George Michael’s Symphonica (Amazon Ad) will be available in the United States on March 18, 2014, one day later than in the United Kingdom. It is being released on the Island label and is currently $15.45 on Amazon.
Symphonica is available on Amazon (see link above) and is also available as an import:
George Michael announced Monday that his sixth solo album, Symphonica (Amazon Ad), will be released on March 17, 2014, by Virgin EMI/Universal Music Group.
Symphonica will be released as a standard 14-track CD, digital download and pure audio Blu-Ray, as well as a hardback deluxe 17-track CD edition.
Here is the track listing for the deluxe version:
1. Through
2. My Baby Just Cares for Me
3. A Different Corner
4. Praying for Time
5. Let Her Down Easy
6. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
7. Feeling Good
8. John and Elvis Are Dead
9. Roxanne
10. One More Try
11. Going to a Town
12. Cowboys and Angels
13. Idol
14. Brother Can You Spare a Dime
15. You Have Been Loved
16. Wild is the Wind
17. You’ve Changed
Fans can download the gift of “Praying For Time” from Symphonica for free on his official website via Facebook.
The Symphonica CD & Print Bundle can be pre-ordered on GeorgeMichael.com
All UK Customers that pre-order through the GeorgeMichael.com store will automatically be entered for a chance to win entry at a special screening of the Symphonica documentary.
Symphonica (Amazon Ad) was produced by George Michael and Phil Ramone, who died in March. Ramone died of a brain aneurysm in March 2013, so this will mark the last of his work to be released.
George Michael recorded the album during the 2011-2012 Symphonica tour that was interrupted when he contracted life-threatening pneumonia.
Jazz Summers, a former Wham! manager along with Simon Napier Bell, has a new book entitled Big Life (Amazon Ad).
The Daily Mail has an excerpt of the book, which details how Summers made the “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” video shoot look bigger than it was and how George Michael usually only responded to the name “Yog” when drunk.
George Michael has an interview with Wales Online. Here is a recap:
On the Symphonica Tour
“And my audiences are just so amazing now, they really are. I can sort of feel their love and gratitude when I’m on stage and I think that comes from them having so many of their life experiences attached to my music over the years.”
“One of the ways they’ve (his fans) shown their appreciation to me on this tour is by being so patient with the songs I’m performing. I’m sure there have been numbers that they’ve never heard of, or the occasional jazz standard or whatever, but they’ve just seemed totally prepared to go on this musical journey with me. I think that really shows the level of fans that I have.”
On the Pneumonia and Coma
“What I do remember, though, was feeling this terrible, terrible guilt and pity for what my family, friends and my new partner had to see me go through,” he admits.
“They literally spent two or three weeks not knowing if I was going to make it, and if that had happened to me in reverse – if it had been one of my sisters fighting for her life – well I know I’d have been absolutely devastated.
“For my part, though, I didn’t realise the danger I was in until after it was all over.”
On “White Light” and the New Album
“It’s really a celebration of my coming through pneumonia last year,” he says of his new single. “Pretty much everything I do is autobiographical, and in this case, having come close to death, I knew something good musically would come out of it. A lot of people were expecting me to write a ballad, but I wanted something uplifting and positive, hence the dance track.”
George says the new album is “going very well”.
“I’d say this album lies somewhere between Faith and Older in terms of content and it’s probably the most radio-friendly album I’ve made in a long, long time. It’s pretty upbeat and I’m sure that my fans will like it, although I’ll be waiting for them to let me know which tracks they think will be the potential classics. I haven’t settled on a title yet, so watch this space. I think it’ll be out early next year.”
On Success
“I don’t know how it happened, I really don’t. But I’m still here and my new single really kind of says I’m not ready to go anywhere. In my business, success is something that can sort of slip away from people after a while. And not just success but also the inspiration and the self-doubt that’s needed to keep you trying to do better.”
“For me there’s always this possibility that you’ve lost something that you’re not aware of. And that’s exciting, you know. Because the day that I’m not worried anymore is the day that I should stop. I think if you’re complacent about your talent then it can definitely drift. That’s much less likely to happen if you realise what a privilege it is to be talented and successful in this business.”
George Michael’s 
Jazz Summers, a former Wham! manager along with Simon Napier Bell, has a new book entitled 
(Amazon Ad) in 2006.
