Well, how's this for a surprise? I had no idea that George Michael was releasing his 2008 25 Tour on DVD until I was casually browsing the Music DVD section at HMV the other day. I had to have it.The two-disc DVD set titled George Michael Live in London documents the pop legend's final London show at Earls Court in 22 tracks on the first disc and behind-the-scenes documentary and three bonus performances on disc two. Having attended his Air Canada Centre show in Toronto, I can say that this recording of the show is possibly even better than the actual performance I saw. The downside however, is that his 25 years of hits which was originally presented in a two act, 150 minute long show, has been pared down significantly for this release.
Michael makes no mistake about making a grand entrance, starting the show on a high note with Fastlove, followed by I'm Your Man from his Wham! days and then more recent hit Flawless from 2004's Patience album. He also updates the classic Everything She Wants in an age-appropriate manner, illustrating why his melodies have stood the test of time.
Although for me, Michael's dance material has always been his strength, his career is marked by many, many outstanding ballads. Father Figure, One More Try and A Different Corner have a very strong presence on this disc. He devotes a good portion of his show to some of his more jazzy material, which seems to have been more of a focus in recent years, including covers of Feeling Good (Nina Simone) and Roxanne (The Police) and his own Spinning The Wheel, which transforms into a big anthemic dance mix. Even though his voice has deteriorated slightly since his prime, having lost a bit of his upper range he once had, Michael's amazing talent cannot be denied still.
