Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1

Jej

Hm ja, ik heb hier geheel onbevooroordeeld naar geluisterd, en het is allemaal keurig gemaakt, maar ik vind er toch niet veel aan. Meer muziek voor iets te dikke en schorre blonde studentenmeisjes.

Prachtige titel voor deze lijst natuurlijk. Laten we dat maar proberen. Maar het wordt mij wel moeilijk gemaakt. De eerste tonen bevestigen mijn vooroordelen toch sterk. Zoetsappige klanken. Toch maar door naar de rest. Knap dat je saaie muziek op zoveel manieren kunt presenteren eigenlijk. Want gevarieerd is het wel. En ik moet ook wel toegeven. Het is goede muziek/zang en hoort in deze lijst thuis. Ik kan er zelf alleen maar moeilijk naar luisteren. Laten we het houden op smaak. Dan ga ik maar voorbij aan mijn eigen smaak. En geef dit album een voldoende.

Sjors heeft een van de beste stemmen die we ooit gehoord hebben. Maar of hij maakte er veel te blije wham muziek mee, of depressieve ballads. Vervolgens weer een jazzy crooner song, dat ik zowaar het beste vind klinken. Het ene nr is beter dan het andere in ieder geval en het gaat alle kanten op muzikaal gezien, wat het wel interessant maakt om te luisteren. Maar of ik het vaker op ga zetten betwijfel ik Iconischer voor mij zijn dont let the sun go down met elten jon en somebody to love met queen op het freddie tribute concert.

It's fine I suppose.

George Michael takes inspiration from the ongoing shoegaze and Madchester movements to produce dreamier and funkier tracks in an accessible R&B style. His voice carries more of a reverb, providing space and feeling ethereal in most of the tracks. His voice and songwriting are certainly the highlights. I'm not a big fan of his piano ballads, but the jangly guitar adds a cheerful vibe to several songs. It's overall a decent album, although there were 3 really boring tracks. Favorites: Freedom '90, Cowboys and Angels, Heal the Pain

Not his best but still had favorites

Better than I remembered. You wouldn’t know that he had some real songwriting talent based on just his radio play.

Freedom is music at its finest. Not enough to bump this beyond a 3 though.

Really not my type of music, but I can still appreciate that this has a lot of power and appeals to a lot of people!

Honestly I had never listened to a George Michael album before, and of course I had heard Freedom but other than that I wasn’t totally aware of any other songs and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not quite good enough t to be a 4/5, but honestly close. 7/10.

Clever album title! It certainly made me listen with an open mind. The first few tracks were really impressive, and did indeed raise George Michael in my estimation as an all-round singer/songwriter/producer of substance. The middle of the album was much less uninspiring - there are some pretty ordinary nothing-y sort of songs there. But overall, a worthwhile listen (and that’s without prejudice).

3.5/5 Such a beautiful voice, he can make songs sound so dramatic. Of course I knew him by name but didn’t have a big knowledge of his work. This album has quitte some variation in it and kept me interested till the end. Favourite songs: - Praying for time - Freedom ‘90! - Waiting

Well, it's a solid pop album of the era, I suppose. Not a whole lot to recommend it but also not a whole lot to complain about aside from it being a pop album of the era. Not much more to say about it. It's just... okay.

Great voice

Freedom from bangers.

i did try to

some good pop music. 7/10

C'edt pas si mal, mieux que je m'atre dais rt ca son e bien vers la fin3.65'

Freedom is sick

Less rock than I had expected but still an enjoyable album.

Decent scran

It was fine but not spectacular

A bit too much 80's for my taste. Kindof like a male sade?

The dream of the 90s is alive in George Micheal, but I'm not a single mom in the boonies of London dancing my heart out with an empty bottle of pinot on the ground of my tiny flat that I can barely afford while trying to put myself through cosmetology school, so I guess the magic is lost on me. Cowboys and Angels is actually pretty sweet. Super chill and jazzy. Some real baby makin' music. Freedom is a classic. Overall 5.5/10 for me. Great production, definitely helped get a lot of our moms pregnant, but it's just not my cup o' tea.

interesting, favorites are probably Freedom ‘90, Something to Save, and Comboys and Angels

Det var helt okej, men inte riktigt min pop kanske.

Decent

6/10. George mikes

Just heard it to much

Definitely an early 90s album. It has the spirit that "things are gonna get better". There was also a surprising amount of flute or pan flute. Solid, but not something I truly enjoyed or would listen to on my own again. Best Songs: Freedom!, Cowboys and Angels, Soul Free Worst Songs: Something to Save,

Dated synths and attempts to interpolate Elton John and protest song aside, Listen is a fair shot better than Faith. It's far from perfect pop, but not dominated by the hits.

George Michael.

Okay album. All songs sound good but don't really standout.

Some classic songs but not really into it

It's fine. Pretty generic but not offensive. His voice is fantastic but the music is so bland that it doesn't really matter.

Passable late 80s pop. Love tge song Freedom '90. 3 🌟

Solid pop album

I didn't go in with high hopes, it overall, it was pretty enjoyable.

At the time, I thought that it took a lot of guts for George to go down the ‘grown up’ route away from teeny bop (high grade variety, it must be said) so determinedly. With hindsight… With hindsight. I’m not really a lyrics person, but listening to this now, I think, gosh. I wouldn’t want to contend with this degree of anguish, and to be permanently resident in the public eye for…

At first I was ready to give this 1 star, maybe 2 for 'Freedom! '90'. But it's a pop record, and its qualities lies within its catchiness and recognizability. And there are some catchy and beautifully composed songs on here like 'Waiting (Reprise)', 'They Won't Go When I Go' and 'Cowboys and Angels'. 'Waiting for That Day' is also quite a good tune, but like the man himself acknowledges, it is veeeery close to 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' in chord progression. On the other hand, you also have the ridiculous pan flute on the heavy-handed 'Mother's Pride', so I really don't know what to make of this.

A stark but most welcome departure from the Wham! and Faith-days! It really suits Michael’s vocal to be accompanied by less synth and kapow and more guitars and piano. Freedom of course being the huge but amazing exception. A sizable deduction for thinking that pan flute is appropriate anywhere else than in the lobby of a mid-range all-inclusive Greek hotel chain. All in all Mother’s Pride is really the start of a 2nd half that’s nowhere near as strong as the 1st. Best: Freedom! / They Won’t Go When I Go / Cowboys and Angels Worst: Mother’s Pride / Heal the Pain / Soul Free

Pretty mid

Honestly, I didn't have a problem with this album. George's voice was spot on on every song, there was diversity among the songs, and the music and lyrics were well written. However, it didn't really leave a strong impression on me. Definitely listenable, but not really one I will return to anytime soon.

A very knowing move away from fun enjoyable pop of Wham! and Faith to “mature” serious music. Always good vocals, but fewer enjoyable songs. 3 stars for serious effort and accomplished signing.

3/5 Grand for the time and genre but not my speed at all.

Solid ballads

Entirely unexceptional. Not really my thing

Freedom! Great song, although I've heard some remixes of it that I like even more than the original. Rest of the album was alright, nothing outstanding for me.

I listened without prejudice... and have to say that this album is MUCH better than I thought it would be. There's a couple of songs I can happily to do without, which would make the album much tighter, but overall - in particular the opening three tracks - I really like this. His voice is great, the jazz focus works and the dance elements are infectious.

George Michael was certainly a bigger success as a solo artist. As an entertainer, he puts in the effort and it yields an authenticity to his produced work on this album. Anthemic hits like "Freedom!" find a way to fit in tone of this album. Albeit less sexy than his previous solo efforts, his draw in comparison to contemporaries like Sting, Prince, and Michael Jackson is worthy of note. This is a great pop album, and certainly shows the subtle change from 80s reliance on synth pop back to real instruments. A change for the better, and also a bit of a foresight into what would later inspire the sound behind the pop sensation Ace of Bass. "Soul Free" includes that aggressive beat, supported by piano and flute, a mix that would feature quite a bit into early 90s pop.

Dudes pretty fucking good.

Ok never listened to a GM album but with a couple of exceptions this is quite a moody introspective work which i liked more than I thought. The long Cowboys and Angels in the middle was a highlight. 3.5

Lot of catchy Pop Songs. Maybe responsible for the gospel choirs in throwaway pop music. (6/10) FT: Freedom! '90, Praying for Time

Ik begon sterk met George, maar die valse lucht in zijn stem werd me tegen het einde wel een beetje te gortig.

Die gospelachtige nummers kende ik nog niet en vind ik mooi. Vocaal altijd erg onder de indruk van George, qua muziek iets minder. Dat geveeg met dat kwastje over die snaredrum de hele tijd… (ik denk dat dat is wat ik hoor).

Ei tää nyt ollu yhtään niin huono ku kelasin. Poppista poppista!

Not his best but undoubtedly very good

Pas si mal que ça! Prefs: Praying for Time, Freedom! '90, Cowboys and Angels, Heal the Pain Moins pref: Mother's Pride

bit overprocessed in places but still a good album

Freedom! 90 is an alltimer, a surprisingly subdued release in general though.

I found it much better than Faith, but it still didn't resonate with me. It was more somber and serious.

Apparently this was criticised at the time for not being as "fun" as George's earlier, which is... not unfair, but also kind of misses the point. I kind of wish it had been a bit more varied, but then again it does have "Freedom 90" on it which is only one of the best pop songs of that era, so. And it sold an awful lot in the UK, so apparently it *was* what people wanted from him...

No fue de mi agrado musicalmente, pero no puedo criticarlo realmente pues no es el tipo de música que me gusta.

Decent album, favorite of course is Freedom '90.

A little slow for my taste

One song I know and a lot of other stuff. Pretty chill. GM has a good voice.

This just about sums up the early 90s.

good

Great vocals, but I still prefer the sound of Faith better. 3

So they had to go into the 90’s in order to have a nice production, oh well! The album is a bit over dramatic but is it nice and Michael sure could sing. That freedom song is a stone cold classic

Ultimately meh, it's well produced and well performed, but just meh.

Surprisingly good record

Enjoyed They Won’t Go When I Go,

What a voice, but I was ready for it to end about three songs prior to it ending.

Enjoyable listen a great voice

I tried to listen without prejudice - and it worked! A few of these tracks were overplayed in my youth but enough time had passed for me to be able to hear the talent.

3 1/2*

George Michael has a killer voice but the album as a whole was just fine. Still love freedom 90

i like the Sade bits, Freedom is epic. Overall better than I expected.

3-, phenomenal voice of mr Michael, love it. The album itself is not that good, I understand the operation, Michael was looking for some change in his creative output, but it's a little bit generic, but not bad after all. Freedom 90 is the best track on the album, I will be surely coming back to that one

The fact that you call it that tells me you’re not ready

I don't have faith that I'll be listening to this one again!

Well, began with prejudice 🙃 - but it turned out to be a surprisingly listenable album and not as dated as expected. Going to admit - not going to blast this down main street, but had a good time listening to it. And, at times George Michael channels an unusually unparalleled Freddie Mercury, especially in 'Mother's Pride'. I unfortunately underestimated his talent - but he is a consistently good artist in general, even though not up to my musical tastes.

Meh.

dramatic stadium pop

Started strong with Freedom which is a banger, but died down later in the album and I found myself waiting for the end a bit. He has an incredible voice but some songs felt a bit dated.

Genre: Pop 3/5 George Michael, in 1990, was still in his post-Wham! phase, but had already established himself as a pop juggernaut. His debut solo album had 4 US number 1 singles, and the album was a massive critical and sales success. His second album, while not a pop masterpiece, is still easy on the ears, clean as a whistle, and George Michael’s voice is crystal clear and really does pack a punch. The setlist here is a little slow for my tastes, but there are still some solid tunes here. Freedom! ‘90 is a truly iconic and altogether really wonderful pop single.

George Michael was born under the right alignment of stars, for he looks as good as he sings, and he sings as good as he looks.

The 90s barely started and already, this is a very 90s album.

suco oitenzono, podia ser michael jackson, podia ser o comecinho de sympathy for the devil (mas só o comecinho), mas é george michael, um disco cravado na década, com os dois pé no terninho de ombreira. enfim, bom, bem bom.

Like some of the songs

Some of my most annoying earworms from the 80's were courtesy of George Michael. Faith, I Want Your Sex and anything from his former band, Wham! and the accompanying videos, I couldn't stand! I must admit when I listened to Listen Without Prejudice in 2022, it was a more sympathetic listen as the songs and vibe are a little more sombre and toned down than his previous hit record. The song Freedom! 90 may evoke a different emotion for me now than when it released over 30 years ago. The record isn't awful and listening without prejudice to the whole thing gives me perhaps a slightly different perspective on the man instead of just a "pop star".

Vibeworthy. 5/10

A decent album. One really well known song. The other songs each had a different style.

Our second from George Michael, and very underwhelming compared to Faith. The title made me laugh, how many volumes of listening without prejudice did this guy plan? Is he just making a point about how serious he is, like when someone hits a "1/?" indicator on a tweet thread? Some decent pop/rock tracks of course, and I knew "Freedom" but aside from that I wasn't too engrossed. It's alright I guess. Maybe this is a British bias moment? I just don't think we really need more than the one George Michael project, let's be real. I'd dismiss this from the list with prejudice, not for being bad but for taking up a crucial slot. Favorite tracks: Freedom, Cowboys and Angels, Waiting for That Day. Album art: A lame crowd shot, black and white for no apparent reason. The version on Apple Music is a hi-res close up shot of George Michael in his older age. Neither cover makes me want to hear this. 3/5

S’ok

Busy bee

I accidentally listened with prejudice. Sorry Michael!

6/10

oddly... good?

he was alright i suppose

Not a terrible album, but this album absolutely does not belong on this list. This is essential to nothing.

Takes itself very seriously, after a couple of fun bangers at the front, drifts off into lounge-land quite quickly. I'm sure there's an audience out there that loves it, but I'm not it.

Enjoyed this. Had more depth that you think did dode.

I wanted to hate it but I couldn’t, Great pop with a bit extra with the confidence to rip influences from other songs and make them his own (ish)

Pop. Soul. Muy blandito. Aburrido.

3/5

2.5/5 George Michael is a great singer. He has an amazing voice, and he knows how to use it. This album is flat and bland, though, with so many successive down-to-mid-tempo ballads featuring whiny lyrics... That said, I have to admit that the absolute highlight of the album is the haunting quasi-spiritual "They Won't Go When I Go" which sounds equally influenced by Prince and Franz Schubert. It is beautifully written, simply arranged, and brilliantly performed. This song is a must-listen. The album is not.

George Michael wrote a pretty convincing John Lennon song - Praying for Time. I'd love to have heard John Lennon cover this song. I'm trying to listen to this album without prejudice. I would NEVER have listened to this even a few years ago, but I'm opening up to different stuff. Here we go. There are some complex arrangements in here for pop music. Pretty impressive. I'm never going to listen to this album again, but I can respect the skillz.

3.4 - Pretty, understated, often sappy. “Praying for Time” is an underrated gem. The album version of “Freedom - 90” is overlong - much prefer the radio edit - but the song is still a jam. “Waiting for that Day” and “Heal the Pain” are gorgeous. Doesn’t quite jell as an album but still a good listen.

I mean, he's fine. Soul Free was my favorite song, even above Freedom. 3.5

I was heading toward a probably 2 star review for this, and then I heard Heal the Pain. I really liked that song a lot - in fact I wish the rest of the album was more like that. Overall it was okay. George Michael had a great voice and was clearly a talented guy, but most of his music is just so-so for me. 3 stars.

bit boring apart from the radio hits

This was pretty much as expected, but that's not a bad thing. Freedom was a big hit when I was a kid. Still sounds good, still just sounds like average 90s pop music. 3/5.

Sadly, this did not do much for me.

Praying for time I really liked, the other songs I wasn’t that fussed about. The Album as a whole is good but gets a bit dreary. I was expecting more upbeat pop. I understand that it was made with the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS thing going on, and his own struggles so not a lot to be upbeat about I guess.

I did and it was just middling.

Enjoyed this more than I thought. Loved the extended version of Freedom 90. Was a bit slow in places, but that was George. 3 stars

Erstaunliche Bandbreite und Qualität. Wäre aber nicht meins....

Pretty fabulous.

Not available on Spotify, so just giving 3

Some top notice pop, but a lot of filler thrown in.

Decent listen

By George, I think he’s got it

A very enjoyable album. clearly influential in pop culture for its time and beyond - any album with a song featuring in Arrested Development is good to me Saved: Freedom!, Heal The Pain

Duidelijke stijl doorheen heel het album.

I used to be pretty dismissive of George. in hindsight, that was misplaced snobbery

A good pop album. Maybe a little too self indulgent. Could have done with a few lighter moments.

Desde el primer disco de George Michael como que no me convenció. Salvo uno que otro momento de buena u instrumentación y la canción freedom que es muy pegajosa y animada, y que creo que ya había salido en el disco anterior de él, los demás tracks me dieron igual. Mood: No lo pude escuchar sin prejuicio.

Album nie vorher gehört, die Single ist ja ein roter Hering. Für die und "They won't go..." wil ich eigentlich 5 Sterne geben, da ist auch noch mehr Schönes drauf, aber wieder lande ich beim Sound, der für mich nicht passt. In der Produktion ist es nämlich wieder um Totalpop, und das geht so nicht. Würde ich gern alles mal unplugged serviert bekommen.

Highlights: Praying for Time, Waiting Lowlight: Freedom! '90 Some genre-bending music here, but I've never been a fan of Freedom! '90. Praying for Time is probably the strongest track here, that really gets inside your head and makes you think. Everything else is pretty standard fare, not exceptional but competently executed.

Pues sí escuché sin prejuicios, pero medio meh. Creo que tenía altas expectativas porque el anterior de George Michael que tocó sí lo disfruté mucho. Acá de repente hay canciones desangeladas. Claro, "Freedom! '90" sí la ubicaba y me parece buena, rescato "Cowboys and Angels". "Heal the Pain" de pronto me parece que desentona con todo lo demás, que es sobre todo baladitas medio aburridonas. Lo que sí me gustó es que el disco termine con un grito de G. Michael. En fin, reitero: medio meh. 6/10

Started off great but a bit too slow for my taste

Better than the 80s album earlier. I think he is good singer, but he was searching to find the right way to express himself. One track (Waiting for that Day) stood out as being a pretty good song, the Freedom! '90 is better than average, but the rest of the album was pretty average to me.

Freedom of course, but a few other surprising tunes on here. I'd listen again, in 4 months maybe.

What a voice.

I liked it, didn't love it. Not my scene really, but there's nothing wrong with this album. George Michael definitely has a great voice.

Love george's hits but not enough hits here

Because I gotta have faith.

After my first half listen this review was going to be pretty hash, but a second spin I warmed to it a little. I had to listen to the wham version of Freedom to get that it wasn’t just a cover of his own song. Still not a fan but an easy enough listen.

Dude could sing!

No prejudice activated. I liked it, guess he really carried Wham! huh

Sounds highly corny but he’s got a great voice. Can’t listen to Freedom without thinking of Always Sunny and laughing which kind of ruins the song for me. 2

🎵 one of these things is not like the others 🎵 Freedom! '90 is such a banger that it showcases how not-banger the rest of the songs are, which makes me sad.

I Listened Without Prejudice. Despite his faith, George seemed to be feeling a lot of pain, assigning a lot of blame, and noting that we’re all the same. I can see how the album has appeal for some, George has a very pure voice, but the album comes across as a bit whimpy, and the lyrics / rhymes a bit weak. The album makes the 1001 Must Hear List because of Robert’s affection for Brits and songs about mothers loosing their sons to war. It’s all very tragic. (2.2*s) Got him a little reggae vibe to change it up with Soul Free. He did not let me down, just better in small doses.

I sympathise with the George Micheal persona and I acknowledge his cultural (meaning: pop culture), social and even political importance. In addition, I enjoy playing (and systematically losing) the whamageddon game each December. However, I find this record really really boring (with the exception of Freedom, ça va sans dire...)

Not a particularly memorable album aside from Freedom! 90. George Michael has a nice voice, but in fairness to other albums, he’s really breathy in his singing sometimes and that’s a no from me. I might consider giving this another listen. Maybe it gets better on repeat listens, but I doubt it. Probably better to grab the one good song for a playlist and keep moving on.

I'm more of a Faith guy

Great cover art, wonderful photo. However, apart from Freedom 90, all these songs passed me without making the slightest impression. Cheesy, dull easy-listening pop where I found myself counting down the minutes until it ended, although the final track Waiting was actually great lyrically and the minimal instrumentation was perfect.

“Freedom” is a great, A+ pop track. Other than that though there’s not a single moment on this I remember.

Ehhhhhhhh George Michael does not do it for me. Other than Freedom90 being memorable, the only thing I remember thinking during this was waiting for it to be over

Czil ig

I preferred his first album, Faith, to this one by quite a bit. While the acoustic showings let him demonstrate his vocal range, and I liked the lyricism of this one, it just wasn’t as fun or enjoyable to listen no. Nothing as exciting as the first album.

Good singing and songwriting, but mostly a snooze for me. Respect George Michael trying to show a more ‘serious’ side, and he does it well. It just doesn’t strike me all that much.

Freedom is a great pop song. The rest of this album is forgettable at best. Too many cheesy songs that don’t hold up.

Not sure the hype. A few good songs but meh overall. Very 80s early 90s

Eh

Oh it's the George Michael "deep" album. I remember this one! Listening to it again is a nice little nostalgic trip. As I'm not a George Michael fan I probably won't revisit it but it was a nice listen. It's got some lyrics that still hold true today, and that is depressing within itself. The music is nice and poppy, my wife said its still danceable but it could be our age showing. Honestly I'd like to get someone in their 20's to listen and get their opinion. I'm not sure how well it held up, but as I said I'm not a fan of his stuff over all. Seriously it's a solid album for its age.

Quite operatic, and musical with epic bold production and decent instrumentation. It didn't sound TOO 80's, you know. But it still had lots of 80's production cheese. Lyrically and vocally I think George Michael is a standout for sure. His end product always bothered me because it always felt forced because of the pretty boy pop star attitude.

George Michael's second record is a weird bid for repectability, eschewing the jumpy rhythms of his previous group Wham! and embracing a "grown up" mid-tempo sound that alternates between melodramatic synths, regal strings and folky acoustic guitars. Missing from these new trappings however, is a little thing called "fun" that made his previous tunes so appealing. Michael wants to be taken seriously, so he tries just a *little* too hard to give his songs some gravitas. The result is gloomy, cloud-covered affair where precious little sunshine gets through. Only the Madchester-inspired beat of "Freedom '90" manages to break the pattern, but on its own it's not enough to counterbalance the self-consciously grim atmosphere on this album.

Tja wel lekker ofzo. Maar laat me over het algemeen niet koud of warm. Erg mid

Passable. George Michael's voice is quite pleasant to listen to and the songs were okay. Probably bordering on three stars, but it dragged just a little here and there, so downgrading this to two.

I listened with a small amount of prejudice, I suppose. Front loaded, this got boring quickly I'm sorry to say. It's quite uptight and world weary.

I kinda get it, and culturally important. But the music really doesn’t do it for me. All a bit cheesy.

Prejudice-free assessment: 1 over the top ballad but I kind of liked it 2 bop 3 boring ballad 4 boring ballad 5 ballad but marginally more interesting 6 this was ok 7 boring ballad 8 dishwater 9 music from the Streets of Rage beach level 10 pointless reprise

one good song, the rest was blah

The opening track, Praying for Time, was a considerably more enjoyable listen than I remember it being, and Freedom is a harmless enough pop song, but a whole album of this stuff just starts to feel a bit… vanilla. There’s a warm, rich production sound, but seemingly no tunes. As an 80s/90s indie pop kid, it was my duty to be sniffy about people like George Michael but you get a lot more forgiving and open minded as you get older. He actually seems like a good guy who led a troubled life and I hear his music differently these days, but this one just doesn’t click with me.

Boy that was a slog to get through. Is the musicality and songwriting bad? No, but it suffers from the ultimate sin of music and entertainment: being boring. Here I will list the good parts of Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, and don't worry, I was not prejudiced coming into this blindly as I could be: Freedom! '90: Best song on the album. Unconventional pop that works is great! Further proof Sturgeon's Law applies to even the best known pop figures with their own "must hear or die" albums. Cowboys and Angels: While my complaints on this album is that for a pop artist, everything is too slow and stripped down. The jazzy atmosphere of Cowboys and Angels works and I wish it could've been the whole album. Then again that smooth jazz shit was done back in the 80s and we needed to LOOK FORWARD in 1990. And uhh Soul Free I think was good. I don't want to hear it again to check though. I can tell this music just isn't for me. I don't think I really hate it hate it to give it a 1, and I don't feel disappointed either. If you're a pop artist and your direction is to get slower and more acoustic/piano involved, it's just not what I'd want from a pop artist. Things should be upbeat, it doesn't need to have pop optimism (boy I really do not like Wham....) but it has to be entertaining. This is simply not that. Good advancements in songwriting from a guy that wanted to prove more than being a pop star? Yes I think he achieves that, but that doesn't make the album any better.

לא כזה אהבתי, היום כמה שירים טובים אבל קצת היה לי בנאלי

It does feel like a cohesive project but just not my style. I just don’t care for slow ballads no matter the artist so he really didn’t have a chance to win me over. I’ve enjoyed his first album and other singles I’ve heard with a bit more speed. Also enjoy the album cover here. Freedom is the big one and it’s good but I think Heal the Pain is my favorite. Rating: 2.4

So I tried to listen without prejudice (and googling). My interest remained for the first two songs, but after that my concentration started to wander and the this became background music. A rather boring album that didn't really evoke any emotions.

Epitome of a 3star album, but the title and atmosphere give this album a lofty social goal that it never lives up to.

4/10

Was ok in places

A box of chocolates. It requires biting into and discarding several to find the few that are absolute favorites.

Except for Freedom it's probably best to wait for Volume 2 and hope for the best.

Para nada mi estilo de música, George Michael fue un gran cantante. Pero nunca he comido conectado con su música. Habría que ver la traducción de las letras para ver si conecto

I tried getting through this but I couldn’t. I like Freedom ‘90 but that’s about it. I think the problem is that the ballads were just not well written in my opinion. He sings well enough. The songs weren’t good and too much production on his voice I think.

I was hoping that more of this would be more fun, upbeat stuff along the lines of Freedom 90 and Faith, but this album was pretty mid-tempo ballad heavy, which I found to be kind of a drag.

3/10 Best songs: Freedom '90, Soul Free With the exception of Freedom '90 and Soul Free, this album is nothing but ballads. None of these songs are actively bad, but they are treacly sweet and painfully boring to boot. Not my cup of tea.

It was fine, not something that I would put on myself. Just very plain, surprising that it is on this list.

yawn. And the one good song has been ruined by IASIP

Perfectly represents the cusp of the 80s switching over to the 90s. But his crooner voice is just too much for me. So much pan flute.

4/10

Uneven and boring

I didn't hate it, but I really just wanted this to be over.

I don’t know about all this

Yeh no

Freedom 90 and Praying for Time are the highlights, the rest of the album is George trying to be serious, but only Soul Free kinda reach a certain level of the 1-2 punch that kickstarts the album. If it was about singles this would be on my list, but this isnt about that, so its a 2/5 but kuddos for trying something different, even if it doesn't pay off in the end.

It started out ok but by the end I was really tired of the slow moving ballads.

Slow and moody besides Freedom..

"Freedom!" was what I said when this was finally over. Unfortunate that it was the only good track.

Starts low with a slow emo ballad. Freedom 90 picks it up a bit with a sound very reminiscent of the Manchester scene like Happy Mondays/Stone Roses. I can see why some love George, but I just can't get there. Trying to listen without prejudice, but at the midway point I'm praying there isn't a V2 on this list.

I feel like there's a generation who (or just a moment in time when people) absolutely loved George Michael, but he hasn't cascaded to younger generations at all. Somehow he sounds like something my grandma would listen to more than my parents which doesn't make sense since he was from the 90s. Obviously Freedom is a very popular song for commercials, but the strangest takeaway was that "They Won't Go When I Go" is a clear inspiration for Hozier, sounding eerily similar to most of his non-blues catalogue. It's also incredible that he essentially wrote an anti-war song saying that a soldier makes no difference and was still beloved. It's a really well written song, but I can see "patriots" being really up in arms about it. Anyway, I don't know what to do because we have a sensitive male singer who is trying to say something more profound than your avg pop star, yet this is way too soft for my ear and way too 80s coded. I suppose it's a 2/5

Look, I can't say I tried to take George Michael's advice. I listened to this with prejudice - but in his favor. I swear. And I think that's what makes this disappointing. I wanted to like this, I really did. But it just kind of sounded like generic sad boy music from several decades ago and I just couldn't get into it as anything but mellow pop that was trying for something grander, but ultimately failed to accomplish it.

So when is volume 2 coming up?

MUCH better than Faith, but still not very good overall.

Musikalisch gut aber nicht meins

Just to add insult to injury, the chorus to Freedom '90 contains the world's first recorded rickroll

It is George Michael :-I. He can do better than Last x-mas, but I do not like the sound.

I'm fairly certain I was doing other things in 1990 that didn't involve listening to this. I have no regrets. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ sort of... then I stopped Revisit ❌️ Default★★☆☆☆ (4/10) Total reviewed : 220 Already owned : 50 Purchased : 10 To buy list : 4 Nope : 156

Feb 2, 2026 - i fear don't understand this album either but instrumentals are gorgeous and also Mr George Michael u are such a vocalist

This album was nothin special for me. George Michael is an objectively talented vocalist but the music itself just wasn't my style, and sounded dated and corny in a way that made it hard for me to connect with it. My favorite song on the album was They Won't Go When I Go, which I learned was originally by Stevie Wonder.

Okay pop album

I'm never going to choose to listen to a George Michael record. But he was defintely one of the good ones, my score of two is no reflection on possibly one of the nicest people to ever Pop. And Freedom! is top tier pop.

Not my fave

Those first two tracks set the bar high, and the rest of the album fell short.

I would have loved listening to George Michael when I was a kid. He's got Elton John bigness and a big pinch of self-righteousness. Also hard to be objective as an Arrested fan.

Has there ever been a successful cover of a Stevie Wonder song in history? I can’t think of one. Just don’t do it.

Amazed he squeezed 5 singles out of a 10 track album - of which only 1 - Freedom - stands out. The rest is pretty weak sauce. George definitely had talent and deserves a spot on this list - just not sure this album captures this.

I took a que from the title and tried hard to listen to this with out immediately dismissing it. This is definitely not the pop album I was expecting. It feels like on this album he is making a real attempt to expand from pop into a world of piano ballads, which I acknowledge is also not a genre I love, so perhaps my prejudice is still getting in the way. My major critique of this is that with the level of production and intensity of the Christian-esque theme, the whole thing just felt disingenuous to me. Maybe it was an honest attempt but felt like a real calculated attempt to make some serious heartfelt music. On top of this I also just felt bored halfway through the album and by the end was so over the whole experience it began to put a bad taste in my mouth.

Freedom! ‘90 was a pretty great song and I’ve definitely heard it somewhere before, but nothing else really stood out to me except maybe Soul Free. It mostly all kind of sounded the same by the end. That said, I did enjoy this more than the last George Michael album that was generated, but not sure if that’s really saying all that much. Overall, it was fine as far as smooth, soft pop rock goes.

George Michael has some songs I really enjoy but tends to be hit or miss for me overall, unfortunately the case here. I liked the first couple songs and Soul Free but most of the rest was too slow

This is hella boring. Only George Michael I need goes by Mr. Manager.

Good to listen to but maybe won’t return to it. Freedom!

Not Bad, but not my type. 'Freedom' is a banger.

Some gospel influence, and good lyrics. Cowboys and Angels is a good listen with every song offering something different. Although no songs out for me as a repeat listen, often the album as a whole is good.

Not for me.

Personally I thought this album was fine but not for me. I felt like this album was more religious and “preachy” in nature than what I normally listen to and more than the other George Michael album I had. I think I only enjoyed like two songs from this album. Overall, it was an interesting listen but I probably won’t be picking it up again anytime soon.

Mom, can we have Michael Jackson? No, we have Michael Jackson at home. The Michael Jackson we have at home = George Michael

When this album came up, I was genuinely excited to revisit it, it’s probably been over 30 years since I last played it through. What a letdown it turned out to be. “Freedom! ’90” remains an absolute standout and I still love it, but the rest of the tracks feel surprisingly uninspired and lack the spark I remembered.

Great voice, obviously... But fuuuuuuuuck me this album is dull... 1 decent song. You know which one it is.

Freedom an absolute GOAT. The rest probably needs more than one listen. Seems a lot of context around this release to consider. Mid 2s.

Not as good as I remember

the only thing I've really known about George Michael is from that interview where he, Tony Blackburn, and Morrissey talk about Joy Division. George Michael is the only Joy Division fan in the bunch. so I did try to listen without my anti-pop prejudice. this music is not for me.

Freedom is an undeniable hit, the remainder of the album felt like the equivalent of George farting under the cover and trapping us there for another 30 odd minutes. 2 stars

love george DOWN but only like two songs interested me

besides it not being a big personal vibe of his music and the genre, I can't deny he was an amazing songwriter.

#25 Except for Freedom! '90, the album was just okay

Meh. He’s got a good voice, but this is not my jam, even if it’s nostalgic.

Despite heeding the album title's advice and abandoning all firmly established George Michaelian prejudice before listening to the album, it still didn't do much for me. Just not my thing.

Smooth album, he had a great voice and was a good songwriter. But it doesn't work that well as an album, he's always been stronger at singles I think. Freedom '90 is great.

listening

I don't know what I am missing. The echoy recording cost punch and I was bored the whole time

Ein paar Songs waren gut, die Stimme gefällt.

Not a very impressive album really. This was George Michael's "Please take me seriously as an artist" album, but it just falls flat for me. He's a good singer, the album is produced well, but it's completely forgettable outside of Freedom! This album also pre-dates all the George Michael weirdness and the AIDS epidemic of the 90's. He definitely had his issues later in life, but 1990 was what should have been his peak, just coming off the success of the Faith album. But this is what he came up with.....which was supposed to have a Volume 2....but Volume 1 was so lackluster they saved themselves the humiliation of a Volume 2 that was probably also nothing by ballads.

Oh boy! ABBA yesterday and George Michael today. How blessed am I? As usual, I'll do my best to listen without prejudice. My verdict? It's better than ABBA.

Milli Vanilli wird sicher nicht kommen

2:5

Its solid, quite classic

Didn’t get through it all!

With this I feel a bit like the Inquisitor in Red Dwarf Season 5. It’s not that George Michael is a bad singer… really he’s a truly excellent singer. It’s just that he massively underperformed according to his potential - certainly solo-wise as his best songs were with Wham! and not on here. Freedom 90’ is just Sympathy For The Devil riding on cheesy 90s dance grooves and everything else is a bit frickin sloshy and limp to be honest. I listened with extreme prejudice and am happy that there is not a Volume 2. Shit Where’s Wally album artwork as well. He’s not even on it.

There's a lot worse than this out there. Certainly listenable, but I can't see myself going back to it. I feel a little mean giving this two, since other albums with the same comment have got a three, but I just can't justify it.

I was surprisingly disappointed with this one; didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. "Freedom" is clearly the best song on the album... the rest of it kind of fell flat for me.

Pretty weak outside of like 2 songs... one of them being Freedeom

I did, it was shit.

Cloying

Some good singles

Well it’s George isn’t it.

Freedom '90 is a great song and Praying for time is also good, After that nothing else clicked for me.

After the first 2 songs I was excited for the rest of the album to begin. With 2 songs left I was excited for the album to be over. He's got a great voice but the songs all blended together. Very “cruiseship-core”Won't be returning to this one.

I mean, besides Faith, I'm never going to listen to any of this again. It wasn't terrible, but it really didn't work for me. It sat in the uncomfortable space between "pop star" and "serious artist" without do either particularly well.

An extra star for Freedom. The rest, pass.

As a collection of songs on this album there are none which I personally like although I accept there are some good pop songs which a lot of others will value. There are George Michael songs which I do like none of which are on this album consequently I cannot rate this album very highly. But don’t want this to reflect on the fact that George Michael was a very talented vocalist and songwriter who left this world tragically and much too soon. 2/5 13/10/25

Growing up as a child of 70's and it's, the huts are great but the rest of the album is eh. Which is most.

didn’t listen to all sorry

Ironically it's tough to listen to this (or any other album here) without prejudice when there are all these ratings and reviews posted, especially if you're like me and you take a peek at a few ratings before listening to an album! It's certainly not my favourite, but that bass player is awesome!

This just isnt very good. Freedom is fine but following with a lil stevie cover is unforgivable

After the first two songs, I really wanted to like this, but I really didn’t. In the 80s I dismissed Wham! as a limited, manufactured, corporate entity. I really enjoyed the recent Wham! documentary and that helped me realize how talented George Michael was. The guy knew his way around a pop hook and obviously has an incredible voice. This album covers a lot of styles but mostly badly. We have piano ballads, guitar ballads, folky tunes, jazzy numbers, and, um, a reggae song. The album is saved from 1 star by the first two songs, especially Freedom! ‘90. That’s a real banger.

Very much not my thing. Freedom is a good song, but twice as long as it should be. The rest is a boring mix of 80s drum sounds and too-breathy vocals.

2/5 - I'd probably have to spend a lot more time engaging with they lyrics to understand why I need to hear this. I think "Freedom! '90" is fantastic, but I listened to the rest of it twice, and nothing stuck with me. Listenable, but I wouldn't return to it.

Meh didnt even finish this one

Not into it. Had a few cool tracks though that I might revisit

Freedom! slaps, but other than that, no thanks.

This was good but I really didn’t like the mix

Well, now that I realize we get two George Michael solo albums in this collection, I feel a bit better now for having given his debut album only two stars. And there's nothing here to alter my rating or estimation of his music; if anything it feels like *this* album could have and should have gotten a pass far more so than his debut. Aside from the lone hit I recognized, "Freedom! '90", there's nothing here that really adds to "Faith"; if anything, his attempts to be more introspective and moody and acoustic make for a less engaging and interesting album (even his musical borrowings--like on "Freedom" (Primal Scream) or "Waiting for that day" (Rolling Stones)--seem tepid and tame). That said, I still admire it that he composed and produced all the songs on this album too. A shame that his turn towards being more artistic also became effectively his swan song.

not particularly great by any means but beautiful voice and obviously freedom is iconic. Felt a bit too cheesy pop

A new side, quite far from his pop roots. A more cynical artist.

Nothing special on here, not bad enough for a one star but nothing memorable enough for a 3 or higher

It was not my thing but good listen.

I will absolutely listen with prejudice because I obviously know who George Michael is and care very much He's not beating the allegations with this one

corny ahh

Too optimistic I wanna cry cause I’m sad not cause I’m happy

Nice voice and message but music is not for me.

Blarf. Objectively this probably doesn't deserve a 1 so I won't give it that, but this was hard to get through after "Freedom." Sorry, "Freedom! '90" which makes for an awful track title. 1.6

Thought I would like it more than I did.

Realmente esperaba algo más. El disco suena débil y probablemente otra producción habría ayudado mucho. Pero con todo, esperaba mejores canciones y más propuesta de álbum.

I listened without prejudice, and your still only getting 2 stars.

This is not my cup of tea. I liked the Stevie Wonder cover and a couple others. The rest was really slow. He has a great voice but I find his singing lacks vitality or something.

Can be great in spots, but overall not consistent or memorable

Started off strong but went downhill quickly

Not a fan

2.3

favs: -something to save - cowboys and angels - mothers pride

First impression of the first song is how thin everything sounds. Hopefully that changes as the album goes on. Freedom is kinda catchy and has a little more going on...Oh its the song from the bank commercials. Three songs in and I feel like we're treading water here. I zoned out again until Waiting For That Day ripped You Can't Always Get What You Want at the end. Mothers Pride sounds like it might go somewhere, and now there's 80s style "exotic" flutes or something added so who knows. Honestly, idk what to think of this album, it isn't bad, but there are so many artist that make similarish stuff that I prefer, and I don't want a whole album of this vibe.

2.5/5. Just not as up my alley

Feels like a generic, boring old Pop album.

Freedom ‘90 was the only good song.

Less preoccupied with getting his back blown out than Faith, so this is already the more interesting album. And the production here has aged better, too - simple loops and an jazzy palette, it's really not bad at all. But I dunno, I still struggle to connect with this. The lyricism, the rhythm of George's voice, the untempered optimism. I find it all too quaint. Like your high school piano teacher woke up one day and was suddenly certain that he needs to put a record out to save the Middle East. Maybe it's a generational thing.

So it's not really my style, but the opening and closing of the album were quite good. I can recognise there's a lot of craft behind the poppy-ness of the tracks, and the anthemic approach to the songwriting. Wouldn't necessarily listen to it again, apart from a few tracks maybe.

not bad, no highlights

Not bad really, but also just did not resonate with me.

Praying for Time, Freedom '90, and Waiting for That Day are the best, but they're all just fine. Nothing on the album that really pushes it over the edge for me, and the sound in general isn't my style.

I'm not a fan of pop in general, but it started relatively OK with two catchy songs. Wouldn't rate it 5 stars, but not 1 either. And then, the rest of the album is just spiraling into boring, slow, low-key songs. The man can sing when he wants to -- at least he is not suffering from the common plague of people with a voice (singing loud and demonstrating what they can do all the time) -- but that doesn't make a good album.

Some good songs, some ok songs, some shit songs. Impossible for me to listen to as an album without skipping tracks.

Slow songs are torture (he shouldn't be allowed to cover Stevie) but the up-tempo songs are tolerable. An extra star for the time I was dancing with an absolutely stunning med student friend-of-a-friend's-girlfriend to Freedom and, after an exchange of flirtatious banter, she two-hand shoved me while I was of my feet and accidentally sent me flying about 20' across the dance floor taking people out like bowling pins. Did I end up hooking up with her? God no, she burst out crying and ran out of the club bawling her eyes out, but it was one of the very funniest of the many many ways I've managed to not get laid over the years.

He had a great voice but it doesn’t blend with this style for me? It just feels off? Idk. It’s probably me.

Probably revolutionary, but not a huge George Michael fan

Great voice and not enough complexity in the music to make me want to even nod my head. Could be good for being sad but not for me