Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
Greatest hits album by George Michael
Released 1 December 1998
Recorded 1984–1998
Genre Pop, dance-pop, pop rock
Length 147:25
Label Epic
Producer George Michael
George Michael chronology

Older
(1996)		 Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
(1998)		 Songs from the Last Century
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Jam! Showbiz [2]
MSN Music [3]
The Daily Vault A−[4]

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael is a greatest hits collection released by George Michael in 1998.

The collection of 28 songs (29 songs are included on the European and Australian release) are separated into two halves, with each CD of the double set containing music of a particular theme and mood. The first CD, titled "For the Heart", predominantly contains Michael's hit ballads, while the second CD, "For the Feet", comprises mostly his popular dance tunes.

Ladies & Gentlemen is notable for containing a large number of compilation tracks and duets that have not previously appeared on a George Michael album, including his US number-one duet with Aretha Franklin, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", previously available on Aretha Franklin's 1986 album Aretha; "Desafinado", the duet in Portuguese with Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto; and the Elton John duet "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", from John's 1993 album Duets.

Ladies & Gentlemen was released by Michael through Sony Music Entertainment as a condition of severing contractual ties with the label (Michael departed Sony with a great deal of acrimony and publicity prior to the release of Older in 1996). He would later return to Sony to release his 2004 album Patience, however singles from Older do appear on the album as well.

"Outside" was the first single from the album. The song was a humorous look at his arrest shortly before the release of the album for soliciting a policeman in a public restroom.

"As", Michael's duet with Mary J. Blige, was released as the second single in many territories around the world. It reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. The track was left off the North American release of the album. There were rumours that Blige's label was uncomfortable with Michael being gay, but this is contradicted by Blige's embracing of her large gay fan base.

"A Different Corner" was remixed for this compilation.

To date, the album has reached worldwide sales of approximately 15 million copies.[5]

"Waltz Away Dreaming", Michael's duet with Toby Bourke, was only available on the cassette and MiniDisc versions of the album.

Track listing

All songs written by George Michael except where indicated.

Disc 1: For the Heart

  1. "Jesus to a Child" – 6:49 (1995)
  2. "Father Figure" – 5:41 (1988)
  3. "Careless Whisper" (George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley) – 5:00 (1984)
  4. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (with Elton John) (Elton John, Bernie Taupin) – 5:47 (1991)
  5. "You Have Been Loved" (Michael, David Austin) – 5:28 (1997)
  6. "Kissing a Fool" – 4:36 (1988)
  7. "I Can't Make You Love Me" (James Allen Shamblin II, Mike Reid) – 5:20 (1997)
  8. "Heal the Pain" – 4:46 (1991)
  9. "A Moment with You" – 5:43 (1998)
  10. "Desafinado" (with Astrud Gilberto) (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Newton Mendonça) – 3:19 (1998)
  11. "Cowboys and Angels" – 7:14 (1991)
  12. "Praying for Time" – 4:41 (1990)
  13. "One More Try" – 5:53 (1988)
  14. "A Different Corner" (Remix) – 4:05 (1986)

Disc 2: For the Feet

European and Australian version

  1. "Outside" – 4:44 (1998)
  2. "As" (with Mary J. Blige) (Stevie Wonder) – 4:47 (1998)
  3. "Fastlove" – 5:31 (1996)
  4. "Too Funky" – 3:45 (1992)
  5. "Freedom '90" – 6:28 (1990)
  6. "Star People '97" – 5:39 (1997)
  7. "Killer/Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (Adam Tinley, Seal Henry Samuel, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong) – 4:16 (1993)
  8. "I Want Your Sex (Part II)" – 4:38 (1987)
  9. "The Strangest Thing '97" – 4:41 (1997)
  10. "Fantasy" – 5:02 (1991)
  11. "Spinning the Wheel" (Michael, Douglas) – 6:09 (1996)
  12. "Waiting for That Day" (Michael, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 4:50 (1990)
  13. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with Aretha Franklin) (Simon Climie, Dennis Morgan) – 3:58 (1986)
  14. "Faith" – 3:14 (1987)
  15. "Somebody to Love" (with Queen) (Freddie Mercury) – 5:23 (1992)

American and Canadian version

  1. "Outside" – 4:44 (1998)
  2. "Fastlove" – 5:31 (1996)
  3. "Too Funky" – 3:45 (1992)
  4. "Freedom '90" – 6:28 (1990)
  5. "Star People '97" – 5:39 (1997)
  6. "Killer/Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (Adam Tinley, Seal-Henry Samuel / Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong) – 4:16 (1993)
  7. "I Want Your Sex (Part II)" – 4:38 (1987)
  8. "Monkey" (George Michael) – 4:47 (1987)
  9. "Spinning the Wheel" (George Michael, Jon Douglas) – 6:09 (1996)
  10. "Waiting for That Day/You Can't Always Get What You Want" (George Michael, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 4:50 (1990)
  11. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with Aretha Franklin) (Simon Climie, Dennis Morgan) – 3:58 (1986)
  12. "Hard Day" – 3:43 (1987)
  13. "Faith" – 3:14 (1987)
  14. "Somebody to Love" (with Queen) (Freddie Mercury) – 5:23 (1992)

DVD release

A DVD release followed in 1999, featuring 23 music videos from Michael's career.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[6] 2
Austrian Albums Chart[6] 2
Belgian Flanders Albums Chart[6] 2
Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart[6] 3
Canadian Albums Chart[7] 10
Dutch Albums Chart[6] 2
Finnish Albums Chart[6] 5
French Compilations Chart[8] 1
German Albums Chart[9] 3
Hungarian Albums Chart[10] 1
Irish Albums Chart[11] 1
Japanese Albums Chart[12] 23
New Zealand Albums Chart[6] 3
Norwegian Albums Chart[6] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[13] 4
Swedish Albums Chart[6] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[6] 5
UK Albums Chart[14] 1
US Billboard 200[7] 24

Certifications

Country Certification
Argentina Gold[15]
Australia 6× Platinum[16]
Austria Platinum[17]
Belgium 2× Platinum[18]
Brazil Gold[19]
Canada 2× Platinum[20]
Europe 6× Platinum[21]
Finland Gold[22]
France 2× Platinum[23]
Germany 3× Gold (Platinum)[24]
Netherlands 2× Platinum[25]
New Zealand 4× Platinum[26]
Norway Platinum[27]
Poland Platinum[28]
Spain 2× Platinum[29]
Sweden Platinum[30]
Switzerland Platinum[31]
United Kingdom 7× Platinum[32]
United States 2× Platinum[33]

Preceded by
The Best of 1980–1990 by U2		 UK number-one album
15 November 1998 – 9 January 1999 		Succeeded by
I've Been Expecting You by Robbie Williams

See also

Ladies & Gentlemen: The Songs of George Michael, an album by Anthony Callea.

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Jam! Showbiz review
  3. ↑ MSN Music review
  4. ↑ The Daily Vault review
  5. ↑ hip online: artist: George Michael
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Peak positions. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Billboard albums. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  8. ↑ Compilation chart runs. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  9. ↑ Longplay-Chartverfolgung. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  10. ↑ Hungarian Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  11. ↑ The Irish Charts. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  12. ↑ George Michael albums sales ranking. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  13. ↑ Spanish Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  14. ↑ Top 75 Releases. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  15. ↑ Discos de oro y platino. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  16. ↑ Accreditations. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  17. ↑ Gold & Platin. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  18. ↑ Awards 1998. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  19. ↑ Certificados. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  20. ↑ Canadian Certifications. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  21. ↑ IFPI Awards. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  22. ↑ Finnish certifications. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  23. ↑ French Certifications. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  24. ↑ Gold-/Platin-Datenbank. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  25. ↑ Goud/Platina Muziek. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  26. ↑ Top 40 Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  27. ↑ Søk i troféer. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  28. ↑ Polish certifications. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  29. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  30. ↑ Guld platina 1987-1998. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  31. ↑ Awards 1998. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  32. ↑ Certified awards search. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  33. ↑ Gold & Platinum: Searchable Database. Retrieved 3 May 2011.

External links