Hot damn! Everybody let's play the GEORGE MICHAEL TRACKS POLL results thread

I was a huge fan of The Ones' original version of Flawless before GM came out with his rendition. I didn't vote for it here because it's always felt more like theirs than his to me since I first fell in love with the original.

Same here.

at the time I thought it was a bit weird that GM did a cover of a house song, these days I just think his version is great in its own right

he's a good cover artist, look forward to seeing how high ICMYLM will place

I also appreciate it now, but it did feel weird at the time especially since The Ones' track had only been out for a year or two. He basically just put vocals over it, but then again why not. I'm sure there's other examples. Beyoncé's "Run The World" comes to mind.

http://s19.postimg.org/9l709ylib/25_Man.jpg

25. I'm Your Man
106 points, five votes
single, 1985

not anymore

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24. Hard Day
109 points, five votes
from Faith, 1987

This ended up being the only Faith cut to make my ballot

TOO LOW:

39. Star People
35. I Want Your Sex
29. The Edge of Heaven
25. I'm Your Man

TOO HIGH:

31. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)
26. Killer/Papa Was A Rollin' Stone

Not a massive fan of I'm Your Man. It's probably my least favourite Wham single.

Hard Day is a good one. Always thought it was his attempt to do something similar to Scritti Politti's Cupid & Psyche.

"hard day" is wayyyyyyyyyyyy too low

if you're gonna do it do it right

http://s19.postimg.org/qpjpyw40z/23_Amazing.jpg

23. Amazing
116 points, seven votes
from Patience, 2005

i think it's amazing!

wasn't able to post during the rundown yesterday so:

"i knew you were waiting (for me)": i didn't vote for this but i think i should've? i mean it's the emptiest glossiest waiting room narada michael walden production holding together a grooveless faux-gospel song and it's somehow totally thrilling regardless, prob, i'm guessing, bc of aretha and george
"older": didn't vote for this either and, like most of the singles from older, i'm stunned that it was a single and was successful in a ton of markets. to its credit i can't ever decide what the chorus is, there are like five. beautiful muted trumpet playing too
"star people": the original is still kind of inaccessible to me and feels weirdly mean, though it grooves; the single version is a rave up
"flawless": yesssss. love the original, was surprised when i listened to patience for the first time last week that it was that "flawless." tbh i was worried that no patience tracks beyond "amazing" would place.

i get how it maybe felt weirdly pointless at the time that george would sing over a year-old house song but he just stacks incredible melodies and harmonies on top of it

http://s19.postimg.org/d67h6xffn/21_Tropicana.jpg

21=. Club Tropicana
122 points, seven votes
from Fantastic, 1983

where's 22

21 is a tie. I didn't put the = sign on the pic for fear of diluting the purity of the image.

Club Tropicana is so classic. Those harmonies! That video!

Starting to worry that Precious Box missed out. Can't see it being higher than some of the songs that have already placed.

They got absolutely pilloried for it didn't they? In my mind it couldn't be as vacuous as was believed, so it had to be a critique of Sun City or somewhere like that (if there was anywhere 'like that'). Wikipedia elevates it to a satire on Club 18-30, which'll do I suppose.

The video does a great job of capturing how joyful the song is. I love it.

ahh ok :)

http://s19.postimg.org/s3fy7xso3/21_Monkey.jpg

21=. Monkey
122 points, six votes
from Faith, 1987

what kind of club serves drinks for free?

AYAYAYAYAYAYA

All that's missing is the sea,
But don't worry, you can suntan!

Always thought suntanning was a very poor replacement for the sea...

nonsense lyrics, great song

the Jan & Lewis remix of "Monkey" is one of the pinnacle of Western civ.

pinnacles too

I haven't managed to get all the images done, so I'll do another few and leave the top fifteen or so for tomorrow. Right now we move into the top twenty, with what might be George's finest vocal performance...

http://s19.postimg.org/twiuw9dur/20_Child.jpg

20. Jesus to a Child
146 points, seven votes
from Older, 1996

I loved "I'm Your Man" when it came out, I thought the chorus was really exciting. Now it kind of feels like he was trying to make "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" part 2. Does anybody remember the extended mix that had that weird high pitch spoken part in the middle?

I had no idea "Monkey" was more liked than "I Want Your Sex". I don't hate it, but it's not my favorite.

Half the time I remember to play it I think it's pretty and boring.

"Jesus to a Child," that is

"hand to mouth": i guess this is gonna place under "look at your hands" but i prefer it in terms of underrated faith side 2 jams, the climbing/descending synth throughout, etc.
"i want your sex": i LOVE this song but it was pushed off my ballot at the last minute. part 2 really enhances part one by accessing the stevie wonder jam buried within the v stiff (heh) electro funk song
"something to save": my least favorite song on lwp (it's just melodically very narrow) but beautifully sung, very beatles-y too with the sudden cello flourishes
"shoot the dog": what a fuckin weird song
"the strangest thing": the only song i regretted not voting for, it also got pushed off my ballot at the last minute. george's best "boring" song; the house-y remix he made for the single is very nice but doesn't really add anything essential, the original is so full of smoke

http://s19.postimg.org/lsaqrirfn/19_Guns.jpg

19. Young Guns (Go For It!)
150 points, six votes, one number one
from Fantastic, 1983

This always seemed like the weakest of the early singles, but I absolutely adored the Top Of The Pops performance posted on the voting thread and I love the track now. Bad Boys has taken its place as the runt for me now.

I've never heard Club Fantastic Megamix though

TOO LOW

when i was putting together my ballot i didn't listen to fantastic which is a shame bc i would've hella voted for "ray of sunshine," holy shit

I'm still trying to confirm that he's actually saying "This young gun says abortion pays" at the end of the second set of verses. That's how I've heard it all these years and no one believes me.

Either way, filthy pleasure.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Thursday, September 8, 2005 6:24 PM (eleven years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So Hard Day could be the highest non single?

i was like "hard day was a single!!!! i bought a copy of it a few years ago!!!!" but turns out that was just a promo single for the shep pettibone mix

I finally get Andrew Ridgeley's function: besides being the crucial inspiration for starting Wham!, he and Michael's camaraderie looks unforced and I can believe they remain good friends.

he made George more human and -- crucially when it was needed -- hetero.

I'll give a quick shout-out to Pepsi and Shirley here - they had a small but important part to play too.

As a closeted kid in the 80's I always knew me he wasn't hetero, with or without Andrew.

http://s19.postimg.org/p0f84kdpf/18_Box.jpg

18. Precious Box
155 points, seven votes
from Patience, 2005

YEAH