Symphonica Is Number 1

George Michael is tweeting for the first time in more than a month, and this time it’s about the worldwide success of Symphonica. The new CD with vocals from the Symphonica tour was released this week.

 

Excellent Reviews for George Michael’s Symphonica

The reviews for George Michael’s Symphonica are coming in, and most of them are good.

The Daily Mail gives Symphonica 4 out of 5 stars with the following verdict: poignant and polished.

As befits a man of 50, this record is more refined. With elegant strings and horns adding colour without being intrusive, it places the onus firmly on a smooth, expressive voice that is still in magnificent fettle.

The Telegraph gives Symphonica 4 out of 5 stars as well, saying:

An unadventurous set list reworks some of his most thoughtful and sombre songs with a selection of classic covers, all given a lush production gloss by the late Phil Ramone. What lifts it to a higher plane is Michael’s smooth and expressive singing. He has gorgeous tone and timbre and an instinct for when to introduce a breathy intimacy and when to raise the roof.

The Associated Press headline raves: ‘Symphonica’ Review: George Michael Is As Good As Ever,” saying:

Michael avoids a number of traps on this album, which was produced by the late Phil Ramone, who also teamed with the singer in 1999 on “Songs From the Last Century.” Michael deserves credit for moving deftly into big band and orchestral territory without in any way trying to imitate the master, Frank Sinatra, or taking on the vocal tics of the many other artists who have turned to American standards as a mid-career tonic. The style and phrasings are all his own, confident and understated, and the sparse arrangements allow ample room for his hypnotic voice to soar. By instinct, he shies way from self-dramatizing vocal pyrotechnics, letting the melodies and lyrics carry the day.

 Rolling Stone gives Symphonica 3 out of 5 stars, saying:

Mr. Explore Monogamy lounges it up on “One More Try” and “Praying for Time”; best of all is when he torches up the Wham!-era oldie “A Different Corner,” giving it a touch of autumnal wisdom.

The negative reviews are coming from the U.S., which is not surprising.

The Washington Post has one of the most negative reviews, saying:

Song selection also plagues Michael’s “Symphonica,” which is an unaccountably strange creature — a not-entirely-live collection of covers and little-known originals, many of them drawn from his 1999 release, “Songs From the Last Century.” The last album produced by the legendary Phil Ramone before his death last year, “Symphonica” appears to have undergone more than the standard amount of studio sweetening, with Michael’s 2012 orchestral tour serving as a foundation.

 The New York Daily News has another negative review with a 2 star rating:

George Michael hasn’t put out a new album in seven years — and he hasn’t issued one with a spark of vim or an ounce of vigor in more than 20.

The San Francisco Gate has some positive and negative points, saying:

Let’s not get too excited about “Symphonica,” the first new George Michael album in seven years, because the live recording is made up of well-worn material.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 16

Amazon Ad

Today is Day 16 of 17 Days of Symphonica. The new George Michael CD will be released in the U.K. tomorrow and in the U.S. on Tuesday.

George Michael’s official Facebook page is celebrating the release of Symphonica (Paid Link) by posting a video a day until March 17, 2014.

“One Day to Go” proclaims the clip today, which is again a compilation of previous clips. The songs featured today are “Praying for Time,” “You Have Been Loved,” and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime.”

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 15

Amazon Ad

“Two Days to Go” is the theme of today’s 17 Days of Symphonica. Unlike the rest of the clips, today’s video is a compilation of previous videos. Today, we see parts of “A Different Corner,” “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” and “John and Elvis Are Dead.”

George Michael’s official Facebook page is celebrating the release of Symphonica (Paid Link) on March 17. Each day in March until the release date, the official George Michael Facebook page will be previewing tracks from the forthcoming album.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 13

Amazon Ad

Day 13 of 17 Days of Symphonica brings us “Through,” a George Michael original from the Patience CD. We’re nearing the end of 17 Days of Symphonica, a celebration of the music of George Michael’s Symphonica on George Michael’s official Facebook page.

The clip for “Through” has George Michael backstage and in concert, as well as a series of “serious” photos of George Michael, ending with a smiling, not posed photo.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 11

Amazon Ad

It’s already day 11 of the 17 Days of Symphonica, the celebration of George Michael’s new CD.  The song for today is “Let Her Down Easy,” originally a Terence Trent D’Arby song.

Today’s clip of “Let Her Down Easy” is a departure from past clips.  It is just clips from the music video along with concert footage of George Michael during the Symphonica tour.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 10

Amazon Ad

It’s day ten of 17 Days of Symphonica, and today’s song is “Cowboys and Angels,” which was on George Michael’s Listen Without Prejudice.

Until March 17, the release date for Symphonica (Paid Link), George Michael’s official Facebook page is showing clips of concert footage and the making of Symphonica.

“Cowboys and Angels” once again shows concert footage and photos from the Symphonica tour of George Michael smiling.  It also has photos of George in the studio.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 8

Amazon Ad

“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime” is the song of the day during the eighth day of 17 Days of Symphonica (Paid Link). George Michael’s official Facebook page is showing a new clip each day until the release of Symphonica on March 17.

Today’s clip is devoted to concert footage of “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime” during the Symphonica tour. “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime” is from Songs from the Last Century, and this version has a different feel than the CD version.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 6

Amazon Ad

It’s eleven days until the release of Symphonica, George Michael’s new CD.  On day six, we have “Praying for Time,” originally from the Listen Without Prejudice CD in 1990, as the sample clip of Symphonica (Paid Link) from George Michael’s official Facebook page.

“Praying for Time” includes the new lyrics: “I sang 20 years and a day. Nothing changed. The human race found some other god and walked into the flames.” Today’s clip is primarily photos and video footage from the Symphonica tour.

George Michael Misses Symphonica Playback

Although George Michael didn’t show up for the playback of Symphonica at Hamilton’s Gallery in Mayfair yesterday, there were still plenty of articles about the event and the new CD.

George Michael’s PR company is calling the exhibition of photographs taken by his long-term collaborator, Caroline True, and the playback of the album, A Four-Day Celebration.

The Daily Mirror focused on David Austin’s comment that George has quit cannabis: “He has not smoked dope for over a year and a half now. It has completely changed his life.” He also mentioned George’s accident on the M1 last year: “That was just an unfortunate accident – that is all that was.”

The Guardian’s article George Michael’s Symphonica: five things we learned looked at the music:

Billed as his sixth studio album and the follow-up to 2004’s Patience, Symphonica is basically a slightly confused live album. On the one hand we learn that the string arrangements were recorded in a studio, and there are photos of Michael in a studio environment working on the album with the legendary producer Phil Ramone, but on the other we’re told that live vocals from each of the shows on the tour were sent over to Ramone who then selected the best ones and arranged the songs from there.

The Times only gave Symphonica 3 out of 5 stars, saying, “And his new album, his first since 2004’s Patience, is not really a new album at all.”

The Daily Mail has the photographs of all the celebrities attending the event, with the main focus on Hannah Janes, the model in the “Let Her Down Easy” video. Other photos include Jack, George’s father, and Shirlie Kemp.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 5

Amazon Ad

It’s day five of 17 Days of Symphonica, and today’s song is “Wild Is the Wind,” which was on George Michael’s 1999 release Songs from the Last Century.

Until March 17, the release date for Symphonica (Paid Link), George Michael’s official Facebook page is showing clips of concert footage and the making of Symphonica.

“Wild Is the Wind” once again shows concert footage and photos from the Symphonica tour as well as George backstage.  It also has photos of George with the orchestra both on tour and in the studio.

George Michael Symphonica CD and Future Music

Some lucky people have already heard George Michael’s Symphonica.  It has been given its first public airing.

Speaking at the playback, the album’s executive producer David Austin said: “George contracted pneumonia and when he came back and did that run of shows… we ended up getting the whole album from maybe just those three nights… there was that energy.”

George is also working on a new studio album, according to Universal Music UK boss David Joseph.

He told MusicWeek: “Right now his absolute compete attention and focus is … on that next studio record.

“I’ve heard bits and pieces… it is stunning. It is brilliant. There is one song in particular that I’ve heard that is beyond exceptional.”

He added: “I think the global anticipation for a totally new collection is going to be enormous. Whether that’s 10, 11 or 12 years after the last one, I don’t really mind, because I know he won’t even entertain the thought of release until it’s perfect.”

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 4

Amazon Ad

The George Michael Symphonica (Paid Link) song for the day is “Idol,” a song originally from Elton John’s Blue Moves album and written by Bernie Taupin.This is the fourth day of 17 Days of Symphonica, a promotion of video clips on George Michael’s official Facebook page for Symphonica.

The clip for “Idol” has a series of photos, some color and some black and white. There are many photos and video of George recording in the studio as well as a video clip of George with his boyfriend Fadi Fawaz.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 3

Symphonica

Paid Link

“My Baby Just Cares for Me” is the song of the day for the third day of 17 Days of Symphonica. George Michael’s official Facebook page is promoting the release of Symphonica (Paid Link) by posting a video a day until March 17, the day Symphonica will be released.

Today’s clip has what seems to be a much longer video clip (compared to previous days) of George singing and dancing to “My Baby Just Cares for Me” during the Symphonica tour. There is also a new photo as well as a small clip from the studio.

17 Days of George Michael’s Symphonica – Day 2

George Michael Symphonica
Amazon Ad

Today is day 2 of 17 Days of Symphonica. George Michael’s official Facebook page is celebrating the release of Symphonica (Paid Link) by posting a video a day until the release date of March 17 in the U.K.

Day 2 is a video for “A Different Corner.”  It includes clips of George performing “A Different Corner” during the Symphonica tour, as well as a few newer photos.