“THE FAITH TOUR” arrives on November 6th, the live album that brings to light 18 unreleased recordings by George Michael, captured during the historic stop at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy of the 1988 Faith Tour.
Published by George Michael Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment, the album documents the artist’s first major solo tour after the Wham! season, at the exact moment in which George Michael was transforming his pop success into a more ambitious artistic dimension.
THE HISTORY OF THE RECORD
The Faith Tour was much more than a promotional tour. With 109 concerts in 16 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, it represented George Michael’s definitive transition from the fame built with Wham! to full consecration as a solo artist. The Parisian recordings return that transformation through a setlist that crosses Faith and the previous repertoire, putting at the center a voice capable of moving naturally between soul, R&B and pop.
The album features live versions of Faith’s four singles that reached number one in the United States, Faith, Father Figure, One More Try and Monkey.
But it is above all the relationship with the repertoire that makes this testimony interesting: George Michael tackles Love’s in Need of Love Today by Stevie Wonder and Lady Marmalade by Labelle, while recovering two songs by Wham!, Everything She Wants and I’m Your Man. The concert thus becomes a sort of self-portrait in movement, in which the past is not removed but reread in the light of the new solo identity.
Released in 1987, Faith had already defined a new model of pop superstardom. Written, arranged, produced and performed almost entirely by George Michael, the album would exceed 25 million copies sold worldwide, reach number one in over ten countries and obtain the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In the United States, four singles from the album reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a result that would help make Faith one of the most influential records of the second half of the 1980s.
THE FAITH TOUR now adds a live chapter to that story. The recordings were mixed by Chris Porter and David Austin and mastered by John Webber, with the aim of restoring the performative dimension of a tour that contributed decisively to the construction of the legend of George Michael.
FORMATS
“THE FAITH TOUR” will be released in multiple formats.
The Deluxe Box Set 3LP + 2CD contains the complete concert on three LPs and two CDs, accompanied by a 136-page book with previously unpublished images dedicated to George Michael’s first world tour as a solo artist. The material is enclosed in a package consisting of two boxes.
Also available will be the 2LP Picture Disc, exclusively D2C, the 2LP Blue Black Marble Vinyl, available exclusively on the Sony Music Store, the 2LP Crystal Clear Vinyl, the 3LP Black Vinyl, the 2LP Black Vinyl and the 2CD.
The range is completed by Blu-ray Audio, available as an exclusive for the Super Deluxe Edition.
THE TRACKLIST
This is the tracklist of the standard version: “Freedom Opening”, “I Want Your Sex”, “Hard Day”, “Love’s In Need Of Love Today”, “Everything She Wants”, “Father Figure”, “I’m Your Man”, “A Different Corner”, “Faith”, “Monkey”, “Hand To Mouth”, “Play That Funky Music”, “One More Try”, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”, “Careless Whisper”, “Lady Marmalade”, “I Want Your Sex Pts 1 and 2” and “Freedom Finale”.
This is the tracklist of the 2LP version: “Freedom Opening”, “I Want Your Sex”, “Hard Day”, “Love’s In Need Of Love Today”, “Everything She Wants”, “Father Figure”, “I’m Your Man”, “A Different Corner”, “Faith”, “Monkey”, “One More Try”, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”, “Careless Whisper”, “Lady Marmalade”, “I Want Your Sex Pts 1 and 2” and “Freedom Finale”.
THE FILM
The film “GEORGE MICHAEL: THE FAITH TOUR” will be released in theaters around the world later this year. Further details, including release dates and affected territories, will be announced soon.
WEB & SOCIAL
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