Szerkesztő:Kriszta67/Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1

George Michael Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
nagylemez
Megjelent	1990. szeptember 3.
Felvételek	1988. december–1990. július
Stílus	pop, rock, R&B
Hossz	48:13
Kiadó	Columbia, Epic
Producer	George Michael
Kritikák
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic link Robert Christgau (C+) link Entertainment Weekly (B-) link James Hunter, Rolling Stone link
George Michael-kronológia
Faith (1987) Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990) Older (1996)
Kislemezek az albumról
Praying for Time Megjelent: 1990. augusztus 13. Waiting for That Day Megjelent: 1990. október 15. Freedom! '90 Megjelent: 1990. december 15. Heal the Pain Megjelent: 1991. február 4. Cowboys and Angels Megjelent: 1991. március 18.
Sablon • Wikidata • Segítség

Az 1990-es Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 George Michael második nagylemeze. A Faith nemzetközi sikere után ez az album indetitászavarban találtam Michaelt, aki megpróbálta a komoly művész képét kialakítani, aki azonban képes eladni magát. Az album címe azon vágyára utal, hogy komolyabban vegyék. A lemez végül nem érte el a várt sikert. Ennek ellenére szerepel az 1001 lemez, amit hallanod kell, mielőtt meghalsz című könyvben.

Ez volt az utolsó lemez Michaeltől, amelyen teljesen új anyaggal dolgozott, egészen a 2004-es Patience-ig. Az album sikertelensége vezetett Michael jogi harcáig a Sony Music-kal, amelyet azzal vádolt, hogy nem támogatták kellőképpen mint művészt.

Angol wikin:

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is the second solo album from British pop star George Michael (on this album, it is spelled as George Michæl), released in September 1990. Following the massive worldwide commercial success of his first album Faith, this release found Michael awash in an identity crisis, and a sudden and desperate bid to quickly create a new image for himself as a serious-minded artist, while still generating sales. Seemingly torn at first between his previous role as the camera-friendly media darling and his new role as abhorrer of all things visual, the album's title indicated his desire to be taken more seriously (although cameras were sometimes allowed into the recording studio, the results ending up on an MTV Rockumentary soon afterward). The album was deemed by many as a reverse-psychological tactic to generate renewed interest from an ever larger (and more adult) fan base, but ended up a commercial disappointment compared to Michael's track record to date.

A Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 című album George Michael brit pop énekes másidik szólóalbuma, amely 1990 szeptemberében jelent meg. Első szólóalbuma, a Faith világszerte hatalmas sikert ért el. A Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 identitászavarban találta az énekest,

The album was Michael's final album of all-new material on Columbia Records until 2004's Patience. It was the album's disappointing sales in the U.S. that led to Michael's legal battles against Sony Music, in which he accused the corporation of not fully supporting him as an artist.

Története

After the massive success of Michael's 1987 Faith album, the expectations for his follow-up album were also high. In September 1990, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 was released to mixed reviews (with the more dance-oriented Vol. 2 ostensibly scheduled to follow in June 1991). The album was a stark departure from the previous LP, with largely acoustic instrumentation and a sombre intensity in many of the lyrics and melodies.

George Michael wanted to be taken more seriously as a songwriter, which resulted in a more thoughtful, often moody recording. The album peaked at number two on the U.S. 'Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The first single released from the album was Praying for Time, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single "Freedom '90" reached No. 8 in the U.S., and in early Spring 1991, "Waiting for That Day" peaked at No. 27 in the U.S. "Mother's Pride" achieved Top 40 success outside the U.S., but received considerable airplay in the States during the Gulf War, despite its not being released as a single.

Even though the album sold 8 million copies worldwide, it was viewed as a commercial disappointment in the U.S., with barely 1 million in sales, compared to the multi-platinum success of Faith in the U.S. alone.

The album is largely devoted to ballads and folk-styled rock songs, although there are a few dance tracks like "Freedom" and "Soul Free." There was also a remix of "Freedom" that incorporated elements of Soul II Soul's "Back to Life," which was released as a twelve-inch single and received a good deal of club play. Like Faith, each track was produced and arranged by Michael himself.

Michael refused to appear in many of the singles' videos for this album. Accordingly, the video for "Praying for Time" consists of the lyrics projected onto a dark background, while the video for "Freedom" featured several supermodels lip-syncing its lyrics. Directed by David Fincher, who directed Madonna's "Vogue" video, it featured the destruction by fire and explosions several icons from Michael's recent Faith period.

The follow-up album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2 was scrapped for reasons known only to Michael and his record company, possibly because of Michael's legal battle with Sony Music Entertainment. Three of the tracks intended for that album appear on the AIDS-benefit album Red Hot + Dance, while a fourth ("Crazyman Dance") turned up on the B-side of that album's first single "Too Funky."

Fogadtatása

Sablon:Album ratings The album sold approximately eight million copies, a disappointing number compared to the 25 million copies of Faith. Sales were particularly poor in the United States, where Faith had been the best-selling album of 1988. At two million copies sold, Listen Without Prejudice was a commercial disappointment for such a successful artist. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 22 and finally reached number two, blocked from the top by MC Hammer's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em. The album spent the rest of 1990 in the top ten, with a total of 42 weeks in the entire chart—fewer than half the 87 weeks spent by Faith.

In the UK, the album was a huge success, eclipsing sales of Faith. Listen Without Prejudice debuted there at number one, where it remained for a week. It was at number two for the following two weeks. It spent 34 consecutive weeks in the Top 20, and jumped from number 13 to number three in its 24th week. It spent a total of 88 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, and was certified platinum four times by the BPI on 2 January 1992.

The album produced five U.K. hit singles, all of which were released in quick succession, within an eight month period. These were "Praying for Time" (which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart—his final number one hit as a solo artist), "Waiting for That Day," "Cowboys and Angels," "Freedom," and "Heal the Pain."

The album won the Best British Album award at the 1991 BRIT Awards.

Kislemezek

The second single, "Waiting for That Day", was released a month after the album's release. Due to the song's similarity to the Rolling Stones' hit "You Can't Always Get What You Want", co-writer credits were given to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It reached the top 40 in the British and American charts. The single's B-side, "Mother's Pride" was an American airplay success when it peaked at number 46 on airplay-only chart in March 1991.

Az album első kislemeze, a Praying for Time Michael szerzeménye. A Billboard slágerlistán az 1. helyen végzett, az Egyesült Királyságban 1990 nyarán benne volt a Top 10-ben. A Billboard Top 40 listán 40 hétig maradt fent és az énekes utolsó No. 1. szóló kislemeze volt Amerikában.

A második kislemez, a Waiting for That Day egy hónappal az album után jelent meg.

The third album single, Freedom! '90, written by Michael, became one the Michael's signature songs. It was the only single supported by a music video. "Freedom! '90" was directed by David Fincher, and featured supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, and Cindy Crawford lip syncing. It was a great success in the U.S. charts, reaching the top ten and selling more than 500,000 copies, while earning a gold certification from the RIAA. It was the last song from the album to reach the charts in the United States. However, it was less popular in Michael's homeland when it reached the top 40 in 1991.

The next single, Heal the Pain, also written by Michael, is a contemplative, acoustic guitar-based love song. It was the fourth of five singles from the album. It entered the U.K. chart in February 1991 and peaked at number 31, but it did not chart in the U.S. The fifth and last single from the album, "Cowboys and Angels", became the only single released by Michael in his career that did not reach the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at number 45. The song's low sales figures were not a surprise as it was the last single to be released from the album. Each single had finished lower than its predecessor and Cowboys and Angels continued the descent.

Legmagasabb helyezések

1. "Praying for Time": (13 August 1990) UK number 6, US number 1 (1 week)
2. "Waiting for That Day": (15 October 1990) UK number 23, US number 27
3. "Mother's Pride": (B-side of "Waiting for That Day", charted in the US as an airplay-only hit) US number 46
4. "Freedom! '90": (15 December 1990) UK number 28, US number 8
5. "Heal the Pain": (4 February 1991) UK number 31
6. "Cowboys and Angels": (18 March 1991) UK number 45

Album notes

• The track "Mother's Pride" was played often on U.S. radio stations during the first months of the Gulf War in 1991. Programmers took telephone calls from soldiers' loved ones and mixed their greetings into the song as tributes, along with other patriotic sound bites.

• George Michael's cover of "They Won't Go When I Go" by Stevie Wonder shows his dynamic range and soul-influenced vocal style. It was recorded live at the Nelson Mandela Birthday Tribute in early 1988, but all crowd noise was removed, and vocal overdubs were added to the final mix in post-production.

• The track "Waiting for That Day/You Can't Always Get What You Want" includes a sample of James Brown's "Funky Drummer" drum break, which was also used in "Freedom! '90". Heretofore regarded as a hip-hop technique, this was deemed unorthodox for a pop song. The song's reprise at the end of the album, "Waiting (Reprise)", also includes lyrics from The Rolling Stones' classic "You Can't Always Get What You Want".

• The album cover image is a cropped section of the 1940 photograph Crowd at Coney Island by Weegee.

Az album dalai

	Cím	Szerző(k)	Hossz
1.	Praying for Time	George Michael	4:41
2.	Freedom! '90	Michael	6:30
3.	They Won't Go When I Go	Stevie Wonder, Yvonne Wright	5:06
4.	Something to Save	Michael	3:18
5.	Cowboys and Angels	Michael	7:15
6.	Waiting for That Day	Mick Jagger, Michael, Keith Richards	4:49
7.	Mother's Pride	Michael	3:59
8.	Heal the Pain	Michael	4:41
9.	Soul Free	Michael	5:29
10.	Waiting (Reprise)	Michael	2:25

Közreműködők

• producer, ének – George Michael
• keverés, hangmérnök – Chris Porter
• dob, ütőhangszerek – George Michael, Danny Cummings, Ian Thomas
• basszusgitár – George Michael, Deon Estus
• gitár – George Michael, Phil Palmer
• billentyűk – Chris Cameron, George Michael, Anthony Patler
• zongora – Chris Cameron
• szaxofon – Andy Hamilton
• fúvósok hangszerelése – Chris Cameron, George Michael

Helyezések és minősítések

Helyezések Slágerlista (1991) Legmagasabb helyezés Ausztrália ARIA album listája 2 Ausztria Top 40 album lista 5 Kanada Top album lista 6 Hollandia album listája 2 Franciaország album listája 2 Németország album listája 7 Magyarország MAHASZ album lista 23 Japán album listája 3 Új-Zéland album listája 2 Norvégia album listája 4 Spanyolország album listája 2 Svédország album listája 3 Svájc album listája 3 Egyesült Királyság album listája 1 Amerikai Egyesült Államok Billboard 200 lista 2

Minősítések Ország Minősítés Ausztria IFPI aranylemez Brazília aranylemez Kanada 2× platinalemez Franciaország platinalemez Németország aranylemez Hollandia platinalemez Spanyolország platinalemez Svájc platinalemez Egyesült Királyság 4× platinalemez Amerikai Egyesült Államok 2× platinalemez