Happy 30th Anniversary to George Michael’s second studio album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, originally released September 3, 1990.
If there was ever an artist that personified artistry in its purest and highest form, George Michael was precisely such an artist. Whether it be during his time as the frontman and co-founder of ‘80s pop duo Wham! or his accomplished solo career, Michael pushed the envelope and honestly, never failed to deliver.
In late October 1987, one short year after Michael decided to leave Wham! and all its global success, the singer’s debut album Faith made its way into the world. Proving that he was no one-hit wonder dependent on the success of a duo, Michael wrote and composed all of Faith’s tracks, proving that he was so much more than just the sex symbol that he had become synonymous with. Faith ended up spending twelve weeks at number one and went on to sell a whopping twenty-five million copies globally. Any shackles that Michael needed to shake from his “teenybopper group” had well and truly been smashed and the newfound solo incarnation that Michael had dreamed about since childhood had finally arrived.
With the realization that the world now saw Michael as a serious pop artist who not only could sing, but also write, he set out with the sole purpose to be taken even more seriously as a songwriter. With a deeper and more introspective approach, Michael created the incredibly raw, heartfelt and honest Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 released in early September 1990. Although just three years between his debut and sophomore albums, the difference between the two efforts was undeniable on pretty much every level, including the album’s subsequent reception in the US.
One can’t help but wonder why this album fared poorly in the US in comparison to its predecessor, but in many ways, 1990 was not only the beginning of a new decade, but the birth of a new era in which music and social issues not only become intertwined, but also seemed to be at the forefront of so many conversations. Michael put many of these conversations at the heart of his music, never more evident than the album’s lead single “Praying For Time.” The song, which examines the many social injustices faced by so many, questions the listener into the conditioning that society has created and why it can be so hard to be kind to one another. Timeless and still so relevant in this day and age.
A social issue that was sweeping the world and represented an uncomfortable conversation for many back at the turn of the decade was the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A pandemic completely different to the one that we are currently facing and one that for whatever reason became attached to the gay community. Also called the “gay disease” at one point, this association created fear in every gay man from every corner of earth. Michael had gone on to say later in his career that he too had felt the fear that so many in the community were feeling at the time, something he couldn’t verbalize due to still being closeted. It wouldn’t be until his partner’s own battle with HIV/AIDS a few years later, that Michael would yet again be staring down this fear head-on. The overall somber tone of this album is in line with what the community was facing at the time, intended or not.
With so much going on in his life at the time—primarily his global fame and the private nature of his sexuality—there was an immense amount of pressure on Michael to play the part for millions of fans around the world, the majority of whom were straight and female. The album’s third single “Freedom! ’90" capitalized on this fanbase, as well as the birth of the Supermodel—the 90’s version of a movie star. Inspired by a Peter Lindbergh portrait of supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford, Michael got the quincunx of supermodels to lip sync his lyrics, again allowing him to be absent from the film clip, a theme throughout all of the visuals that accompanied Listen Without Prejudice. To this day, Evangelista cites this video as being one of the main things fans ask about upon meeting her.
With a total of six singles released from the album (depending on regional nuances), it was abundantly clear that this album was about escaping a reality that had been created both by the singer himself and those around him whose vested interest lied more in the monetary side of things rather than the creative. Whether it be the powerfully soulful cover of Stevie Wonder’s “They Won’t Go When I Go” or the unrequited love triangle of “Cowboys and Angels,” Listen Without Prejudice challenges and questions Michael’s place in the world. The rawness of a man unafraid to self-explore, self-criticize and allow his confusion toward all these paradoxes reveals his true intelligence and generosity when it comes to the emotional outpouring of his music.
A man suffering the perils that fame brings showed the world that being on top—whatever that means—was not all it’s cracked up to be. Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1 was—and remains—an honest appraisal about the tradeoffs inherent within fame, and the sadness and isolation it can spawn. Thirty years later and with so many people clamoring for attention via social media, this album might just be what the doctor ordered for those desperate to be validated by the invisible “friend.”
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is just as beautiful and meaningful thirty years on. Creative control and top-quality output were what Michael wanted with this album and he achieved both. Indispensable and in many ways a flawless piece of art, this album has stood and will continue to stand the test of time.
LISTEN: