Monday, August 30, 2010

partially restored faith

Finally! The tracklisting for the deluxe edition of "Faith", George Michael's amazing, debut longplayer has been revealed. If it is to be believed that this is the final rundown, mama is simultaneous thrilled and disgusted.

First, the good news. The expanded edition of "Faith" will be available in various price points. Something for every wallet or handbag. Whichever applies, ladies. There's the super pricey big box o' stuff at $147. There's a more manageable two CD configuration with a bonus DVD. Lastly, there's a down and dirty two disc set for those that only want to be aurally stimulated.

More good news. B-sides and remixes! A few curiosities, as well.

Not sure why "Fantasy", originally the b-side of "Freedom! '90" and "Waiting For That Day" in the US and UK, respectively. Same goes for "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)" which made its first appearance on the b-side of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", are included. These aren't "Faith" era releases.

Nice to have GM's live cover of Stevie Wonder's "Love's In Need Of Love Today" which was tucked away on the b-side of the 12" single for "Father Figure".

Great to see the remixes of "Monkey" finally get issued on a CD. They only ever featured on the original CD single way back in 1988. Glad to have the instrumentals of "Faith" and "Kissing A Fool" which were released as b-sides.

However, I am furious at the glaring omission of the single version of "I Want Your Sex", otherwise known as "I Want Your Sex (Rhythm 1 Lust)" which was the a-side of the original 7" single. This burns my ass. With only a paltry nine tracks on the second disc, surely they could've included the single version of it. To this day, it is only available on the soundtrack to "Beverly Hills Cop II".

Here is the full tracklisting for the newly remastered "Faith".

CD 1

Original album:

1. Faith
2. Father Figure
3. I Want Your Sex (Parts I & II]
4. One More Try
5. Hard Day
6. Hand To Mouth
7. Look At Your Hands
8. Monkey
9. Kissing A Fool
10. A Last Request (I Want Your Sex, Part III)

CD 2

Remixes, rarities and b-sides:

1. Faith (Instrumental)
2. Fantasy
3. Hard Day (Shep Pettibone Mix)
4. I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)
5. Kissing A Fool (Instrumental)
6. Love's In Need Of Love Today
7. Monkey (7" Edit)
8. Monkey (A Cappella)
9. Monkey (Jam And Lewis Remix)

3 comments:

  1. FINALLY, "Faith" has been remastered. The better sound and higher fidelity are most welcome; long overdue. A classic. And the compositions are still sounding very, very fresh today; let's hope I'll still say so after hearing the remastering.
    Take care,
    Michael

    PS: Did you see him on his "25 Live" tour? We couldn't believe all that dope over the years hadn't done a Whitney-esque number on his vocal chords; he hit every note, and let's face it: A lot of those songs are not for the faint-of-voice.

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  2. So, the recent brush with the law out of the way now, is it time to revisit this release? Surely it's time now? They could also review disc 2 and add some more goodies.

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