Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best Of George Michael [Extra tracks, Import]

George Michael | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Extra tracks, Import
• Label: Epic/Sony
• ASIN: B00000G42T
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (288 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,279 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Jesus To A Child

2. Father Figure

3. Careless Whisper

4. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

5. You Have Been Loved

6. Kissing A Fool

7. I Can't Make You Love Me

8. Heal The Pain

9. A Moment With You

10. Desafinado

11. Cowboys And Angels

12. Praying For Time

13. One More Try

14. A Different Corner

15. Outside

16. As (with Mary J. Blige) (Bonus Track)

17. Fastlove

18. Too Funky

19. Freedom 90

20. Star People 97 (replaces 'Monkey')

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

International pressing of his 1998 collection features a bonus track, 'As' (with Mary J. Blige) and drops 'Monkey' and 'Hard Day' from the U.S. version, replacing them with 'Strange Thing '97' and 'Fantasy'. 29 tracks from his enormously successful solo career including 'Faith', 'Father Figure', 'A Different Corner', 'Heal The Pain', 'Jesus To A Child', 'Freedom '90', 'I Want Your Sex', 'Outside' and more. This compilation does NOT feature any material from Wham, although 'Careless Whisper', which was originally released as his first solo single, is included Sony.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent career overview, but try to get the UK version August 15, 2005

By Robert Johnson

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

A well done hits compilation, spread across two discs and including some interesting rarities and new songs. The songs are divided up in non-chronological order, with ballads on one disc and dance tracks on the other. I personally would have preferred the tracks to have been sequenced chronologically, but the current sequencing is satisfactory, and isolating the dance tracks leaves you with a great party disc. Just for the record, no songs with Wham are included ("Careless Whisper" and "A Different Corner" were released as solo songs), the UK hit "Older" is missing, and the hit version of "I Want Your Sex" has been replaced with the "Part II" reprise of the song. The remainder of the songs are all presented in their original single versions, which makes it a great buy even if you have all of Michael's proper albums.

The US and UK versions of the compilation have slightly different track listings. The newly-recorded dance single "Outside" (#2 UK) is present on both version, but the stirring cover of Stevie Wonder's "As" (#4 UK), with Mary J. Blige) is only found of the UK issue. The UK version also includes a 1997 remix of "The Strangest Thing" and the killer B-side "Fantasy," but inexplicably omits the smash hit "Monkey," which is on the US version. Both versions included two generous booklets with lyrics and many beautiful photos of Michael. Given the inclusion of the few rare tracks, I suggest listeners pick up the UK version (after all, "Monkey" is easily found on the Faith album). Either way you go, however, this is a great compilation that includes some of the best pop singles of the eighties and nineties.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON A GREAT DUET....."AS" June 2, 2000

By Julie

Format:Audio CD

This duet is with Mary j Blige. It is missing on the U.S. version as her record label refused to list it in the U.S. due to George's bathroom escapade. This is a shame as it is a fantastic song with a killer video.

Below is the U.K. cd listing copied from Amazon.co.uk

As always... if you can get your hands on a copy... you won't regret it!

1. Jesus to a child 2. Father figure 3. Careless whisper 4. Don't let the sun go down on me 5. You have been loved 6. Kissing a fool 7. I can't make you love me 8. Heal the pain 9. Moment with you 10. Desafinado 11. Cowboys and angels 12. Praying for time 13. One more try 14. Different corner 15. Outside 16. As 17. Fastlove 18. Too funky 19. Freedom 90 20. Star people 97 21. Killer/Papa was a rollin' stone 22. I want your sex 23. Strangest thing 97 24. Fantasy 25. Spinning the wheel 26. Waiting for the day 27. I knew you were waiting (for me) 28. Faith 29. Somebody to love

Even if you can't get a copy of the U.K. version this album is still worth your time....

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great But Not "The Greatest Hits" March 6, 2002

By Paul Allaer TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Where in the world is George Michael nowadays? Who knows? His last album, the cover CD "Songs from the Last Century" tanked mightily and his last proper album before that, "Older", is by now 6 years old... So while we wait for George to wake up and smell the coffee, we have this 1998 sprawling (2 CDs, 140 min) "Best of" to remember what George was/is capable of.

The compilation is divided in "From the Heart" (CD1, read: the ballads) and "For the Feet" (CD2, read: the dance tunes). Nobody is going to question his genius for writing great songs, and they are all here: Careless Whisper, Freedom, Too Funky, Kissing a Fool, Faith, Heal the Pain, Cowboys and Angels, Monkey, Waiting for that Day, and go on and on. Marvelous!

Here is the problem: there are simply too many filler songs on this compliation (such as Desafinado, You Have Been Loved, A Moment with You, Spinning the Wheel, etc.) What would have worked better is a single CD, compiling all his greatest hits, no more, no less. Another beef I have is that one of his greatest hits, "I Want Your Sex", appears here as "Part 2", which is radically different from the song we all know and remember. What is up with that? So what could've, should've been a compliation of George Michael's greatest hits, isn't... Not that this compilation is bad, but it could've been greater.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Mature Pop Professional July 9, 1999

By Gary W. GILLIAM

Format:Audio CD

I clearly remember the day that I had to admit to myself that I actually liked WHAM!. Now, 15 years later with the dawn of this collection I regret nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing. George Michael belongs to that spare club of musicians that survived the demise of their 80's band counterparts (another would be Sting) although one could argue that George Michael was WHAM!, to survive in Pop without a marketable logo is still a feat. Perhaps it is his ability to infuse the otherwise dispensable medium of Dance-Pop with a combination of playful sexuality and genuine pathos not found in the usual fare. Sure, his voice is amazing and flawless but his songwriting and producing (he does his own) are also inventive and fresh/non-formulaic. From the moment he took the stage with Elton John at Live Aid in '85, George Michael has dug in his heels for the long haul. Even his moral experiment "Listen without Prejudice Vol. I" sounds legitimate on return listenings and prefigures Prince's more-lauded biz rebellion by several years.

This budget-priced collection has all the GM that you need. Almost. One regret is that the alternate version (Pt. II) of the definitive GM track "I Want Your Sex" is included here instead of the superior original cut. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", the Aretha Franklin duet, is superfluous and lacks the characteristics (not written or produced by GM) that illuminate his songs above his Pop peers. Other disappointments are cosmetic and subtle, for instance, the opening string motif and classical guitar solo are mixed-out of "A Different Corner" (?). Still, this is the collection to get. If you're smart you can fill in the gaps with vinyl.