Welcome back George Michael

I made what I feel is a magnificent musical discovery on the weekend… I discovered that George Michael has released a new album, and he has done so with a symphony orchestra.   I sat and listened to it in awe much of Sunday, impressed at the quality and tone of his music.  It took me back to the albums I consider some of his best… the album Listen Without Prejudice! There was no sign of the nightclub pop he produced in the years after.  This album was elegant through and through.  It made me want to declare “welcome back George Michael!”… if I may!

The album is called Symphonica, and it debuted worldwide just two weeks ago, ten years after he released his last LP, Patience.  It opened at number one in the UK, the seventh time at the top of his home-country’s charts, beating out our own Kylie Minogue for the top spot.  It is the first time Michael has put out an album that was recorded mostly live, recorded during his 2011-2012 tour with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

For a musician I have followed since the Wham! days, this is a pleasant maturation of his style, that will certainly appeal to his now older fan base.

George Michael had has a tough couple of years, falling incredibly ill with pneumonia that led to him having a tracheotomy  a few years back, and then last year he fell from a moving vehicle, suffering some injury. He could certainly have given it all away…  Thankfully for us… he hasn’t.

For those who love him, this is not new material,  but it is sensational in its style.  I have popped in a clip below of him on Youtube performing Roxanne (by Sting).

But music is a very personal thing… so tell me… did you every enjoy the music of George Michael?  Have you heard the new album Symphonica?  What do you think?