August 10 brought news of Legacy's remastered, expanded reissue of George Michael's solo debut from 1987, Faith, and a link to pre-order a Limited Edition Numbered Collector's Box Set at the cost of $141.57 and filled with goodies including a vinyl replica of the original album and artist memorabilia. Now, details have finally emerged as to the other configurations in which Faith will be made available, and it's good news: a 2-CD/1-DVD set will include the same bonus disc of remixes and B-sides as the box set, as well as a 40-page book, with everything housed in a slipcase. A 2-CD "duo box edition" will also be made available of the two audio discs only and a 16-page booklet. (Digital editions are also promised.)
Plaudits to Legacy for making the former Wham! frontman's debut long-player available at a wide variety of price points aimed at pleasing a wide swath of Michael's considerable fan base. The album that propelled Michael to superstardom, Faith was a chart-topper both in the UK and the US, and filled the Billboard Hot 100 with No. 1 singles including "Father Figure," "I Want Your Sex," "Monkey" and the iconic title song. Faith was clearly a labor of love for the artist, who wrote, arranged and produced it himself and garned acclaim and awards recognition as a result. Faith was the recipient of Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Awards and even Britain's prestigious songwriting prize, the Ivor Novello Award.
Hit the jump for track listings on all editions of Faith, currently listed at hmv.com and still curiously absent from Amazon.com and the other usual suspects. All versions are due on American shores on September 28 and one day earlier in the UK. Amazon's ordering pages haven't been updated yet, but it appears that the less expensive "duo box" can be ordered here and the 2-CD/1-DVD version here. Be aware that both versions available for pre-order at Amazon are currently listed by Amazon as containing 3 discs, so the ordering links may not be entirely accurate as of yet. The limited, numbered box can be ordered directly from Sony with specs and photographs of all three editions here.
George Michael, Faith (Columbia 40867, 1987, reissued Columbia/Legacy, 2010)
CD 1 (Original album) (available in all configurations)
- Faith
- Father Figure
- I Want Your Sex [Parts I & II]
- One More Try
- Hard Day
- Hand to Mouth
- Look at Your Hands
- Monkey
- Kissing a Fool
- A Last Request [I Want Your Sex Part III]
Track 10 on original CD, minidisc and cassette editions only
CD 2 (B-sides and Remixes) (available in numbered box set, 2-CD "duo box" and 2-CD/1-DVD set)
- Faith [instrumental]
- Fantasy
- Hard Day [Shep Pettibone Mix]
- I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
- Kissing a Fool [instrumental]
- Love's in Need of Love Today
- Monkey [7" edit]
- Monkey [a cappella]
- Monkey [Jam and Lewis Remix]
Track 1 from Columbia 12" 44-07478, 1987
Track 2 from Columbia 7" 38-73559, 1990
Track 3 from Faith, Columbia 40867 CD, cassette and minidisc editions only, 1987
Track 4 from Epic CD 657646-7, 1991
Track 5 from Columbia 7" 38-08050, 1987
Track 6 from Columbia 12" 44-07547, 1987
Tracks 7-9 from Columbia CD maxi-single CSK-1186, 1988
DVD (available in numbered box set and 2-CD/1-DVD set)
- George Michael and Jonathan Ross Have Words (Channel 4 television special, 1987, 60 mins.)
- Music, Money, Love, Faith EPK (25 mins.)
- 7 remastered promotional videos
Donald Cleveland says
See...the problem is the full length strung together (from Parts 1, 2 and 3) 13 minute 12" (Monogamy mix) version of "I want your sex" is missing ?~!!
Jus' sayin........
The extended version of a song that was number 2 and 3 in the US and UK- not available on the **ahem** second disc?
Ah, well it's omissions like this that keep this column goin.
Mike Duquette says
Agreed on the omission of the Monogamy Mix, though I'm glad Sony saved me $140 by making all the audiovisuals available sans the paper goods.
As someone who doesn't own the 12" of "I Want Your Sex," is the mix literally just Parts I-III strung together or are there other bridging elements? I'll be happy to edit them together for my own use if that's the case.
Donald Cleveland says
If this was done correctly you wouldn't have to even think about editing one yourself. Plus during the fades there are bars of music (however repetitive) that you will be missing...
HEY!! MD~!! you should be on MY side here (LOL).....
Mike says
Hmmm...not so sure if I'm interested anymore. I was hoping the B-sides/remixes disc would have rarer stuff. I have more or less everything except "Love's in Need of Love Today". I would've liked the single version of "I Want Your Sex", since the fact that it bleeds into Part II has always been an annoyance of mine.
J P says
Glad I have the 12". Now if I could just find it.
Jacob says
That is a kind of weak disc 2. I am glad the remixes of Monkey made it, but like the above two posts, there has to be multiple versions of "I want your sex" and "Father Figure". It has taken so very long for this album to be remastered, it would have been nice to have everything from this period.
Scott says
The instrumental version of "Father Figure" from the 12" (Columbia 44-07547) and "Monkey (Extended Version)" and "Monkey (Extra Beats)" from that 12" (Columbia 44-07849) are also missing.