Unlike many covers albums,
Songs from the Last Century
is a cohesive, enjoyable diversion. With the help of co-producer
Phil Ramone
,
George Michael
has crafted a warm, intimate album built around a small combo of piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Orchestras, big bands, harps, and on one occasion, a
rock
band augment the basic combo, yet the flourishes never change the essential, close-knit nature of the group. For the first time ever,
Michael
sounds relaxed. He's lying back, singing songs he loves, not worrying about chart success, and the end result is quite fetching, even if it isn't perfect. The main flaw with
is that it's so smooth, it's occasionally a little sleepy, a trait that's emphasized by
's fairly predictable taste in covers --
"Brother Can You Spare a Dime,"
"My Baby Just Cares for Me,"
and
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,"
among others. Nevertheless, he does bring style and sophistication to these
standards
, even such often-covered yet still difficult tunes as
"Wild as the Wind."
When his selections are idiosyncratic -- whether it's a jazzy reading of
"Roxanne,"
the brassy
"Secret Love,"
the little-remembered
"I Remember You,"
or a revelatory reading of
"Miss Sarajevo,"
a song commonly dismissed as a
U2
side project -- the album is delightful. Certainly,
isn't a major work; it's a way for
to decompress and have some fun, and the diehards who stuck with him through the turbulent '90s are likely to be charmed. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine