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Post by MattyJam on Dec 22, 2021 8:16:43 GMT
aazzaabb Be curious to know your thoughts on this album. Yous a George fan, right?
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Post by aazzaabb on Dec 22, 2021 18:19:20 GMT
aazzaabb Be curious to know your thoughts on this album. Yous a George fan, right? Off the top of my head, I vaguely remember buying it as I was caught up with other things in 2004, but I remember seeing a TV advert for it with George walking towards the sofa with the brilliant white background and to the sound of Amazing. Then he sits down, the shot freezes and that’s your album cover. It got me relatively excited for the album. But I was somewhat underwhelmed. I was expecting something a bit more fun; a throwback to Wham or something that didn’t take itself too seriously. I was a bit deflated by all the introspection and melancholy mood of it all. George dwelling on his Mum, his uncle, his partner, Lennon, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, Freddie Mercury etc. He seemed preoccupied with death to the point where the feeling bled into a lot of the album sound and feel. Shoot The Dog was an interesting take on the relationship between Blair and Bush, and how they politically got into bed with one another but I found the whole homo-erotic thing a bit played out. He’d done Outside which worked a few different ways; his I’m Coming Out track that was a fun pop song. Shoot The Dog felt like he said “oh I need an Outside for the album” and he gives us Shoot The Dog. Freeek! feels like another attempt to do something like a Star People or Kissing A Fool or a Too Funky or one of his unique R&B pop tracks but I don’t know if it quite hits the mark. Patience, John & Elvis Are Dead, Round Here, My Mother Had A Brother, American Angel, Please Send Me Someone…… George!!! Cheer up a little bit mate!! Public notice] aazzaabb is currently 26 hours into a 30 hour shift so some of the information may be inaccurate or may not make perfect sense. aazzaabb has asked for reader discretion, harmony and understanding during this trying time for everybody. Rated R. aazzaabb reserves the right to say whatever he wants whenever he wants, and also invent stories and/or suggestions on the spot. aazzaabb reserves the right to drink as much tea as he fancies, due to being Irish and tea being part of his heritage and birthright. aazzaabb requests reader cooperation whilst reading posts by aazzaabb. The name aazzaabb is not a copyrighted trademark and may be used while conversing with aazzaabb, talking about aazzaabb or generally celebrating or being excited by/about aazzaabb. aazzaabb was once a teenager and is reluctant to talk about his teenage years, except for when the mood takes/strikes aazzaabb to talk about said years.
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Post by MattyJam on Dec 22, 2021 19:59:58 GMT
aazzaabb Be curious to know your thoughts on this album. Yous a George fan, right? Off the top of my head, I vaguely remember buying it as I was caught up with other things in 2004, but I remember seeing a TV advert for it with George walking towards the sofa with the brilliant white background and to the sound of Amazing. Then he sits down, the shot freezes and that’s your album cover. It got me relatively excited for the album. But I was somewhat underwhelmed. I was expecting something a bit more fun; a throwback to Wham or something that didn’t take itself too seriously. I was a bit deflated by all the introspection and melancholy mood of it all. George dwelling on his Mum, his uncle, his partner, Lennon, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, Freddie Mercury etc. He seemed preoccupied with death to the point where the feeling bled into a lot of the album sound and feel. Shoot The Dog was an interesting take on the relationship between Blair and Bush, and how they politically got into bed with one another but I found the whole homo-erotic thing a bit played out. He’d done Outside which worked a few different ways; his I’m Coming Out track that was a fun pop song. Shoot The Dog felt like he said “oh I need an Outside for the album” and he gives us Shoot The Dog. Freeek! feels like another attempt to do something like a Star People or Kissing A Fool or a Too Funky or one of his unique R&B pop tracks but I don’t know if it quite hits the mark. Patience, John & Elvis Are Dead, Round Here, My Mother Had A Brother, American Angel, Please Send Me Someone…… George!!! Cheer up a little bit mate!! Public notice] aazzaabb is currently 26 hours into a 30 hour shift so some of the information may be inaccurate or may not make perfect sense. aazzaabb has asked for reader discretion, harmony and understanding during this trying time for everybody. Rated R. aazzaabb reserves the right to say whatever he wants whenever he wants, and also invent stories and/or suggestions on the spot. aazzaabb reserves the right to drink as much tea as he fancies, due to being Irish and tea being part of his heritage and birthright. aazzaabb requests reader cooperation whilst reading posts by aazzaabb. The name aazzaabb is not a copyrighted trademark and may be used while conversing with aazzaabb, talking about aazzaabb or generally celebrating or being excited by/about aazzaabb. aazzaabb was once a teenager and is reluctant to talk about his teenage years, except for when the mood takes/strikes aazzaabb to talk about said years. You know what's coming next, don't you? This is the bit where I beg you to give it another chance and you promise me you will and then come on 48hrs later and thank me profusely for enlightening you to its greatness. On a separate note, I've finally got around to listening to Faith in its entirety. I knew most of the singles, but there's something to be said for listening to those songs in the context of the album. I hate Greatest Hits albums, with a passion. I knew songs like Father Figure or One More Try from my mums copy of GM's Greatest Hits album, but it just doesn't resonate the same sat on a collection of 24-odd other songs, all with a different sound, from different eras. God, I'm enjoying some of these songs so much more in the context of the album than I ever did hearing them as background music on my mums Greatest Hits. Proper albums are an experience and force you to sit down and really listen, whereas Greatest Hits collections are so disjointed and make absolutely no sense sonically. Am really enjoying getting to know Faith and LWPV1. Now aazzaabb, TonyR, give Patience just a bit more... patience. Also Aaron, re: Patience, why should he cheer up?? The albums not all that depressing really, I mean I guess it depends what you're looking for at any given time. I mean, you wouldn't listen to HIStory and tell MJ to cheer up, would you? And I'd say that's a far more negative album than Patience is.
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Post by aazzaabb on Dec 23, 2021 2:00:21 GMT
Off the top of my head, I vaguely remember buying it as I was caught up with other things in 2004, but I remember seeing a TV advert for it with George walking towards the sofa with the brilliant white background and to the sound of Amazing. Then he sits down, the shot freezes and that’s your album cover. It got me relatively excited for the album. But I was somewhat underwhelmed. I was expecting something a bit more fun; a throwback to Wham or something that didn’t take itself too seriously. I was a bit deflated by all the introspection and melancholy mood of it all. George dwelling on his Mum, his uncle, his partner, Lennon, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, Freddie Mercury etc. He seemed preoccupied with death to the point where the feeling bled into a lot of the album sound and feel. Shoot The Dog was an interesting take on the relationship between Blair and Bush, and how they politically got into bed with one another but I found the whole homo-erotic thing a bit played out. He’d done Outside which worked a few different ways; his I’m Coming Out track that was a fun pop song. Shoot The Dog felt like he said “oh I need an Outside for the album” and he gives us Shoot The Dog. Freeek! feels like another attempt to do something like a Star People or Kissing A Fool or a Too Funky or one of his unique R&B pop tracks but I don’t know if it quite hits the mark. Patience, John & Elvis Are Dead, Round Here, My Mother Had A Brother, American Angel, Please Send Me Someone…… George!!! Cheer up a little bit mate!! Public notice] aazzaabb is currently 26 hours into a 30 hour shift so some of the information may be inaccurate or may not make perfect sense. aazzaabb has asked for reader discretion, harmony and understanding during this trying time for everybody. Rated R. aazzaabb reserves the right to say whatever he wants whenever he wants, and also invent stories and/or suggestions on the spot. aazzaabb reserves the right to drink as much tea as he fancies, due to being Irish and tea being part of his heritage and birthright. aazzaabb requests reader cooperation whilst reading posts by aazzaabb. The name aazzaabb is not a copyrighted trademark and may be used while conversing with aazzaabb, talking about aazzaabb or generally celebrating or being excited by/about aazzaabb. aazzaabb was once a teenager and is reluctant to talk about his teenage years, except for when the mood takes/strikes aazzaabb to talk about said years. You know what's coming next, don't you? This is the bit where I beg you to give it another chance and you promise me you will and then come on 48hrs later and thank me profusely for enlightening you to its greatness. On a separate note, I've finally got around to listening to Faith in its entirety. I knew most of the singles, but there's something to be said for listening to those songs in the context of the album. I hate Greatest Hits albums, with a passion. I knew songs like Father Figure or One More Try from my mums copy of GM's Greatest Hits album, but it just doesn't resonate the same sat on a collection of 24-odd other songs, all with a different sound, from different eras. God, I'm enjoying some of these songs so much more in the context of the album than I ever did hearing them as background music on my mums Greatest Hits. Proper albums are an experience and force you to sit down and really listen, whereas Greatest Hits collections are so disjointed and make absolutely no sense sonically. Am really enjoying getting to know Faith and LWPV1. Now aazzaabb , TonyR , give Patience just a bit more... patience. Also Aaron, re: Patience, why should he cheer up?? The albums not all that depressing really, I mean I guess it depends what you're looking for at any given time. I mean, you wouldn't listen to HIStory and tell MJ to cheer up, would you? And I'd say that's a far more negative album than Patience is. Have you heard December Song? I think it’s absolutely stunning. A completely different George Michael than Last Christmas. Even though, again, he’s lamenting his Mum god bless him. RE: Patience. It’s a decent album but I think he’s dealing with an awful lot of depression to the point where it swallows up the lighter moments that are already few and far between. “Why should he cheer up?” I think he had manic depression and he spiralled farther and farther into despair. I can’t compare it to HIStory as that album is a masterpiece. Also, and I may be wrong since I’ve not heard Patience in years but on HIStory MJ gives us a little more levity. Despite the tragedies MJ is dealing with he’s using a broader palate. We’re getting the sadness but also the anger, not only for the way he’s been treated but also for the environment. We’re getting frustration at injustice, hearing cautionary tales of neglected children, and greed etc. MJ is venting but in a much more -IMO- creative way. We’d never had lyrics as autobiographical and personal from MJ -ever- And apart from all of that, HIStory is just a far superior collection of songs. A masterful achievement in lyrical, vocal, musical and production quality. We had number one singles, stunning short films, stunning award show performances from MJ. HIStory was an evolution for MJ. He grew massively as an artist. I’m not sure the same can be said for GM on Patience. It just felt slightly disappointing and lacked in something. I found it a bit if a chore to listen to whereas I found/find HIStory a joy despite its content.
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Post by HIStoric on Dec 23, 2021 2:34:03 GMT
I always find it interesting how George Michael released so few albums. He was on a roll through the 80s, then after Prejudice, it would take him 6 years for Older, 8 years for Patience (not counting that covers album), then he finished up 10 years later with Symphonica which was a live album that was about 2/3rd covers.
What's the deal with that? Do we know?
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Post by MattyJam on Dec 23, 2021 7:14:35 GMT
You know what's coming next, don't you? This is the bit where I beg you to give it another chance and you promise me you will and then come on 48hrs later and thank me profusely for enlightening you to its greatness. On a separate note, I've finally got around to listening to Faith in its entirety. I knew most of the singles, but there's something to be said for listening to those songs in the context of the album. I hate Greatest Hits albums, with a passion. I knew songs like Father Figure or One More Try from my mums copy of GM's Greatest Hits album, but it just doesn't resonate the same sat on a collection of 24-odd other songs, all with a different sound, from different eras. God, I'm enjoying some of these songs so much more in the context of the album than I ever did hearing them as background music on my mums Greatest Hits. Proper albums are an experience and force you to sit down and really listen, whereas Greatest Hits collections are so disjointed and make absolutely no sense sonically. Am really enjoying getting to know Faith and LWPV1. Now aazzaabb , TonyR , give Patience just a bit more... patience. Also Aaron, re: Patience, why should he cheer up?? The albums not all that depressing really, I mean I guess it depends what you're looking for at any given time. I mean, you wouldn't listen to HIStory and tell MJ to cheer up, would you? And I'd say that's a far more negative album than Patience is. Have you heard December Song? I think it’s absolutely stunning. A completely different George Michael than Last Christmas. Even though, again, he’s lamenting his Mum god bless him. RE: Patience. It’s a decent album but I think he’s dealing with an awful lot of depression to the point where it swallows up the lighter moments that are already few and far between. “Why should he cheer up?” I think he had manic depression and he spiralled farther and farther into despair. I can’t compare it to HIStory as that album is a masterpiece. Also, and I may be wrong since I’ve not heard Patience in years but on HIStory MJ gives us a little more levity. Despite the tragedies MJ is dealing with he’s using a broader palate. We’re getting the sadness but also the anger, not only for the way he’s been treated but also for the environment. We’re getting frustration at injustice, hearing cautionary tales of neglected children, and greed etc. MJ is venting but in a much more -IMO- creative way. We’d never had lyrics as autobiographical and personal from MJ -ever- And apart from all of that, HIStory is just a far superior collection of songs. A masterful achievement in lyrical, vocal, musical and production quality. We had number one singles, stunning short films, stunning award show performances from MJ. HIStory was an evolution for MJ. He grew massively as an artist. I’m not sure the same can be said for GM on Patience. It just felt slightly disappointing and lacked in something. I found it a bit if a chore to listen to whereas I found/find HIStory a joy despite its content. Well, I think your memory of Patience is a bit skewed. It really ain't that depressing. You have Amazing and American Angel, which are both love songs to his boyfriend, Round Here is a great little R&B/pop number reminiscing about childhood memories. Shoot The Dog is political, Freeek is sexual, the brilliant Precious Box is a cautionary tale of lonely people replacing TV/internet with real life experiences. Flawless (Go To The City) is just an out and out club banger. Really, the only "depressing" song on the entire record is My Mother Had A Brother, which is probably my favourite GM song of all time. I implore any GM fan to really sit down and read the lyrics to this masterpiece. Never before had he been so frank and honest about his sexuality and despite the topic dealing with his closeted uncles suicide, it's actually got a positive spin to it, with George saying he's now able to live the life his uncle couldn't and he's going to make the most of it for them both. It's really a beautiful sentiment and gives me goosebumps when I listen to it.
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Post by MattyJam on Dec 23, 2021 7:22:52 GMT
I always find it interesting how George Michael released so few albums. He was on a roll through the 80s, then after Prejudice, it would take him 6 years for Older, 8 years for Patience (not counting that covers album), then he finished up 10 years later with Symphonica which was a live album that was about 2/3rd covers. What's the deal with that? Do we know?
I think much of the 90s was spent fighting Sony and then he was grieving for his partner that died (which he sings about on Older). He did release the same amount of albums in the 80s and 90s as MJ. When Patience came out he said in an interview how he finds songwriting harder the older he gets. But he said he wanted Patience to be his final album as he didn't want the pressure of making albums anymore and just wanted to release one-off singles, which is what he did. He released 3 new songs on his 25 Greatest Hits (not the best songs admittedly), then December Song (I agree with Aaron, absolutely gorgeous song) and then one of my personal favourites, a track called White Light about his near death hospital admission. If you've never heard it, check it out - it's a brilliant, hypnotic dance track with very poignant lyrics. His estate also released a new song with Aaron's favourite seasonal flick Last Christmas called This Is How We Want You To Get High, which is quite good.
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Post by aazzaabb on Dec 23, 2021 12:57:26 GMT
Have you heard December Song? I think it’s absolutely stunning. A completely different George Michael than Last Christmas. Even though, again, he’s lamenting his Mum god bless him. RE: Patience. It’s a decent album but I think he’s dealing with an awful lot of depression to the point where it swallows up the lighter moments that are already few and far between. “Why should he cheer up?” I think he had manic depression and he spiralled farther and farther into despair. I can’t compare it to HIStory as that album is a masterpiece. Also, and I may be wrong since I’ve not heard Patience in years but on HIStory MJ gives us a little more levity. Despite the tragedies MJ is dealing with he’s using a broader palate. We’re getting the sadness but also the anger, not only for the way he’s been treated but also for the environment. We’re getting frustration at injustice, hearing cautionary tales of neglected children, and greed etc. MJ is venting but in a much more -IMO- creative way. We’d never had lyrics as autobiographical and personal from MJ -ever- And apart from all of that, HIStory is just a far superior collection of songs. A masterful achievement in lyrical, vocal, musical and production quality. We had number one singles, stunning short films, stunning award show performances from MJ. HIStory was an evolution for MJ. He grew massively as an artist. I’m not sure the same can be said for GM on Patience. It just felt slightly disappointing and lacked in something. I found it a bit if a chore to listen to whereas I found/find HIStory a joy despite its content. Well, I think your memory of Patience is a bit skewed. It really ain't that depressing. You have Amazing and American Angel, which are both love songs to his boyfriend, Round Here is a great little R&B/pop number reminiscing about childhood memories. Shoot The Dog is political, Freeek is sexual, the brilliant Precious Box is a cautionary tale of lonely people replacing TV/internet with real life experiences. Flawless (Go To The City) is just an out and out club banger. Really, the only "depressing" song on the entire record is My Mother Had A Brother, which is probably my favourite GM song of all time. I implore any GM fan to really sit down and read the lyrics to this masterpiece. Never before had he been so frank and honest about his sexuality and despite the topic dealing with his closeted uncles suicide, it's actually got a positive spin to it, with George saying he's now able to live the life his uncle couldn't and he's going to make the most of it for them both. It's really a beautiful sentiment and gives me goosebumps when I listen to it. Honestly. You could sell ice to the Eskimos! I had just entered a Jackson 5/Jackson’s phase but you had to go and fuck that up and put me in a George Michael mood!! Although is it fair to say my ranting about the Last Christmas film sort of pushed you in this current direction? To be fair you’re probably right. I’m bringing a guy I support down to London tomorrow so he can spend Christmas with his family. I’ll listen to Patience on the train back. I’ll be in your neck of the woods for a few hours. I’ve just started the album now whilst sitting in bed. Well, it’s possibly not as depressing as I initially thought. Perhaps meandering would have been a more apt description. The tracks actually have nicer tempos than I remember. Round Here is actually a lot more hopeful and optimistic than I remember it to be. I have a horrendous chest infection but have to just get on with work. I flew over to Ireland for the weekend, got back at 1am on Tuesday morning and back into work at 4pm the same day, finished at 10pm last night. Back in at 4pm today and I’ll finish tomorrow around 11ish. I’ve just put the album on now for a few tracks. Amazing is a classic GM track IMO.
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Post by aazzaabb on Dec 23, 2021 13:06:36 GMT
Shoot The Dog is rather good isn’t it? This is a bit of a throwback to classic GM; pulsating with sexual wanting over a classic sample with a great rhythm track. I forgot about that sample; “I believe in me I believe in you….”
My Mother Had A Brother, yeah Matty it’s quite good. These tracks sound rather better than I originally felt.
Just for a bit of context, I was about 23 and about to head out to Australia for a year. GM felt like a bit of a dinosaur and the charts were dominated by Britney, Justin Timberlake etc. Patience was like a comeback album that didn’t quite jive with everything that was going on.
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TonyR
The Legend Continues
Posts: 8,413
Member is Online
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Post by TonyR on Dec 23, 2021 19:09:22 GMT
Snow is falling all around us My baby's coming home for Christmas I've been up all night inside my bedroom He said that he'll be with me real soon
So I wait And I wait But I've had as much as I can take
'Cause I've got 5 more nights of sleeping on my own 4 more days until you're coming home 3 more dreams of you and mistletoe 2 more reasons why I love you so I've got 5 more nights until you're next to me 4 more days of being lonely 3 more wishes I can barely breathe If I can make it to Christmas Eve then it's
One more sleep (One more sleep until it's Christmas) One more sleep (Can't believe how much I missed us) One more sleep (One more sleep until it's Christmas) One more sleep
Now I don't think I can remember A cold and lonelier December And I find myself sitting at the window Wondering when you're gonna get back home
So I try And I try But there is nothing I can do to pass this time
I've got 5 more nights of sleeping on my own 4 more days until you're coming home 3 more dreams of you and mistletoe 2 more reasons why I love you so I've got 5 more nights until you're next to me 4 more days of being lonely 3 more wishes I can barely breathe If I can make it to Christmas Eve then it's
One more sleep (One more sleep until it's Christmas) One more sleep (Can't believe how much I missed us) One more sleep (One more sleep until it's Christmas) One more sleep
Until we're rocking around the Christmas tree Until I got you sitting next to me We got a lot of catching up to do I just can't take this missing you
5 more nights on my own 4 more days 3 more dreams Mistletoe I can't believe I ever let you go
5 more nights of sleeping on my own (Yeah) (On my own) 4 more days until you're coming home (Until you're coming home) 3 more wishes I can barely breathe If I can make it to Christmas Eve then it's one more sleep
It'll be one more It'll be one more (One more sleep) It'll be one more (One more sleep) One more sleep
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TonyR
The Legend Continues
Posts: 8,413
Member is Online
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Post by TonyR on Dec 23, 2021 19:10:41 GMT
George
Michael
Madonna
East 17
The big boys.
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Post by aazzaabb on Dec 23, 2021 23:08:05 GMT
Me thinks somebody has had a few drinks?! 😂🤣
Heard East 17 Stay Another Day today on the radio. I absolutely love it! Don’t even care!
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Post by aazzaabb on Dec 24, 2021 0:38:29 GMT
Well, I just managed to squeeze in a full listen on my beats. Overall I’d say I enjoyed it a lot more than when it originally came out. It’s not as depressing as I’d originally thought but what I first described as a meandering album persists because some of the tracks are simply too long.
5 tracks are over 5 minutes each and 3 tracks are over 6 minutes each. The European edition of the album is over 70 minutes. Flawless (Go To The City) is clocking in at almost 7 minutes and Precious Box is 7:39!! It suffers from the same type of bloatedness as Invincible but Patience is more consistent in terms of track sequence and production.
The production on Patience is much nicer in my opinion than the jarring relentless noise on Invincible.
I would remove the 2 weakest tracks -not quite sure what they are-, and edit down the 5 minute tracks to 3 minutes or thereabouts and knock a further 3 minutes off Flawless and Precious Box.
It’s decent. How could it not be? It’s George. It’s just a quarter of an hour too long and possibly lacking in one more hit single, but that’s neither here nor there.
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Post by aazzaabb on Dec 24, 2021 1:04:29 GMT
I'm a big fan of everything George has done, including Patience. The man had a great ear and all his solo albums were magic for me. Maybe TonyR should give Patience another chance? I would give it another go, but I guess I just don't have the....what's the word? Tolerance? 🤔 😂🤣 I gave it another go tonight and it’s actually fairly decent. If you’ve not listened to it since he passed you really should. We’re coming up on his 5th anniversary. Coincidentally that was also the last night I had a drink. 5 years a tea total. For the love of god do it for aazzaabb!!
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Post by butterflies2 on Dec 24, 2021 1:28:28 GMT
I’m glad that mj fans who are also George Michael fans exist
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