Regardless of how George Michael fits into one's musical diet, and in most cases he doesn't, "Faith" is one of those albums that is undeniably great. Although Rolling Stone had somewhat ceased to be culturally relevant in that murky glitter/cocaine period of the 80s, the magazine's reviewer gave the album four stars and declared that "Michael has emerged as one of pop music's leading artisans, a painstaking craftsman who combines a graceful knack for vocal hooks with an uncanny ability to ransack the past for musical ideas and still sound fresh." And to be fair, "Faith" was fresh.

Besides the the title track and "Father Figure"-- the obvious tunes-- there were two tracks on this album that really shined. The best song on the album is the 9-minute version of "I Want Your Sex." While only the 3-minute Part I of the song made it to the radio, Part II really grabbed my attention. The Motown-y instrumental final 6 minutes of the song was like nothing I've ever heard. While in 1988, I didn't really do much dancing, "I Want Your Sex Part II" made me want to dance. While George singing "sex is natural, sex is fun, sex is best when it's one on one" intrigued me, it was the instrumental horns part that stood out against the rest of the album and made me want to listen to the song over and over and over again.

Immediately following "I Want Your Sex" was the poignant "One More Try." As catchy as it was sad, the breakup track had hints of Elton John and the Prince version of Nothing Compares 2 U. This track rounded out what was quite possibly the strongest first four tracks of any album of the 80s and along with "Faith," "Father Figure" and the eighth track "Monkey," the song reached #1 on the Billboard 100. My hunch is that "I Want Your Sex" would have reached this milestone as well, if not for the song's risque lyrics that hampered its radio play.

I look back on the days sprawled out on my bedroom floor exploring the music that would shape my adult musical tastes. George Michael's "Faith" might not have been the most complex album of its era, but at the very least, the album was captivating, consistent and most importantly, cool. Even George Michael seemed cool. And nearly 20 years later, this album still makes me want to go out and get a black leather jacket, grow some stubble, put a cross in my ear and be cool in a way that is no longer.

-David Flumenbaum


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