Songs from the Last Century

1	Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? 4:22
2	Roxanne 4:11
3	You've Changed 4:25
4	My Baby Just Cares for Me 1:45
5	The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 5:19
6	Miss Sarajevo 5:11
7	I Remember You 4:13
8	Secret Love 2:39
9	Wild Is the Wind 4:02
10	Where or When/Its Alright with Me 7:00

Barnes & Noble

After a 17-year career as one of pop's most successful stars -- and a reported 67 million in record sales worldwide -- George Michael up and decides to record an album of songs by noted composers of the past 100 years. Perhaps it's a simple nod to the millennium changeover, but in Michael's case, an album that sits the Depression-era hallmark "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" next to Sting's classic "Roxanne," and the time-honored "My Baby Just Cares for Me" alongside the timely U2-Eno anthem "Miss Sarajevo" seems more a bid to break yet another pop-music barrier. Elvis Costello, Bryan Ferry, Linda Ronstadt, Sinéad O'Connor, Joe Jackson, and Sting have all taken on the great American songbook, with varying degrees of success. Here, Michael's urbane vocals glide over rich arrangements and expert production by veteran Phil Ramone, and a song selection that tends toward laid-back ("The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "You've Changed") makes it a relaxed journey. Only a couple of numbers pick up the pace -- the kicky "Secret Love" and the kitschy "My Baby Just Cares for Me" -- but throughout, Michael engages these well-crafted songs with a knowing, upbeat style that nods more to Las Vegas lounge cool than offhand pop lark. In that case, perhaps Michael, a veteran at 36, is looking toward the next century and getting ready for those twilight years. Suzanne McElfresh

All Music Guide

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 Songs From the Last Century is that it's so smooth, it's occasionally a little sleepy, a trait that's emphasized by Michael'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, Songs From the Last Century isn't a major work; it's a way for Michael 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