Jesus Loves You
The Martyr Mantras

Having a broken heart. It feels bad, yes. But what a great inspiration for writing, letting oneself be inspired, singing.

Boy George, fully immersed in the Acid/Deep House trip, between 1991 and 1992, took refuge in the dance project Jesus Loves You, hiding behind the pseudonym Angela Dust, supported by the newborn label (also owned by him) More Protein (nothing to do with Dr. Dukan, come on, laugh).

Jon Moss, lover and partner in the Culture Club, was an obsession for Gorge for an indefinite time. After they parted ways, they figured that they shouldn’t let their artistic separation follow, so much so that the leading single, "After The Love," was composed together.

Is the theme of love perhaps redundant in the album? You decide: "Generations Of Love," "Love's Gonna Let You Down," "After The Love," "Love Hurts," "Too Much Love," "Siempre Te Amare," and that’s not all: "One And One" and the magnificent "I Specialize In Loneliness," guess what they are about? Oh yes.

The only non-rosy parentheses are yet another remix of "No Clause 28" (crusade against Thatcher's intolerance towards gays note) and the philosophical-religious "Bow Down Mister," which George gave birth to after embracing the Hare Krishna movement. It's the only non-dance episode of the project besides the slow, the already mentioned "I Specialize In Loneliness."

I point out the album because it’s clean. Although the rhythm is repetitive (or rather: it doesn't stray much from the guideline), the songs flow by, dragging the listener along. Even the least attentive ones. The sound is filled with the maturity that the dance scene was trying to acquire in the early '90s, trying to shake off the banality of "Run To Me" and "Easy Lady."

The batch of remixers, to make the demos plausible or in any case the rather sparse original versions, is spot on and varied: the guarantee of Paul Oakenfold for the opening entrusted to "Generations Of Love" (second single), Pascal Gabriel for the revival of "No Clause 28," and so on.

Paradoxically, it was the sappy "Bow Down Mister" that would break the charts, thus giving breath to the entire project, which otherwise found good air only in clubs.

You ask: why buy such a thing? Because here, Boy George breaks free of the chains. Try it to believe it: "I Specialize In Loneliness" is heart-wrenching, allowing no room for compromises or frills. Resignation, my friend.

George becomes menacing in "One And One," and bursts with irony in "Love's Gonna Let You Down," only to become serious in "Siempre Te Amare" or pensive in "Too Much Love." Instead, "Love Hurts" is playful, doubling as an a-side with "Bow Down Mister."

And that’s it. The pre and post-Jesus Loves You Boy George has always bored the author. Lukewarm, neither fish nor fowl. But here, shockingly. Here, we make a breakthrough.

Jesus Loves You, even if in America they weren't sure about it and released the work under Boy George, see cover, at most feat. Jesus Loves You, just in case.