George Michael Patience CD

The British pop icon also touches on religion with the sparsely arranged "John and Elvis Are Dead," which finds him questioning Christ's existence. Despite the somber subject matter on many of the aforementioned songs and the gorgeously rendered title cut, Michael can still turn out dance-inspired fare. "Flawless (Go to the City)" features the kind of thumping beats you'd expect to hear at a velvet-rope club, and "Freeek! '04" slows down the tempo while displaying a carnal frankness on par with "I Want Your Sex."

2004's PATIENCE finds George Michael attempting to transcend his tabloid notoriety with pure musical prowess. Remarkably enough, Michael achieves this feat with a batch of songs that reaffirms the notion that artists sometimes get their best material from unsettling personal experiences. Loss plays a big part in many of these songs, whether it's the sparse piano ballad "My Mother Had a Brother" (about an uncle who killed himself in despondency over his own homosexuality) or the mid-tempo, Latin-tinged "Please Send Me Someone (Anselmo's Song)" (about an ex-lover who died of AIDS).

Personnel: George Michael (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, bass guitar, drum programming); Michael Brown, Phil Palmer (guitar); Chris Cameron (piano); Luke Smith (Wurlitzer piano); David Austin, Pete Gleadall, Ruadhri Cushnan (keyboards, programming); Johnny Douglas, James Jackman (keyboards, drum programming); Graham Silbiger (bass guitar); Jo Bryant (background vocals).

Q (4/04, p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 - "It is by turns funny, dark, ridiculous, exhilarating, and - most strikingly of all - relentlessly personal."
Mojo (Publisher) (4/04, p.103) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[A]n oddly experimental record, prioritising texture over tune and betraying a river-deep confessional streak....A record of conviction..."