George Michael – Faith (1LP, 2CD, 1 DVD, Box set)
Rarity - Sealed
George Michael – Lead vocals [click here to see more vinyl featuring George Michael]
Backing Vocals: George Michael, Shirley Lewis
Keyboards: George Michael (1-2, 1-6, 1-10), Chris Cameron (1-1, 1-4, 1-9, 1-10), Danny Schogger (1-7), Betsy Cook (Additional Keyboards, 1-2), Danny Schogger (Additional Keyboards, 1-10)
Piano: Chris Cameron (1-9)
Organ: Chris Cameron (Cathedral Organ, 1-1)
Bass: George Michael (1-6, 1-9)
Drums: George Michael (1-7), Ian Thomas (1-9)
Percussion: Andy Duncan (1-6)
Guitar: J.J. Belle (1-7), Lord Monty (1-7), Robert Ahwai (1-8, 1-10), Roddy Matthews (1-8), Lee Fothergill (1-9)
Horns: Jamie Talbot, John Altman, Malcolm Griffiths, Mark Chandler, Steve Waterman (1-9), Paul Spong, Rick Taylor, Steve Sidwell (1-10)
Arranged by George Michael
Written by George Michael (1-1 to 1-10, 2-1 to 2-3, 2-5, 2-7 to 2-9, A1 to B5)
1LP, 2 CD, 1DVD, Box Set
Limited Numbered Edition (Number 007322)
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : Black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Optimal Media Production
Label : Epic
Original Label : Columbia
Produced by George Michael
Originally released in 1987
Reissued in 2011
Tracks:
1 - "Faith" CD
- Faith
- Father Figure
- I Want Your Sex (Pt 1 & 2)
- One More Try
- Hard Day
- Hand To Mouth
- Look At Your Hands
- Monkey
- Kissing A Fool
- A Last Request (I Want Your Sex Pt 3)
2 - "Faith" Bonus Tracks And Remixes CD
- Faith (Instrumental)
- Fantasy
- Hard Day (Shep Pettibone Mix)
- I Believe When I Fall In Love
- Kissing A Fool (Instrumental)
- Love's In Need Of Love Today (Live)
- Monkey (7" Edit Version)
- Monkey (A Capella & Beats)
- Monkey (Jam & Lewis Remix)
DVD - "Faith"
- George Michael & Jonathan Ross Have Words
- Music Money Love Faith (February 1988)
- I Want Your Sex
- I Want Your Sex (Uncensored)
- Faith
- Father Figure
- One More Try
- Monkey
- Kissing A Fool
Vinyl LP - "Faith"
Side A :
- Faith
- Father Figure
- I Want Your Sex
- One More Try
Side B :
- Hard Day
- Hand To Mouth
- Look At Your Hands
- Monkey
- Kissing A Fool
Awards :
Grammy Awards : Album of the Year (1989)
American Music Awards (1989) : Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Pop/Rock Male, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
Billboard Year-End Awards : Top Pop Album (1988)
Review :
« A superbly crafted mainstream pop/rock masterpiece, Faith made George Michael an international solo star, selling over ten million copies in the U.S. alone as of 2000. Perhaps even more impressively, it also made him the first white solo artist to hit number one on the R&B album charts. Michael had already proven the soulful power of his pipes by singing a duet with Aretha Franklin on the 1987 smash "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," but he went even farther when it came to crafting his own material, using sophisticated '70s soul as an indispensable part of his foundation. Of course, it's only a part. Faith's ingenuity lies in the way it straddles pop, adult contemporary, R&B, and dance music as though there were no distinctions between them. In addition to his basic repertoire of funky dance-pop and airy, shimmering ballads, Michael appropriates the Bo Diddley beat for the rockabilly-tinged title track, and proves himself a better-than-decent torch singer on the cocktail jazz of "Kissing a Fool." Michael arranged and produced the album himself, and the familiarity of many of these songs can obscure his skills in those departments -- close listening reveals his knack for shifting elements in and out of the mix and adding subtle embellishments when a little emphasis or variety is needed. Though Faith couldn't completely shake Michael's bubblegum image in some quarters, the album's themes were decidedly adult. "I Want Your Sex" was the most notorious example, of course, but even the love songs were strikingly personal and mature, grappling with complex adult desires and scarred by past heartbreak. All of it adds up to one of the finest pop albums of the '80s, setting a high-water mark that Michael was only able to reach in isolated moments afterward. » AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.76 / 5