Wham!
The Final

(INTRODUCTION: This time I decided to review an album that is “different” from those I usually review.

If I hadn't come across this “Greatest Hits” as a child, I would have only listened to their big hits, a big mistake.)

The Wham!, formed by the much-celebrated George Michael, and “the other of Wham!”, or simply, George Michael's sidekick (we're talking about Andrew Ridgley), have dominated the airwaves across half the world thanks to the musical genre that was most fashionable in the 80s: Synth Pop.

The British duo was from the outset configured as a group for teenagers, primarily with Michael presenting himself in a sensual manner and aligned with the fashion of those years, attracting a multitude of screaming girls. Musically speaking, they only managed to imitate Duran Duran and Tears For Fears; despite this, Michael showcased excellent vocal skills, drawing inspiration (even in lifestyle) from Freddie Mercury, while his composing duties lagged behind. Ridgley, one of those classic “hugely famous unknowns”, was actually a decent guitarist, but his talents were overshadowed by unambitious songs and Michael's overwhelming presence.

Throughout their career, they collected songs that topped charts worldwide, and the best of the Michael-Ridgley duo has been compiled into several collections, including “The Final,” the album I am about to review, which marked a part of my musical childhood.

Those were the years of the first CD players, and after buying our Hi-Fi with a CD and vinyl player (still alive and kicking), we borrowed this album; I fondly remember the times I listened to the carefree songs of this album, and since I was too young to understand any English, I didn't dwell on the very banal lyrics of the duo in question, but on the rhythm.

The Wham!, though damn garish and commercial, are decidedly catchy, suitable for every taste, and although today I listen to quite different music, I occasionally indulge in listening to them again.

Even though the average listener might dwell on the super popular Last Christmas, Careless Whisper, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, and Club Tropicana (songs that even my grandmother might know), there are still some tracks that manage to stand out from the chaos of Synth Pop music that was around in those years, even finding songs longer than six minutes!!!

Among these, Wham! Rap (Enjoy What You Do) and Everything She Wants (Remix) are certainly the band’s most original tracks, along with Battlestation, a decent surrogate of pure dance and electronics; going back to the two former tracks, the first is an interesting foray into the Rap genre (just as the title suggests), the second (remixed on the occasion) is one of the most successful songs of the British duo, which Michael would later perform in his solo live shows.

Also worth mentioning is Michael's “first” Freedom (yes, he made one even in the Wham! days), The Edge Of Heaven, and the melancholy Where Did You Heart Go.

But perhaps the zenith of the collection is reached by a track that isn’t even by Wham! themselves, but by Michael alone: A Different Corner is a ballad with an almost “panting” rhythm that stands apart, thematically, from the youthful and carefree songs previously composed, with Michael's voice reaching surprising depths of anguish.

In conclusion, we are faced with the collection of a group that made the history of music for radio stations, but which, outside of their meager compositional abilities, is a decidedly enjoyable album to rediscover.

An evergreen. But I can't give it more than 3/5.