The two reviewers of George Michael’s Manchester concert didn’t see things the same way.

Manchester Evening News writes:

The full orchestra provides a spectacular backdrop to the show, and breathes a sparkling new level of seduction to old George classics.

Eighties favourites Father Figure and Different Corner are sensual singalongs while the likes of Cowboys and Angels and Kissing a Fool were made for this sort of symphonic treatment – it’s truly spine-tingling stuff.

It’s super-stylish too, a sleek black circular set, with our Gorgeous George at the heart of it all in sharp black suit and Tom Ford specs.

… Too many magic moments to mention, this tour proves 49-year-old George is back, and boy he means business.

The Guardian writes:

However, the covers are as hit and miss as his driving. Rufus Wainwright’s gay persecution lament Going to a Town is ethereally beautiful as is David Bowie’s Wild Is the Wind, before its unfortunate funk detour, but the vocoder version of New Order’s True Faith (“about addiction”) damages Michael’s vocals far more than his tracheotomy might have.

At 49, he seems to be struggling to recover the once uncanny ability to deliver what his public wants. There aren’t too many screams of excitement when he opts for big band standards and a cocktail jazz version of the Police’s well-worn Roxanne over Faith or Careless Whisper.