MUSIC: GEORGE MICHAEL AND MORE.

With so much speculation still swirling about the last days of George Michael, let’s remind ourselves what a masterful musician and gifted songwriter he was. His second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1, originally released in 1990 when George decided he wanted to be taken seriously and be less of a pop star, has been given the deluxe treatment. The album has been expanded with a bonus disc of George’s 1996 MTV Unplugged performance, including a version of Wham’s Everything She Wants, plus forgotten B-side Fantasy souped-up by Nile Rodgers. Also, there’s a documentary, Freedom, which George was tinkering with right up until his death, in which he talks openly about the trauma of losing his first love, Anselmo Feleppa, to AIDS. Listen’s sterling first single, Jesus To A Child, was a love song to Anselmo, no less. This is truly a timely reminder of the genius of George. Michael.

Painted Ruins offers a subtle homo take on the genre… would sound awesome turned up loud on a road trip.”