Older is the album that many observers initially believed Listen Without Prejudice, Vol.
1 to be -- a relentlessly serious affair, George Michael's bid for artistic credibility.
It's an album that makes Listen Without Prejudice sound like Faith.
Michael has dispensed with the catchy, frothy dance-pop numbers that brought him fame, concentrating on stately, pretentious ballads -- even "Fastlove," the album's one dance track, lacks the carefree spark of his earlier work.
Although Michael's skills as a pop craftsman still shine through -- several songs are well-constructed ballads that rank with his best material -- his earnestness sinks the album.
It is one thing to be mature and another to be boring.
Too often, Michael mistakes slight melodies for mature craftsmanship and Older never quite recovers.
When melodies do pop up, he doesn't deliver them with enough force to make an impact, and the album slowly disappears as a result.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesus to a ChildGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 06:51 | 15 MB | 44 MB |
| 2 | FastloveGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 05:24 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 3 | OlderGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 4 | Spinning the WheelJon Douglas, George Michael | George Michael | Play | 06:21 | 14 MB | 43 MB |
| 5 | It Doesn't Really MatterGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | The Strangest ThingGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 06:00 | 13 MB | 41 MB |
| 7 | To Be ForgivenGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 05:21 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 8 | Move OnGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 9 | Star PeopleGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 10 | You Have Been LovedDavid Austin, George Michael | George Michael | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 11 | FreeGeorge Michael | George Michael | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 58 mins | 134 MB | |||||
| 58 mins | 392 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Austin | Composer, Keyboards |
| 2 | Peter B. | Cover Design |
| 3 | Peter Barrett | Design |
| 4 | Brad Branson | Cover Design, Cover Photo, Photography |
| 5 | Charlie Brocco | Engineer |
| 6 | Stuart Brooks | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 7 | Hugh Burns | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 8 | Chris Cameron | Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Piano, String Keyboard, Strings |
| 9 | David Clayton | Programming |
| 10 | Dave Clews | Keyboards |
| 11 | Chris Davis | Saxophone |
| 12 | Jon Douglas | Arranger, Composer, Drums, Keyboards, Producer |
| 13 | Niall Flynn | Studio Assistant |
| 14 | Andreas Georgiou | Cymbals |
| 15 | Pete Gleadall | Programming |
| 16 | Paul Gomersall | Engineer |
| 17 | Simon Halfon | Cover Design, Design, Sleeve Design |
| 18 | Andy Hamilton | Saxophone |
| 19 | Andy (Stewart) Hamilton | Saxophone |
| 20 | Danny Jacob | Guitar |
| 21 | Danny Jacobs | Guitar |
| 22 | Jo | Vocals |
| 23 | Nick Knight | Photography |
| 24 | Steve McNichol | Programming |
| 25 | Andrew McPherson | Photography |
| 26 | George Michael | Arranger, Composer, Cover Design, Design, Drums, Guitar (Bass), Instrumentation, Keyboards, Multi Instruments, Musician, Primary Artist, Producer, Programming, Sleeve Design |
| 27 | Chris Porter | Engineer |
| 28 | Alan Ross | Guitar |
| 29 | Steve Sidwell | Trumpet |
| 30 | Phil Smith | Saxophone |
| 31 | Philip Smith | Saxophone |
| 32 | Ren Swan | Engineer |
| 33 | John Themis | Guitar |
| 34 | John Thirkell | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 35 | Fayyaz Virji | Trombone |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |