Customer Reviews

Wham! Final: Best of the Best Gold

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Final was the UK/Overseas version of the USA's Music From The Edge of Heaven. The CD is a Best of/Final release from Wham!...The perks between the Final and Music From.... is on THE FINAL, you get: I'm Your Man (single version), Freedom (single version), Careless Whisper (single version), Everything She Wants (Remix) & Young Guns (Extended Mix) A Different Corner (single version) ...on MUSIC FROM...you get: WHAM! RAP'86, I'M YOUR MAN (EXTENDED MIX) a longer version of A DIFFERENT CORNER & BLUE (LIVE IN CHINA)....BOTH albums have THE EDGE OF HEAVEN, BATTLESTATIONS, LAST CHRISTMAS & WHERE DID YOUR HEART GO...THE FINAL also has Wham! Rap (Enjoy What You Do?), Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Club Tropicana & Bad Boys...This Gold Import Release is a nice WHAM!/GEORGE MICHAEL collectible cd cuase of the various versions of songs found on it than on Music From..., is like a Greatest Hits CD & has a nice little booklet with a few different WHAM! Photos...The sound on this cd is superb and contains all of Wham!'s Big Hits..It's the best of 80's british pop music and acts as George Michael 101!! I recommend it to anyone who likes 80's pop and doesn't want to buy all 3 Wham! cds...It's an inexpensive import, limited edition Gold Plated and Best of CD...I give it DOUBLE 5 STARS!!! Buy it= you won't be disappointed!!

This is one of those CDs that gets a good playing at my place. It has all the tracks that made this UK pop outfit huge through out the 1980's.

Formed in 1981, The original line up of Wham included George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley and backing vocals from Pepsi and Shirley.

Their first Australian hit was "the Wham Rap" which debuted in Christmas 1982. Their awesome chain of hits continued with Young guns, Bad boys, Wake me up, Careless Whisper, Freedom, Everything she wants, I'm your man, Where did your heart go and the edge of heaven.

Yepppp!!! I'm a die hard WHAM! fan. There has been some other wham compilations released since this one, None of them come close to the great selection of tracks on this one.

Only small picking bone with this album is the drawn out version of "last christmas". Would of preferred the original radio mix, hense the four star rating.

I was in London when I first heard 'Young Guns' and every time I hear this song or 'Bad Boys', it takes me back to that hot summer day in Great Britain. 'Wham !' was a great pop band and they even wrote their own songs - and great songs they were. 'Wham Rap' gets things started and the fun does not stop until the very last note of 'The Edge of Heaven'. This is pop music at its best - timeless and uplifting. 'Club Tropicana' takes you back to one of those long gone summer fun vacations, 'Freedom' is so good, even Oasis stole from it (listen to their 'Fade Away' which ripped off the whole verse chord progression), 'Everything She Wants' will get every party started and 'Last Christmas' will forever stay a Holiday classic.
Unfortunately, on this re-release, the record company still did not include the fantastic 'Blue' which was on the original Vinyl double LP of 'The Final'.

Wham! were one of the biggest bands of the 80's and of course were a stepping stone to superstardom for the immense talent of George Michael and this greatest hits compilation shows them at their very best with all their memorable songs included here which shows why they were so good.

As far as 80's pop music went nobody could write songs better than George and Andrew with such classics as Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Everything She Wants and George's first solo single Careless Whisper which is on this CD with his second hit A Different Corner as well.

Wham! were poppy enough to appeal to younger people but had this irresistable charm that adults could enjoy their music as well and it was this diversity that made them a success. They could rap in a pop manner (Wham Rap!) or could sing just pure pop songs (Freedom) or even slower love songs (Last Christmas) and other great tracks including The Edge Of Heaven and Young Guns (Go For It!).

Every song bar one hit the UK Top 10 and this was Battlestations which was never released but is a good song regardless and a nice addition to the collection. My favourite song would be Freedom as it has a great singalong chorus and just i feel is their best although there isn't a bad song here.

Although this CD was originally in 1986 in still stands as the best compilation of Wham!'s wonderful career and should be bought by any Wham! or George Michael fan as should George's best of Ladies And Gentlemen.

Review dedicated to the memory of Cassie Miller.

Wham! burst onto the music scene in the wee early years of the 1980s with their "take no (pop) prisoners" attitude. They were all about youth and having fun and falling in love. This brilliant collection chronicles the rise and untimely end of Wham!

The album opens up with a post-disco dole-boy anthem "Wham! Rap (Enjoy What You Do)". Obviously inspired by the Sugar Hill gang and the burgeoning rap scene in NYC, George Michael dives into this pure party track with total abandon. Following the opener is "Young Guns (Go For It!)" another party track this one with, guess what, a party theme... "let's hang and have a good time bud, but don't be talking serious about getting heavy with your girl, eh?" Then there's "Bad Boys", the first song I heard by this group via NBC's FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS programme- remember that one folks? The last track from the album FANTASIC is "Club Tropicana".

Enter the worldwide hits... "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper", "Everything She Wants" and "Freedom". What else can be said about these songs. They were part of our lives everyday from 1984-1985. "Everything" and "Freedom" appear here in their single versions- sporting additional lyrics and horn and synth flourishes that gave them a little something that their album counterparts were lacking.

"Last Christmas" is represented here by "the Pudding Mix". Many U.S. listeners won't understand the mix title as this was the only version released in America. The rest of the world was graced by a much shorter (3 and a half odd minute version)- this was the 12" version.

"I'm Your Man" is a slight departure from the MAKE IT BIG tracks as it has a slightly more aggressive sound. Its MOTOWN leanings shows George Michael's growth as a songwriter and singer. Much more soul delivered here!

"A Different Corner" was released, like "Careless Whisper" as a George Michael solo single. A very understated piece, "A Different Corner" shows the direction George is headed with his music. It has a very mature and lush sound that was unlike anything we had heard on the radio before. Groundbreaking for its time!

This collection closes out with tracks from the "Edge of Heaven" EP, which was released on 12" vinyl and a 7" double-pack. Again, the U.S. was treated to a different release of the last tracks... MUSIC FROM THE EDGE OF HEAVEN was a virtual compilation of everything we had been missing plus the new songs. "Where Did Your Heart Go?" is a brilliant cover of a rather mediocre Was(Not Was) track sung by singer Sweet Pea. The Wham! version has a more polished sound and immensely improves on the original. "Edge of Heaven", like "I'm Your Man" had the more aggressive sound, but still recalls the feel of "Wake Me Up". "Battlestations" was a favourite of mine when I purchased the original EP- very different indeed. With its whispered verse recitations and obvious drum machine backing, "Battlestations" would have served up well as a George Michael solo track. To close this out... the only thing that disappointed me with this release is that it actually paled in comparison to its original vinyl and cassette counterpart. "Why?", you may ask. It's because the CD just contains the single versions. The original vinyl and cassette had the 12" versions of "Young Guns (Go For It!)", "Bad Boys", "Careless Whisper", "Freedom", "Everything She Wants", "I'm Your Man" & "A Different Corner" as well as the original studio version of "Blue (Armed With Love)".

Still... this is a stellar offering that should not be overlooked!!!

Wham were, possibly, Britain's most commercially successful pop group of the eighties. The duo began recording funky dance manic but their biggest successes came when their music mellowed.

Wham's funky period yielded the UK top ten hits Young guns go for it, Wham rap, Bad boys and Club Tropicana. Their last really funky song, Wake me up before you go go, gave them their first UK number one. After that, most of their hits were ballads beginning with Careless whisper, which was credited as a George Michael solo although Andrew Ridgeley co-wrote the song. It made the top spot in the UK and was followed to the top spot by Freedom, credited to Wham.

Next came the double-sided UK hit combining Last Christmas with Everything she wants. Only a charity record (Do they know it's Christmas, on which George joined other celebrities as Band Aid) prevented this single being yet another UK number one for Wham, but Last Christmas remains my favorite Wham song. It is a superb love song although it has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas except that George chose to use Christmas as the date in which to set the song. It returned to the UK top ten a year later.

Three more UK number one hits followed - I'm your man, A different corner (credited as a George solo) and the double-sided coupling of Edge of heaven with Where did your heart go?

Although nominally a duo, Andrew Ridgeley was very much the junior partner and it came as no surprise when the duo split up and George pursued a solo career. Some of that music is not very different in style from the ballads that he recorded with Wham.

This compilation contains all the important tracks recorded while George and Andrew were together as Wham, including those credited as George solos.

Looking back I realise that Wham! were much better than we ever admitted them to be. Wham! just makes every 80s party goin', the songs are timeless and still very listenable. It's the carefreeness of this decade that you just cannot find in contemporary tunes. And of course credit to George Michael's beautiful voice that make the feelings almost palpable. Wham! had a wide range of pop music: from soft excellent ballads to fast summer dance songs to some soft rap dance. I enjoy every song on the "Final" album and actually it is the best available cuz in some other best ofs some major songs of Wham are missing. My faves are: Club Tropicana, Wake me Up Before u Go Go, Careless Whisper, Last Christmas and The Edge Of Heaven. Enjoy! :)

This is a fabulous collection of Wham!, and just shows us that George Michael was best as a star with Andrew Ridgley. The three best songs on the album are "Club Tropicana", "Careless Whisper", and "Wham Rap". Interestingly enough, all these three songs were written by Andrew Ridgley and George Michael. When someone asks me do you like George Michael's music, I say "no". I like Wham!'s music. This was the best duo in the 1980's. As Culture Club is the number 1 group, they were number 2. Even though some hits are missing like "If You Were There", this is still a good compilation. It has three great songs, the best three I all ready mentioned. But it even holds some of the other classics. It has "Last Christmas" which is great. Even though "Last Christmas is credited to being a pudding mix, the song is very similair to the album it came from. "Everything She Wants" is credited to being a remix, and it is, but the song is still good. What is slightly different from the original album version, even though it does not say it on this album is "Freedom", but it still holds a punch. The smooth song "Where Did Your Heart Go" is also included on this CD. Great music, from a great duo.

I grew up with Wham. I was a teenager and thought they were the greatest things since sliced bread.

I own all of the albums on vinyl...LOL

Seriously, my musical tastes are a bit more sophisticated now but I love listening to these songs and singing at the top of my lungs. Careless Whisper was the best dramatic 80's ballad ever.

My other favorite is the extended version of Everything She Wants. ( I would love for Maxwell to remake this song. His voice would really do it justice).

While George went on to make Faith....another great album....you can immerse yourself in this compilation and relive the 80's when Neon and Tshirts with BIG BLACK WRITING were in!

I'm an 80's music fan and the group Wham! was definitely one of my favorites. I love every song that's on the "Final" album and it's worth to hold on to for years to come since the style of music is changing so rapidly. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were a dynamic duo from the U.K.