TwentyFive | George Michael | Amazing 25 Years

TwentyFive | George Michael | This cd is too funky!

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TwentyFive

	TwentyFive George Michael Sony, 2006 average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Amazing 25 Years

What can one say for the Living ,For the Loving and For the Loyal George Michaels has Delivered Past Present and Future with this Wonderful Album 25 live.
From his beginning with Wham to Super Stardom George has allowed us to be apart of his Journey with his Music and Lyrics.
all of this Music is Timesless and Fresh George Thanks for keeping it Real.

Jon Lopez

This cd is too funky!

Before I start my review I just want to advise people that they should buy the other version of this cd and not this one. The other one is currently cheaper and contains an extra 3rd cd. When I bought this it was my 63rd George Michael cd, so I am a bit of a fan. This cd contains all the relevant hits of his career & is an excellent buy. I would also recommend all of his cd's because it's my opinion that he has only written one bad song in his life, "A Moment With You" (I'm guessing he wrote this bad one on purpose to spite Sony). My favorites on this cd are "Everything She Wants" and "An Easier Affair","Heal the Pain" is also a great duet. I think the DVD companion to this cd is coming out soon. I am looking forward to finally seeing the expensive "Freeek!" video for the first time. You should buy this cd because holding a new George Michael product is like witnessing a titan arum plant in bloom (without the stink), it just doesn't happen very often. I want to thank [...] for making George Michael import cd's available to Americans. I think George has forgotten us. I would like to let you all know that I would give this cd 6 stars if I could. So buy & enjoy!

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Nice sounding 25 year overview although it is missing key songs. See if you agree

1998's 2 CD set "Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" was an almost 5-star release when it came out, but it obviously could not include songs that had not been released as it made it thorough "Older."

This 2006 2 CD set "Twenty Five", which celebrates Michael's 25 years in the buiz, differs in that includes material from his 2 last releases(1999's "Songs From The Last Century" & 2004's "Patience" a couple of new songs, and a handful of hits from George's days in Wham!

So what to do if you don't have either release?

I am a huge fan and went ahead and bought the 3 CD edition and I can safely tell you not to waste your money as the third CD, which could have been an amazing set of remixes and the like, but settles for including good/ok but in many cases less than stellar material from his last two releases and a great song from his Wham! days.

If you have been a fan since George's Wham! days, you really ought to buy one of many best of sets that are out there for the group itself as they cover that era very well and Wham! had some of the catchiest songs Michael has ever recorded.

Putting "Twenty Five" and "Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael" side by side:

I would chose the 1999 release, although the new one seems to have been remastered better as it sounds cleaner (at least to me).

But "Twentyfive" does have a lot going for it as includes key songs from "Older", an amazing (AMAZING) duet with Mary J. Blige covering Steve Wonder's "As, which was not included in the 1999 release due to marketing/label/"moral values" issues, it also includes two new songs, one of which "An Easy Affair" that I think rocks, but it misses key songs.

On the other hand "Twentyfive" surprisingly overlooks key songs in George's catalogue (you CAN'T have a best of that does not include "I Want Your Sex" or "Hard Day" just to name a couple). It does include key songs from the underrated "Older," but does not cover key songs from his "Songs From The Last Century" or "Patience." If you buy the 3 CD set while find some songs from the last two releases but they are tepid with the exception of a couple of great interpretations from "Songs".

In a nutshell, you could not go wrong buying this release, esp. if you've been a casual fan since the early 80's and don't mind not having "I Want Your Sex" on it. Even non-casual fans will appreciate songs that they may not have had in their collection and they all sound like a million bucks.

I do wish that this release has done more as it squandered a really good opportunity to reward long-time fans with more new material and remixes of songs. I give it a 4 when there is enough material in Michael's catalogue to produce a 5+ release.

One last non-rating related personal comment: Here's hoping that George gets back to recording songs that remind you of why he became such a superstar in the first place. He seems to think that growing up means that his music has to somehow be more mature, but mature need not be the adult contemporary road and I wish that he could pull or attempt to pull what Madonna did with "Confessions on the Dancefloor" to remind new artists that some acts that came of age in the 1980s had talent to spare and were not simply by the number acts from Disney. Have you guys looked at the charts lately? Scary.

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Older Go-Go

The 1980's have brought us so many definitive performers we look up to today. Acts like Madonna, Whitney Houston and especially Michael Jackson and Prince have reshaped, and made us believe what pop music really is. That also could be said for George Michael as well. Since he came out almost a quarter of a century ago, his music has been everywhere overseas, although his main claim to fame here on his own, mostly is considered towards the Faith record. There also was a definitive hits record reflecting George's solo efforts released nearly a decade ago, Ladies & Gentlemen, which did very well on his career. Now, another hits album thrives it way to earning new George Michael fans, but does it really work?

Twenty Five, George Michael's 2006 Greatest Hits record, is like the previous one, Ladies & Gentlemen is a double album reflecting, and expanding on George Michael's longevity as a singer, and performer. The album includes 29 songs, including a couple of new recordings that also shine on this album. The songs here have all been remastered well, and shine brightly as they were released years ago. the album includes great tracks like One More Try, Father Figure, the somber 1996 ballad Jesus To A Child, as well as other classics. The album also does a little better of a job highlighting George's era as a part of Wham with Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, and Everything She Wants. Sadly though, like many good hits packages, there is always something missing. The album overlooks songs like Knew You Were Waiting For Me, his duet with Aretha Franklin which was highlighted on Ladies & Gentlemen, and other great tracks from his Wham era like The Edge Of Heaven and Young Guns too.

All in all, Twenty Five is a fairly well put collection for die hard George Michael fans, as well as die hard fans of his Wham era. Although I wish it could've highlighted more, I still recommend this as a great addition to your music library, and that is everything you want.

Album Cover: B+

Songs: B

Price: B 1/2-

Remastering: B+

Overall: B

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GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT

THIS IS A GOOD CD HOWEVER SOME OF THE GREATS ARE MISSING. WHERE IS I WANT YOUR SEX, MONKEY AND HARD DAY?? IT IS GOOD TO HAVE THE EXTENDED VERSION OF EVERYTHING SHE WANTS AS WELL AS LAST CHRISTMAS.

STILL, RELEASE ALL THE HITS NOT JUST A FEW!! THE MAJORITY OF THESE SONGS I COULD DO WITHOUT!!

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4

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