Album Review by Mark Bayross
Funny that a man who has found fame for wanking in public should release this album, as that’s an apt description for the music on offer here. SONGS FROM THE LAST CENTURY, rather than being a collection of ditties from 1800-1899 (what year is this, Mr Michael?) is an attempt to cash in on Christmas / Millennium fever by having the ex-Wham man croon over a selection of songs spanning this century. All this in the hope that legions of directionless record-buying sheep will part with £13.99 in order to fill their wife’s/hubby’s Christmas stocking with some “soothing but familiar” music.
God this is awful. Sting’s ROXANNE is murdered in its sleep. MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME at least has a pulse, and probably exists only to remind the listener that they are still alive after the unbearably dull YOU’VE CHANGED. Unfortunately, THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE re-introduces Listener Coma Syndrome.
About the only song on which George Michael’s breathy falsetto suits the music is the cover of the Passengers track MISS SARAJEVO, possibly because he exists in the same musical era and this version is devoid of the Pavarotti operatics.
The rest carries on in the same sonambulant vein. The harp-filled I REMEMBER YOU is so slushy you’ll be looking for a sick-bucket, while the version of WILD IS THE WIND carries on like the cheesiest of bar-room jazz bands. At least SECRET LOVE moves, but the big band swing dominates proceedings, making the vocals instantly forgettable. Thank God the last track’s an instrumental.
I can honestly say I have never wanted an album to be over as quickly as this one. It’s an aberration from start to finish. If pre-war ballads are your cup of tea, buy the originals. Or ask your grandma if you can borrow them.
