U Can Never B2 Straight

by

Boy George

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This unplugged CD contains some of George's best songwriting. At my first glance at the tracklisting, I was disappointed to see George re-releasing old songs on here, but after popping the CD in my car and taking a drive, I got George's concept. Much like Madonna's "Something To Remember" CD, this CD isolates the acoustic ballads from the rock and pop tracks on previous albums, and the result is a very moving album.

The new material is some of his strongest: standouts include the tear-jerker "Wrong" and the inspired poetry of "The Deal." "Losing Control" is a complete overhaul (or possibly the original demo?) of an old dance track he released 10 years ago under the moniker Jesus Loves You, and this interpretation brings out all the emotion that the previous version's deep house beats smothered.

Be sure to keep listening for the album's hidden gem: after the last listed track, there is a 16th song (although it's not separated from the 15th track on this CD - so if you want to jump right to it, you have to fast-forward through Bow Down Mister, which gets annoying after a while -- why not just list it as Track 16?). The hidden track is "Out of Fashion," one of his most haunting cautionary tales yet. The role of advice-dispensing balladeer is one that suits George's personna well: "Too much jealousy will make you crazy/ Too much ego makes you ugly/ Desperation pushes love away..." The song unravels and gets under your skin.

While I also enjoyed another new track, "Julian," I can't help but notice that George's voice is getting awfully raspy. Other fans have commented on this, too. I don't want to sound like his mother, but George, please stop smoking... we want you and your beautiful voice to be around for a long time.