what's this, another year has dawned. i trust that it is a most splendid of one for all of you, to be sure, and that we are so fortunate enough to reconvene here again around about this time next year too.
to start off this year i am, look you see, following up on a little something of a thought piece i did this time last year. as you will no doubt recall, or see by clicking here, the subject then, as it is now, was the album Faith as recorded by the great George Michael.
yes, that is indeed it. i mentioned that one of the first CDs what i ever got was a fancy, then brand new idea of a "picture disc" version of this particular album. as i came across it, so to speak, whilst going through a storage box for another concern it seemed not unreasonable for me to put it to one side and show some pictures of it here when the time was suitable to do so.
if you are not interested in clicking on that link above, let me briefly recap. although it is strange that you wouldn't be yet still pursue a path of reading this. anyway, it was - i believe - Christmas 1987. the relatively new music format of CD was really taking off, with many a person getting players and requisite discs that Christmas. a small number of albums - four i think, but i can only remember this one and Tunnel of Love off of Bruce Springsteen - had a "special edition picture disc" version released.
as far as the history of marketing CDs go this was an interesting move. the superior quality sound was enough of a selling point, so i have no idea why the record labels decided to spend more on this gimmick to sell. perhaps it was just a "because they can" move of sorts, showing off what was possible with the then new technology. and why not, for vinyl picture discs were always a popular seller.
you have to remember that, as usual, the record labels "didn't understand" the market for CDs. to them it came as a huge surprise that fans bought albums on the new format what they already owned on lp or tape. no, they had no idea that fans would "double dip" on purchases, making them all - for a time - fabulously wealthy. this trick has of course been exploited time and again since, of course, with umpteen [X]th Anniversary Edition CDs being unleashed.
quite the New Year treat for all you Spiros enthusiasts there with a picture of Spiros ostensibly paying homage to George Michael. except he isn't i suppose. that, as you can probably see, is a poster promoting Mr Johnny Mack, one of, if not the, most celebrated of George Michael tribute acts.
to be honest - and this will surprise many of you, i know - Sprios was not all that much of a George Michael fan, really. at least not in terms of music. this changed considerably, if naturally rather than dramatically, when he experienced the show put on bu Johnny Mack. now, or ever since, the Spiros is all about the George. nice one man.
indeed, that is the "standard" version of the CD (this particular copy picked up at Poundland when i fancied listening to it but had no wish to trouble storage boxes) in comparison to the swanky picture disc variation (what i treasure). the packaging for both is identical, all the way through matters such as catalogue number and barcode.
as per the other post from this time last year (go on, here it is again), a staggering number of the songs from this record were released as singles. how many? just slightly north of 77% of the music on the album. each and every one charted too, despite the b-sides - so far as i can recall - not featuring any new material. such a phenomenon cannot happen now, of course, thanks to those meddling clowns at the Official Chart company who seem to hate music. after their fiddled with rules allowed for the ridiculous situation of some 14 not released as singles songs by Ed Sheeran to feature in the top 20 singles chart they changed it again so that only 3 songs from an album can appear in the charts. all should have been left exactly as it was.
that's another picture what Spiros sent me from the night when he saw Johnny Mack perform a tribute to George Michael and all of a sudden discovered that he quite liked George. it all looks quite fancy and posh, really. no doubt the evening was something or other to do with his work as the greatest legal mind of his generation. that latter description is of course Spiros and not Johnny Mack, as i don't know whether or not he does the law and that when not doing George Michael.
will there be a post this time next year about Faith by George Michael? i have no plans for such but also do not rule it out. this one wasn't deliberate, to be sure, it was more just a convenience coincidence of timing. as far as i am aware, however, it is now so that i have presented you with an exhaustive and comprehensive look at my collection of copies of Faith by George Michael. in digital terms, perhaps. not sure, but it is possible i have it on vinyl too.
also, you never know. at some stage across the year ahead of us it might strike me as a good idea to buy a copy of the album on tape. in this regard i am quite certain that i have never owned this album in that format. yes, i know such a confession will lead to me being accused of not being a "proper fan", as happened across the year just fallen with the Intergalactic debacle.
well, anyway, that's that for that. for now. let me let you get on with your day, year or what have you.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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