“I grabbed that opportunity”: The classic song George Michael thought he improved
Anyone looking to cover the classics is going to need to come correct. It’s easy for someone to talk a big game and say they are going to take a swing at one of the greatest artists in history, but there’s a difference between when a band like Van Halen tries their hand at Linda Ronstadt’s ‘You’re No Good’ and when Limp Bizkit decides to smear their filth all over ‘Behind Blue Eyes’. Before anyone records anything, they need to have a good idea of what they’re going to do with it, but George Michael always found a way for his songs to go further than anyone expected.
Then again, Michael was already becoming one of the most acclaimed songwriters of his time before he even left WHAM! His childhood duo may have been an excellent way for him to start writing songs, but compared to everything else he had done, songs like ‘Careless Whisper’ and ‘Everything She Wants’ were already steps towards him joining the ranks of artists like Elton John as seasoned musical veterans.
And when Faith came out, fans got to see the version of Michael that he had wanted them to see all along. There was still that pop sheen over tunes like ‘Father Figure’, but given how polished some of his vocals could have come off back in the day, there was a healthy bit of soul and even blues in his delivery when combing through tunes like ‘I Want Your Sex’ and ‘Monkey’.
If that was the proof of concept, Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 would be his opportunity to make a powerful statement. There was never any doubt that he would have some grit behind his delivery, but listening to songs like ‘Heal the Pain’ and ‘Freedom ‘90’, he wasn’t only shooting to be another pop star. He wanted to ascend to the realm that his heroes had done, which meant returning to his roots on the song ‘They Won’t Go When I Go’.
Granted, it’s a whole different conversation when someone talks about covering Stevie Wonder. Compared to every other name in the world of R&B, Wonder is the musical equivalent of The Beatles where it feels almost pointless to try to cover his material. If anyone has an idea for where to take one of Wonder’s tunes, there’s a good chance he already thought about it and put it in the final version, but Michael felt that his version of the tune from Fullfillingness’ First Fianle was the few times where he managed to surpass what his musical hero did.
“There was so much synthesiser work going on that I thought it was detracting from what he was doing as a singer, so I grabbed that opportunity and strip it down just to piano and vocal, and see how it goes, and I was really pleased with the result.”
George Michael
Michael still had the utmost respect for Wonder, but he knew there was a good chance he could match what he did, saying, “Stevie Wonder is, possibly, my favourite writer. One particular period, in the seventies, he was just writing masterpieces, one after another. I’ve always thought it was a beautiful song which had not been arranged to full effect. There was so much synthesiser work going on that I thought it was detracting from what he was doing as a singer, so I grabbed that opportunity and strip it down just to piano and vocal, and see how it goes, and I was really pleased with the result.”
While it’s up for debate whether Michael’s take is better, it does let the song breathe a little bit more with only piano and vocals. The melody isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but when going through the different chord voicings, it’s easier to hear the genius that Wonder was during his prime by how the piano slowly glides down before coming back to the main theme in the verses.
Some of it does come off as a touch melodramatic, but that’s hardly a bad thing in this case. Michael was already looking to share the stage with some of the greatest artists of his generation, so if that meant making something a bit more over-the-top, it was all worth it if it meant getting the track he wanted.
