul marketing, la volonté forcenée de plaire au marché américain, de ratisser le plus large possible, du public blanc des banlieues pavillonnaires aux charts R&B urbains. Le paradoxe le plus hilarant de cette histoire, c'est que George Michael lui-même a fini par détester ce cirque. Écœuré par l'image outrancière de bête de foire peroxydée qu'il avait lui-même contribué à bâtir, il passera les années suivantes à brûler métaphoriquement sa guitare et son blouson de cuir dans le clip de « Freedom! '90 », refusant d'apparaître à l'écran pour son disque suivant et engageant une guerre juridique sans merci contre sa maison de disques pour se libérer de ce carcan doré. Il savait pertinemment ce qu'était cette première livraison en solo : une prison marketing dorée sur tranche, un piège à gogos où le contenant primait outrageusement sur le contenu. Aujourd'hui, quand je vois certaines personnes ranger pieusement cet enregistrement aux côtés des monuments intemporels de la fin des années quatre-vingt, je ne peux m'empêcher de rire jaune. Comment peut-on sérieusement écouter cette enfilade de pistes synthétiques ultra-datées sans ressentir une violente bouffée de ringardise ? Alors oui, certains disques de 1987 ont traversé les âges sans prendre une seule ride, portés par une vision artistique brute, un son organique ou une écriture qui transcende son époque. Mais ce premier coup d'éclat solo de l'ex-idole pour midinettes n'en fait absolument pas partie, putain Faith c'est le vestige d'une époque d'excès superficiels, un monument élevé à la gloire de l'artifice sonore et du culte de la personnalité sur pellicule vidéo. Au final, je peux garder une petite pointe de tendresse amusée pour le gamin de dix-sept ans que j'étais, halluciné devant les gesticulations de ce faux loubard en perfecto à la télévision, mais sur le plan strictement musical, le verdict reste sans appel : c'est un produit de consommation de masse, périmé depuis des lustres, et rien de plus.

This was ok. A few good songs. 3/5

RATING: 7/10 HIGHLIGHT: Faith LOWLIGHT: Hard Day

I made it through! Not at all something I will revisit. Horrid. Simply horrid. My first attempt ended in a snoozefest. I had to go through it again: just simply bad crap. If this is the best we can do as a species, we deserve the coming apocalypse. This will be the soundtrack.... 1 "crappy" star. It's in the same league as ABBA/ELO and now GM. Thank you lord, it's over....

Always love getting albums with songs I recognize, which happens less often than I expected it to. The other songs are good too

Faith is a banger. I was good with the rest of the album. Fine 80s pop.

ça s'écoute bien mais c'est pas non plus phénoménal quoi

Oli kyl hyvä

goat george michael

Father Figure is a soulful song that is only ruined because of Taylor Swift sampling it.

Damn I was actually excited to hear this, but this disappointed tf outta me. Didn’t vibe with a single song tbh

+1 for a couple of good songs, and I would have had some fun playing along to these on the piano with a particularly enthusiastic singer. But honestly, what is the hype about?

We are reaching and surpassing levels of sexy that we haven't seen before.

Not my thing but there’s still some well loved bangers and I was pleasantly surprised by how much enjoyed ‘Kissing a Fool’.

not a big fan of mr michael pt 2

I want your sex might be the most 80’s coded thing ever, like literally ever. That’s not a fair reflection on the album as a whole as he’s a classic songwriter who understands what makes a great song but as a whole this is a copy of production at times

If this album is the best of the 80s this decade needs to be canceled

m'agrada la veu així susurrante i la vibe ochentera. no sabia q alguns temardos venien d'aquí wow. temardos heavys eh he flipat igual me l'hauria d'escoltar més quet senyor. moltes cnaçons guardades wow

Loved this. Big fan of George and his work but never gave this album much time, electing instead to listen to the singles. Really happy to get on it.

Even though I wasn’t in the right demographic for Wham’s cheesy teeny-bop pop in the early 80s, they were the soundtrack to many of the school discos that I went to, although I’m still not sure about the financial viability of Club Tropicana. I wasn’t expecting to hear from George Michael again after Wham split up which made this album from 1987 something of a revelation. From the striking cover art and the video that accompanied the breezy title track it was clear that he was now a long way from the world of wise guys realising the danger in emotional ties. This is an album about exploring love (and sex), taking chances and the risk of being hurt in the process. It’s all the more poignant because we know in retrospect of his struggles to come to terms with his sexual identity. George Michael may have had his inner turmoil, but he didn’t deserve the gleeful monstering that he suffered at the hands of certain tabloid newspapers when he came out in the 90s. In spite of this, he stayed true to himself and it was only after his untimely death from heart disease in 2016 that his numerous quiet acts of charity and generosity came to light. This still probably isn’t the sort of album I would listen to on a regular basis, but the honesty and humanity of George Michael shines through in a way that is clear to see.

Smooth and easy to listen to. Although a whole album with this kind of music at once is to much for me. A few songs added to playlists so they show up randomly is more my style for this kind of music.

auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUuUuu esse tá na listinha de discos que minha mãe tinha em casa e eu escutava sem parar quando era menor eu gosto d+ do george michael, deus abençoe o finalzinho do pop 80s com o toque safado que já ia entrar uns anos depois

um misto da sonoridade do michael jackson com a PUTARIA do prince. eh bem dançante, né. as letras são bem boas, um pouco mais introspectivas que as do wham. é pop oitentista sem nada de especial. mas eu curto bem um pop oitentista........

Sympa!

No thanks

I didn't really like this, didn't hate it enough for a lower score though

This album is not very good. It's mostly annoying. Not my style.

Ehhhh not really my thing. He's talented but it's not really what I like to listen to.

This was great -- I listened to it twice and loved it. Four stars, only because there was a song or two that were just meh (the sex ones?).

Pretty good pop. The title track is fantastic, and the rest isn't nearly as good, which sort of lets the album down a bit. But it's quite a good listen overall, sort of Michael Jacksonish in a way

not a big George Michael gal

This is the first big album I've had on this list, and I was excited to hear it all the way through. I'm glad I have - and it was a good start to my Sunday morning! There is a bit of filler, but even that has plenty of soul and rhythm. I always felt I hadn't truly appreciated George's talent while he was alive, and this album only confirms that.

Album 359. Faith (https://open.spotify.com/album/34K1Kvskt9arWy8E1Gz3Lw?si=KVDo0fuMT-eSrz6S_9E5yQ) — George Michael (1987) Actually, I accidentally listened to it in February 2026, so today I'm relistening. And you know what? The second time it's much better and much more fun. Great solo debut The album is pretty much in George Michael's style and that's all I want to say haha We are humans and we need Faith 4/5 Liked: — Faith — Father Figure — I Want Your Sex — One More Try — Hand to Mouth — Kissing a Fool

This is so very 80s. Father Figure is the stand out song. The rest is way too poppy / 80s for me. I do like GM voice a lot. And enjoy some of his later works better. 2.75

*1987. *What a great opening sequence - Faith, Father Figure, and I Want Your Sex all in a row. *This is very late 80s and very much a wannabe Michael Jackson or Prince, but I'm here for it. *Right on the edge of sexy and sleazy, but I think George keeps it just on the correct side in a way that only the gay men of the 80s can get away with. *Solid guilty pleasure album with strong musicality as well, although the first half is WAY better than the second half. *If this were slightly re-produced to not so sound 80s, these could almost all be hits today (except maybe Father Figure, because ew.) RATING - 7/10

Lekker gladjes

George mijn dude, rechtstreeks naar horny jail met jou. Plaatje begint heel sterk met banger na banger maar een paar nummers en de gehele plaat zelf kabbelen echt te lang door. Tekstueel is dit ook niet altijd een hoogstandje.

508/1001. One of the princes of pop (maybe even the king for a day) shows how it is done: all time classics, then the average songs and the ballads. I have Madonna a 5 this week, but she was the queen for a long long time, promoting Sex, Georgios wanted sex (and explore monogamy?) and went to the bathroom in order to get out of the closet. The he wanted Faith. Wait, didn't Madonna do exactly the same a few years later?

3.5

Lagde ud med et par ok numre, selvom jeg virkelig ikke særligt godt kan lide GM, men faldt hurtigt i niveau.

4 because I love Faith so much. Amazing song.

George Michael has a great voice and his song writing skills are strong. Unfortunately there was a bit of a sense of filler tracks on this album but when he's great he's great. Scores as a 4 for me

1987. First solo album. 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". Often ranked as one of the best albums of the 1980s. Michael was inspired by his contemporaries Michael Jackson and Prince.

Lekker muziekje op de achtergrond

Banger after banger on this one-- people calling 80's style production 'corny' need to get over themselves!

classic classic classic uplifting, catchy, moving

Fun ! +

This album does not age well

It’s been a while since I heard these songs - they certainly were popular back then. This is the debut solo album from George, and is primarily dance/pop music. The sound quality is good, the singing is ok, and the first part of the record is above average. The second half of the album was weaker, except for the final track, which was a good slow number. Overall 3.5 stars.

Poor George Michael. They just did a bafflingly horrible tribute to him at the VMAs! Anyway, 'Faith' is such a bop. 'Father Figure' perturbs me, but I do like the line "put your tiny hand in mine" (cf. Sonny + Cher's "put your little hand in mine", or even LCD Soundsystem's "throw your little hands up"). The 10 minute long 'I Want Your Sex" (Parts 1 & 2)' is very, very funny to me, like a parody that wasn't intended to be a parody. The musical version of the "Twilight" movies. The rest of the album is fairly unmemorable, though fine. Highlight: 'Faith' Lowlight: 'One More Try' (slow jam?!)

Legendary Pop album full of hits. (Listened to it on Apple Music)

Fairh es la única que vale la pena, las demás malas

Good album! Classic songs and classic artist 😎

That was fine.

The most interesting thing about this album was the person who wrote a review about lizards plotting to destroy humanity by putting sexual lyrics in pop music. Other than that, I feel violated by this album’s presence and apparently I’ll have to listen to him trying to have sex with me again sometime within the next 859 days.

First time listening to the album in full. Such a solid pop album but I expected nothing less from George 3/5

somewhere between Michael Jackson and Phil Collins

Faith är tråkig och irriterande, och alla andra spår är antingen tråkigare eller mer irriterande än Faith

Några bra låtar men det känns verkligen för segt som ett helt album alltså.

Överlag härliga låtar med enstaka som sticker ut. Mycket bra!

Gotta have Faith.

Not really my type of music, 80’s easy listening, but I guess it was good?

love his voice and the vibe of this album, would give this a 3.75 if i could but it feels wrong to give it a four, but i think i should round up bc i do think he deserves it

I like Faith (the song) but the rest of it is pure fluff. Fluffy fluff, coated in a thick excess of cheese and semen.

It’s hard to explain my then 15-year old fascination with this album when it came out. Partly MTV (Wham!), partly the cute girl in Spanish class who frequently wore the album cover t-shirt, partly the freedom of working at the 7-11 with some cash in my pocket and access to the “world” and of course a whole lot to do with “that song”. So vibey. So dirty. I played this album in my headphones for a solid 3-months straight. Feelings of nostalgia are frequent with this project making it hard to be objective. As much as I loved this album when it came out after a while I returned to the Cure, Smiths, DM, etc and rarely came back to it. Same is true for most of GMs work - no doubt he made some flashy, some exceptional music but I never wanted to put it on all the time the same way I did with others. On pure nostalgia this is a 5. But overall lands 4. 4/5

Ganske stusselig egentlig. Noen greie sanger.

Would have been higher just based on Faith and Father Figure alone, but the rest was a bit meh.

хуже этого я ничего не слышал. этот "певец" звучит так, словно записывался под одеялом ночью, чтобы родители не услышали. слушать это скучно, под конец первой же песни уже хочется спать. инструменталы тут полное говно моя оценка: 0/5, надеюсь никогда больше не услышу этот кал.

I can understand completely why this album was as big as it was just sadly the sound was not for me.

Unbelievably horny album with some (pun intended I guess) bangers. I know at some point in my life I’d heard at least part of I Want Your Sex, but had never really heard the lyrics till now. In such a ridiculously horny song with lines like: “Sex is something that we should do Sex is something for me and you Sex is natural, sex is good Not everybody does it But everybody should Sex is natural, sex is fun” the line that follows “Sex is best when it's one on one.” was very funny to me. No threesomes for George Michael, that’s just too far.

very michael jackson. milquetoast sexy fun. enjoyed learning more about george through this

Eh… this album was exactly what I expected.

PERFECT

Really great pop record with some fantastic songs and incredible vocal performances all around.

This one pleases me.

With fairly low expectations, I hit the play button on this album. Only because it was my daily recommendation from the "1,001 albums you need to hear before you die" project. I had heard a few of the songs already; the radio hits. But as the album progressed I was more and more surprised at how much I liked it. This style of pop is not really my thing, but this was surprisingly ok, especially considering I was not expecting to like it at all. It was so ok that I was very much on the fence of calling this "good". The reason I decided to go with "Meh." is because I know that it isn't something I would ever seek out to listen to on my own accord. It was enjoyable enough in the moment (again, surprisingly ok) but I don't know that I'll ever voluntarily go back to it. However, if it ever happens to be on I don't think I'll turn it off either.

George Michael was a mensch. Look up stories about his philanthropy - so well-hidden that the stories only came out after his death. Anyway, I owned this album as a kid when I wasn't too good at English. Looking back, I'm pretty happy my mum didn't understand the lyrics or I wouldn't have been able play it as often as I did. The production is unfortunately dated but the songwriting is impeccable. Hand To Mouth foreshadows Listen Without Prejudice (and the extensive philanthropy work that GM kept hidden); One More Try is a stone-cold classic that pulls no emotional punches; Kissing A Fool is bold work for a post-Wham! teen idol with its Cole Porter/Gershwin nods. It doesn't always work. I Want Your Sex just doesn't land. Look at Your Hands suffers from juvenile lyrics. I wasn't a fan of Monkey as a kid and today it isn't as strong as the rest of the album. Faith and Father Figure? Hall of Fame songs. Put them in the Louvre. Anyway, I've not listened to this album in years, but the songwriting (which is 99% George) and the vocals hold up. I can hear this album in Rufus Wainwright and Harry Styles. I hear it in Father John Misty and Chappell Roan. While I've never described myself as a George Michael fan, he was an immensely talented and influential mensch.

This is why I use this site. I was ready to think it would be gay and Id hate it. Well it was gay but I liked it. The bass is great, the opening organ from the very beginning is epic. I love the electric piano, drum machine and bass that come together to sound like suites of unused n64 music. Fantastic album color me surprised.

Favorite track(s): Faith, I Want Your Sex (Parts 1 & 2), Hard Day

2.5. Fun music but nothing I loved. Some iconic songs. Overall good album

1. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 2. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 3. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 4. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 5. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 6. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 7. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 8. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 9. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy 10. ooooh i wanna have sexy sex with you honeyyy The only saving grace is his voice.

Give this One More Try and have Faith you will like this one.

George being all libidious. Crafted songs, not my taste though

I have faith that this album sold as well as it did because George Michael was hot and a great singer. Songs didn't really do it for me. Some great basslines here and there though; I used to play Faith in cover bands all the time as well, and that's a jam.

Huge pop bangers, too many filler ballads

So... he did a Prince album as his debut? Oh, wait a sec, I detect a hint of Talking Heads on one of these songs. But definitely a Prince album.

So many bangers. Loved it.

It was alright, I'd recognized some tracks here and bordered cheesy for me. 3 stars

The hits from this album are better than I remember them being. I have to take away a star for the terrible 80s production. 3 stars.

Very good n successful debut solo album.

has so much better albums , I love this guys voice and everything