George Michael
Older

THE REVIEW

Sooner or later, it seems everyone has to try it, the feeling of having - even thanks to signals not necessarily abrupt or traumatic - turned the page, closed with a past felt as suffocating and now alien; and turning towards a future laden with hopes and uncertainties, but above all towards a new, entirely novel way of perceiving reality and the very sense of one's existence, well, this leap can take place thanks to a dear presence as much as reaching a new shore or even to solitude itself, a valuable advisor often too neglected.

It seems George Michael knows something about this, as in the not so distant 1996, he shrugged off in one go, and definitively, the burdensome and decidedly out-of-place role of a teenage heartthrob. A purpose whose nobility and truth had already been confirmed by the warning with which the artist titled his middle effort, the splendid "Listen Without Prejudice" which, upon its release in 1990, surprised quite a bit the professionals of the Greek-origin artist's circle. Refined, engaging pop, far from being soppy ("Praying For Time"), fresh rhythms still capable of setting a standard ("Freedom '90", "Soul Free"), intense reinterpretations of forgotten gems (chilling "They Won't Go When I Go", the first in a long series of covers from Stevie Wonder), a dangerous inclination for atmospheric pop-jazz (immense "Cowboys And Angels") which shortly after would become the very chromosome of Michael's art - these are the cards revealed by a player on whom few would have bet, but whom time has definitely rewarded.

And in the wake of a recently archived personal event, "Older" (1996) takes shape, a not final but perhaps unmatched outcome of a difficult artistic-existential journey worthy of respect and admiration like few others. The man who whispers in these grooves certainly does not need to prove the maturity and intensity of his inspiration.
Just a simple listen to all the tracks composing the album would be enough to dispel any doubt: George Michael is a complete composer and performer, his lyrics dense and moving, his sense of melody a truly rare gift, his arrangements meticulous and never overwhelming. Who could point the finger at the sweet and soft opening symphony of "Jesus To A Child", a pop song that glides smoothly beyond six minutes without tiring, or the irresistible and hyper-arranged R&B of "Fastlove"?

Not to mention the smoky title track, a great pop-jazz piece that will envy nothing from the famous "Kissing A Fool", or the surprising slow-reggae of "Spinning The Wheel". The soft and syncopated litany of "It Doesn't Really Matter" opens up to tearings of disarmingly and ruthlessly self-analysis in the marvelous "The Strangest Thing", continuing with soft lights in the piano bar of "To Be Forgiven" and in the slightly more lively (and always extraordinarily jazzy) "Move On". The usual dig at the star system with the dance mood of "Star People" gives way to the tender farewell of "You Have Been Loved", where the melodic grace with which the album opened is found again - closing a virtually perfect circle.

And opening up to works like these is certainly not a task for titans: the emperor Michael's new outfit is that of humility, the same that will let us abandon ourselves to such a rare gift of beauty and sincerity.