Customer Reviews

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The voice of George Michael is probably one of the greatest in music history. Starting with Wham! and later with a successful solo career, Michael's transformation from teenage poster boy to a mature adult singer happened in front of our eyes due to the growth of music videos during the last 20 years.

This compilation which covers most of the span of Michael's career makes an excellent addition to any music lover's collection. As a pioneer of sex in music videos, Michael has definately left his mark on the medium. His popularization of fashion models in such videos as "Freedom" and "Too Funky" made many runway models household names. Other videos such as "I Want Your Sex" popularized foreplay without any smut involved at all.

The highlights of this DVD collection have to be the videos "Fast Love" and "Outside". "Fast Love" (from his "Older" album) incoporates beautiful color schemes and special effects. "Outside" (his new single off his greatest hits collection) starts out a soft-core German sex film. However, in reality Michael wants the song and video to be a message about sexuality (especially his own's) and the troubles it can lead people to. While many are aware of his 1998 scandal where he was arrested at a public bathroom in Los Angeles due to indecent behavior, Michael actually shows he has no shame of what he did in what I think is one of the most inventive videos made in recent years.

The only negative thing here is that with the exception of "Careless Whisper," all of his videos from his Wham! days were not included in this collection. Videos such as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Everything She Wants" were excellent videos, however it seems that the producers of this video compilation thought differently.

Besides the videos, the DVD version contain several live performances on several American and British programs. It was great to see these, because it only shows that Michael's voice is all natural, even in front of a studio audience. I loved this collection, and hope that everyone who purchases this collection will enjoy it as much as I did.

In an industry where good looks and talent don't often go together, it's great to see George have the success he so richly deserves. What a talent! His vocal abilities are mind-blowing --I'm sure I'm not the only guy who wishes he could sing like him!--, his songwriting skills are sharp and insightful, and he knows how to put on a show (on video and on stage).

This DVD, with a few exceptions, is a great retrospective of his work so far. From his beginnings as a teen idol (I'm old enough to remember when "Careless Whisper" had the girls swooning) to the more mature and socially-conscious messenger that he is today. Not all the videos work, let's agree that some are boring, but most are superbly entertaining. The first video, "Outside", is a trip indeed and is quite an aural and visual treat. You'll remember that one for a long time!

Technically, the DVD is excellent. The images are crisp and the sound is clear and loud. One exception is with "Careless Whisper", which I feel could have been digitally remastered since the video is somewhat grainy compared to the others and the sound is a tad lower on this one. But this is minor and really doesn't detract from this classic song.

The bonus BBC interviews and performances are excellent. The interview shows George as a very comfortable-with-himself person with a great sense of humor.

Well worth owning.

If you are a fan and have been keeping an eye out for this DVD, then rejoyce! The wait is over. If you are a True FAN... you not only knew this was coming out but probably saw the ads for it a few months ago. In those ads, it promised the Making of As... nowhere on the Disc! Not only was the US deprived of the duet with Mary J. Blidge, but now the long awaited DVD that can hold HOURS of video... leaves it out! On the whole, this is a GREAT BUY and I would recomend this to ANYBODY who lives good music! This has an interview and two videos that were released only as bonus items on a few of the George imports (singles). If you are looking for a near complete record of GM's hits, then look no farther, if you are looking for Everything he has done(like I was hoping for) keep writing the Record company and lets get AS and Older here for us to view in the states! I love your stuff George! Keep up the fantastic work!

This collection is essential for any fan of George Michael, and is a bracing reminder of one of the greatest pop songwriters of the last 25 years. It also shows his astuteness in choosing directors for his videos. No one, aside from Madonna, has done this as well over such an extended period of time.

Some of the clips may seem dated now ("I Want Your Sex", anyone?), but most hold up incredibly well. "Kissing a Fool" is the best of the "Faith" era tracks, and one of the finest songs George has written - maybe his best. And the video presents it beautifully. "Freedom '90" might be the best video he ever made in which he did not appear, but it's fantastic all the same, with the supermodels of the period filling in. Lushly filmed and brilliantly edited, it's a peak moment.

But the best clip in this collection for me is George's show-stopping performance of "Somebody to Love" from The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert of '92, far and away the best performance of that day. This, I believe, shows him at the peak of his powers, and is one of the all time great moments in popular music history.

From the "Older" period, the best are probably "Jesus To A Child" (gorgeous and mournful) and "Fastlove" (virtual reality gone haywire). "Fastlove" is fun for two reasons: George always has gorgeous models in his videos so everyone has something to enjoy, and in the part where George sings, "...in the absence of security..." he's dressed in sunglasses and latex (?) being sprayed with water. What's not to like?

In this age of "American Idol" and faceless, bland "insta-stars" (who, on top of singing schlock, will most likely never write a song of their own), this will remind you how true talent will always shine through.

OK, so maybe not the Wham! days, but those days were (officially) not about George as a solo artist.

What remains is a collection of videos from my favorite recording artist ever. The campy bootie-shaking in Faith - the boy in the tophat dancing around in Monkey - the noticeably absent pop singer in "Freedom 90" (one of my favorite songs by him) and the somewhat "out" George in "Jesus to a Child." If you watch closely, you can see the pivotal turning point in which his music becomes more honest, more fresh, and less driven by the need/desire for commercial success. Like Madonna and Michael Jackson, he is a master of video as an art form - often sacrificing self-promoting face time for the rest of the video-making process. Thankfully, he ended his career woes and personal issues and jumped out in front of the camera again to be seen by fans. Not included is one of his most controversial videos - Praying for Time, in which a dispute with then-label Columbia led him to refuse to appear in his videos, replacing himself with text on screen. I wish they'd have included this video as well, as it was one of the most powerful (if unintentional) uses of words on screen to convey the power of the song's lyrics.

I've said it before and I'll say it again here - pop music is a hugely underappreciated music form, and this video collection is a great representation of one of the true masters of pop. Indeed a must-have.

Although George Michael has had his share of embarassing PR problems and legal setbacks, the truth is this British pop star is more than that-in reality he is under rated and under appreciated for his many talents. Michael is an accomplished songwriter and producer of some of the finely crafted pop and dance songs that exist as evidenced by what you can find on this DVD. Cinematically, Michael also has an eye for creating visually erotic classy videos of all types-some of his work here is very film noir, others have a flair for drama and miniature story telling. As good a performer as Michael is, where he really excels is his songwriting which can be compared to the lush production values and clever lyrics of one of the greatest songwriting teams of all time-Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb-the Bee Gees. Michael is an artist who has carefully honed his music career every step of the way and we are richer for having his songs be part of our culture. Any one who dismisses George Michael as a lightweight pop star just doesn't understand or appreciate the depth of his talent, hard work or intelligence.

What an enjoyment to watch this fantastic talented man putting his best to film. Well put together DVD, Can easily be used for execise routine of aerobics, floorwork, and weights. Plus you have George's energy to get you through.
Highly recomended, Don't miss this.

The fact that this title was coming out on DVD was enough reason to buy this DVD although I was not very impressed with VHS. After watching this DVD, I couldn't hold my excitement, and I had to watch it again. First of all, I was very happy to see the bonus interview footage. If you are true fan, you know this interview was the one that increased his best album sales more than 70% afterward. In it, he talks about his career, his arrest in Beverly Hills, Wham! days, and more. Plus he sings "A Different Corner" (my absolute favorite) and "Outside." This interview will change how you listen to his music, and appreciate his music even more. Of course, there is a great collection of songs. DVD added "Older," which should've been on Video. The reason why I didn't give An extra star is because of the absence of "As," a great duet with Mary J. Blige. I'm sure this was nothing more than recording industry's political reasons, but I sure would've liked to see this song being added to this DVD. Also, I didn't like one word was censored in "Star People." Overall, I think this is a great DVD. MTV Unplugged performance is especially breath taking.

As usual, George Michael was everything I hoped he would be. I sat, watched and listened......... with total joy. I saw and heard no dissapointments. Although I had heard all of the songs there were some videos I had never seen. I was really impressed with "Spinning Wheel". But on the other hand, I do not understand "Jesus To A Child". I love and understand the song, but not the video. I think that my favorites were, and probably will always be "One More Try", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me", and "Careless Whisper". They really took me back. Years ago, it was "Careless Whispher", that caught my attention and "One More Try" that kept my attention. I can't wait to see and hear more of the work of the very talented, George Michael. I hope it's very soon. My hat goes off to ........Mr.George Michael.

OH MY GOD! THERE'S SEX IN GEORGE MICHAEL'S VIDEOS!!! A few of the "fans" seemed surprised by this fact. With songs like "Fast Love" and "I Want Your Sex", no it's not a DVD to "pop in when children are in the room".

I like seeing the progression from the newer videos to the older ones. Yes, some of the older ones were cheesy, but it was the 80's. There were a lot of cheesy videos back then!

The production quality was good, the menu was easy to follow and the live footage was an extra bonus, but the thing that I liked the most was the interview footage. George is not only good-looking and talented, but he seems like a genuinely nice person. Like the things he talks about in the song "Star People", he hasn't gotten caught up in the celebrity bulls**t. He has somehow kept himself grounded. Now, I like him even more.