George Michael had already established himself as a scholar of soul during his stint fronting the British pop duo Wham!—songs like the slinky “Everything She Wants” and the bereft “Careless Whisper” made R&B listeners and radio programmers take notice of his talent. On his first solo album, Michael fully revealed himself to be a pop auteur: He wrote, produced, and arranged the entirety of Faith, a stylistic garland tied together by Michael’s soaring voice and songwriting.
Faith begins with an elegy of sorts, as a church organ mournfully plays the chorus of the Wham! hit “Freedom.” The choppy guitars of the title track quickly extinguish any sadness, though—”Faith” is a feisty, sparse rave-up on which Michael flaunts his grown-man status, vamping and growling over Chuck Berry-inspired riffing. From there, Michael gives a master class in R&B, with the Quiet Storm-y “Father Figure,” the sharply funky “Hard Day,” and the pumping “Monkey” reflecting where late-’80s soul-pop was going.
The controversy-baiting “I Want Your Sex” managed to transcend its tabloid-outrage maelstrom through the force of Michael’s swagger. Michael shows off his towering vocal range on the hymn-like “One More Try,” while his croon on “Kissing a Fool” proves that his smoldering side packs a lot of heat. From its opening benediction to its chilled-out final seconds, Faith is a commanding statement of purpose from one of the biggest pop forces of the MTV era.