Customer Reviews

Sold

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Boy George's first solo effort was a very eclectic collection of tunes. The album was a flop in the US & a smash in Europe. Imagine that. It includes the singles "Sold", "Keep Me In Mind" & "To Be Reborn". As well as the smash remake of Bread's Everything I Own. (which in my opinon is better than the original) This album mixes rock, soul & reggae as he did in Culture Club.

This was Boy george's first solo effort, and it is fantastic. The best song is "Sold". It is just brilliant. This song also is very rare in the U.S., since it has been out of print for years. Also, U.S. greatest hits albums never include this song. In addition, greatest hits albums don't included the version of "Everything I Own" that appears on this album. It is slightly different than Boy George albums in the U.S. It is also better and, I am not going to give it away. Also, there are brillinat songs like "Keep me In Mind", "To Be Reborn", and "Freedom". It is a crime I have to review this album as an import. Someone at Virgin America should have went to jail for having this deleted in the U.S. It is a gem and it proved the Boy could hold his own entertainment.

I first heard this on ct, and now owning it on CD, I must say its great on both. This was Boy Georges first solo album made in 1987, after he left Culture Club. Although it was a smash in Europe, it flopped in the U.S., because of his then-drug use. Helen Terry joined him for this album. Containing anthems like the title track; "Freedom;" and (my favorite) "Where are you now (when I need you)?). To the gutsy, aggressive "Just ain't enough;" and "Next time." The ballads "I asked for love," "Keep me in mind," "We've got the right," and the funny "Little Ghost," in which he sings in lower octives. And not to mention a "reggae" style cover of Bread's "Everything I own," which I think is better than the origonal. Then closing the album, is the beautiful, heart-breaking ballad, "To be reborn," which makes my heart melt and makes me want to cry. Although George has admitted that when he made this, he was lazy and was feeling sorry for himself, it's my favorite solo from him. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I have.

What would be nice is if Virgin actually valued Boy George/Culture Club and realized that Boy/CC PAID Virgin's bills and helped build Richard Branson's empire. One way they could show their appreciation is doing a REAL CD reissue for the FANS by including all of the BONUS tracks/mixes/b-sides from Boy's SOLD era - I'm talking about songs like: STATE OF LOVE, ARE YOU AFRAID, Go-Go and 12" Mixes of SOLD, Extended Mix of I PRAY, and esp the sought-after Jeremy Healy remixes of LITTLE GHOST, the album's best kept secret and underrated gem about the Trojan/Leigh Bowert/Taboo era Boy lived through in the 80s. Now THAT would be a real treat on CD for posterity...but I won't hold my breath. As Boy croons, "Where were you now when I needed you?!"

It's been just under two decades since this was originally released in 1987. I still play this cd and sing along. The music on this disc was so different from some of the other music dominating the charts then i.e. Madonna's "Like A Prayer"; Janet Jackson "Nasty Boys." George's singing on this disc is wonderful. He has so much color and character from song to song. The reggae beat and his gentle but masculine voice on Everything I Own (and given that he was in and out of the news for so much fallout with Culture Club, Marilyn, drug use) there is a genuine quality that was just not heard on the radio then. Little Ghost - listen to it and hear the parallels to his life, the life of youthful partying and mornings after. He's often singin about heartbreak and longing but with strength and conviction. And to listen to him sing "To Be Reborn" leaves me with the feeling of certainy that George will always find a way to remain a working artist in one manner or another. As long as he has something to say (and when doesn't he) he will be heard. I think it's simply tragic that the industry seems to have shut him out. Maybe he's too outspoken but we'be had enough wallflowers. It saddens me to see th elikes of George and Pete Burns get pushed by the way side.

This has always been a favorite cd...It was largely underrated! But had alot of great song! Little Ghost being a stand out! A fan must!

i remember when this first solo album for George came out; really loved most of the songs; especially "sold" and "we've got the right"; really brings back great memories

Its an excellent and very original album!!!!!No two songs sound alike!!!!!!!!!It is fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!dEFINETLY AN ORIGINAL!!!

Boy George made this album in 1987, very shortly after kicking a heroin addiction (although he was not completely off of drugs). The damage done to his voice can be heard by the sometimes-evident raspiness in his voice. About half of this album is quite good, while the other half is not-so-good. My favourite is "Everything I Own", but only the album version. (As one of the previous reviewers stated, the version is oddly different on greatest hits collections, which is inferior in my opinion.) George expresses a sensitive sincereness in his voice. To me, the message is sort of obviously directed to his former lover, Jon Moss (former drummer of Culture Club). "Sold" is a good song, but i don't think it was appropriate for George to sing that song at that time. To me it sounds like a drug addict still trying to lie that he's fine, as George did before the press officially found about the heroin. Perhaps it was a bit of foreshadowing, though, because George did clean himself up in later years. "Keep Me In Mind" and "I Asked For Love" are a little bit too muzak-ish to me, but still not bad as a whole. "Where Are You Now" is also enjoyable. The album's downfall is with the up-tempo numbers where George sings with a weirdly hoarse voice, such as "Just Ain't Enough" and "Next Time". The tempos of the songs are just plain and simple too fast for me, and don't fit the music of George. "To Be Reborn" seems somewhat boring to me. "We've Got The Right" is another song that has too much of an 80's muzak vibe to me. In a nutshell, the songs full of excess make this album less than George's best. The songs where his more controlled and sensitive side shows are definitely the best to me. This is a good introduction to George's solo work, but be sure to move on to better works, such as "High Hat" and "Martyr Mantras".