Pop / 1980s pop highlights · 1987
Faith
George Michael
Why listen
A solo debut that connects compact rock-and-roll gestures, extended ballads and constructed dance rhythms through a decisive production identity.
Listen and read
Tracks · previews
English editorial edition
Album story
The opening title track might suggest that Faith will be an album of brisk, guitar-led retro pop. Father Figure immediately changes that expectation. Placing a compact song beside a much longer one introduces George Michael’s range through sequence, before any discussion of hit records. Differences in scale matter as much as familiar choruses.
Originally released in 1987, his debut solo album is linked here in a ten-track edition marked 2010 Remastered. The original LP’s nine songs are followed by A Last Request. This does not reproduce every bonus selection of the original CD. I Want Your Sex combines Parts 1 and 2 in track three; Part 3 remains a separate final item. Begin by hearing the nine-song progression through Kissing a Fool.
Two opening songs use time differently
Faith lasts a little over three minutes; Father Figure exceeds five. Listen beyond tempo to the time required for a vocal phrase to complete its shape. The title song’s guitar rhythm outlines compact units, while the next track allows a more extended melodic span. Comparing them at the same volume makes the change of scale easier to notice. A recognisable singer can organise time in markedly different ways.
Direction and performance are distinct
Engineer Chris Porter recalled Hugh Burns playing the title song’s guitar, with Michael communicating desired phrases by singing. Directing a recording is not equivalent to playing every instrument. Remembering that distinction also keeps the video image from replacing instrumental credits. Follow how the solo’s phrases connect with the surrounding song, rather than treating its apparent simplicity as evidence of an effortless session.
The original ending changes the emphasis
Monkey leads into Kissing a Fool near the end of the original LP. Compare the rhythmic momentum you follow in the former with the instrumental support and melodic emphasis of the latter. Pause at that original ending before continuing to A Last Request. Hearing the sequence this way reveals an album organised through contrasting lengths and musical approaches, rather than a uniform style repeated around several successful singles.
The album through its tracks
Compare phrase length in the first two songs, then hear the original LP ending as Monkey gives way to Kissing a Fool.
Faith
The approximately three-minute-thirteen-second opener gives its guitar rhythm a sharply defined role. Engineer Chris Porter identified Hugh Burns as the player, with Michael singing desired phrases to direct the performance. The singer’s guitar-playing image in the video should therefore not replace the recording credits. Follow the point where the introduction gives way to the song’s established rhythmic pattern instead of jumping mentally to the chorus. Introduction, vocal passages and guitar solo do different jobs within a compact duration. A result that feels simple need not have been simple to construct. Afterwards, compare the longer span of Father Figure to hear how tightly the opener is shaped.
Reference · Chris Porter firsthand studio interview, Sound On Sound March 2013Father Figure
At approximately five minutes thirty-seven seconds, the second track expands the album’s scale early. Rather than extending the title song’s compact drive, it allows a longer melodic movement. At the end of a phrase, follow the remaining vocal sound and the accompaniment into the next sentence instead of counting only the beat. The same singer is organising musical time differently. There is no need to translate the relationship suggested by the title directly into private biography; attend first to the performed character and atmosphere. The still longer, multipart I Want Your Sex follows. Together, these opening three tracks resist any account of the album based solely on its first song.
Reference · Apple Music: Faith 2010 remastered ten-track edition
Listen next
Compare So for another album in which production choices and sequencing connect several musical approaches.
So ↗References & editorial note
Written for English readers. Album facts are referenced below; listening suggestions are editorial interpretations. AI-assisted editorial review; not independently human-reviewed.