Review Of: Wham! – Last Christmas

I’m sorry for the ‘tremendously’ long break guys. We had completions, vivas and exams simultaneously, and I couldn’t salvage time and write my blogs. Anyways, I’m back with another Pop classic, and I hope people who haven’t heard this masterpiece will get to it right away! Here goes nothing!

George Michael – what does the name remind you of? Uncannily good looks, amazing love songs, and rhythm you couldn’t get your mind off for weeks. ‘Careless Whisper‘,’Father Figure‘,’Faith‘ and finally, ‘Last Christmas’ – All classics. In a recent interview with the soul-stirring musician, he revealed the secret of the power behind his lyrics: Heartbreak. He wrote his masterpieces when he went through a bad breakup (Note: He didn’t know he was gay before). But hey, he made amazing love songs, which still keep us warm in the cold winter nights. My top three George Michael songs are: Careless Whisper, Father Figure and Last Christmas.

Wham! [L-R]: Andrew Ridgeley, George Michael

History: ‘Last Christmas‘ is a single from the Pop duo Wham!, which was released in 1984 via Epic Records. The composition was done by George Michael. Since Wham! was a popular group in the UK and the US (especially in the UK), they had no problem snatching pole positions on the Christmas charts. It did, however, fail to grab the Number 1 position in UK, creating a record in the process – Being the only song in UK history to sell well over million copies, and NOT feature on the Number 1 position. The song performed quite well in Japan too, selling around 600,000 copies and featuring in the Top 10. To view the complete chart performance of ‘Last Christmas’, click here. While this song was on the charts, George Michael was also involved in another band called the Band Aid (it was actually a collaboration of the top UK artists at that time). Interestingly enough, Band Aid’s ‘Do You Know it’s Christmas?‘ topped the charts, and Wham! finished second. The royalties received after the success of both these singles were donated to the Ethiopian famine in 1984. There are currently two versions of this song, a 4 Minute 27 Second long Single version, and a 6 Minute 45 Second long (don’t laugh) Pudding Mix. Interestingly, the Pudding Mix (can’t stifle that chuckle, can you?) sold more copies than the Single Version; and hence, we’re going to review the Pudding Mix.

Review: The first 27 seconds of the song seem slow, with the occasional synthesizer rifts and effects. The second you hear George Michael whispering “Happy Christmas”, the beats kick in, holding a high and energetic tempo. The vocals make their move at 00:46, and the velvety voice of George Michael takes over. The piece of vocals you’ll hear is actually the chorus. The catchy moments are when George Michael says ‘gave’ and ‘save’ (go ahead, give it a listen and hear for yourself). It sounds funny, but it makes the song all the more listenable. At 01:04, the chorus loops again. The Christmas bells effects are added in the brief interlude between the chorus and the first stanza (which initiates at 01:40). As usual, George Michael and his soothing vocals send you in delirium, making you forget all your worries completely. The tempo of the beats will make you think this is actually a jolly song, which, in reality, is not. The second stanza starts after the chorus (starts at 02:15 and ends at 02:51, followed by a short interlude till 03:10). This stanza also holds the post-chorus part of the song, viz. “A Face On A Lover With A Fire In His Heart…” If there’s one thing which annoyed me, it’s the fact that there are too many choruses in this song (not that it any less enjoyable). The chorus starts (I know, once again! This time, however, George includes some snazzy off-beat vocals to spice things up) at 03:46, after which the post-chorus begins at around 04:20 (commenced after George Michael says “Special”). This also (more or less) marks the ending of the song, because the post-chorus and the chorus are looped and interleaved, and a few extra lines are added to avoid being too monotonous. I know, 2 minutes and 44 seconds of virtually nothing sounds quite boring; but this is George Michael we’re talking about! An extra tip: Edit the song from 06:09 till the ending – It’ll make for an amazing ringtone. Overall, the song is amazing. Of course, if you’re not a big fan of choruses being repeated (4 times [X 2], to be precise), you’ll probably choose to live without this one.

Lyrics For “Last Christmas” : http://artists.letssingit.com/wham-lyrics-last-christmas-7mjhsm7#axzz2k2LT18NX

Download Link For “Last Christmas” : http://mediafreedom.at/user-media_mf/maclink1/17112007_gV2Cp_0201wham-lastchristmas.mp3 (Right Click on Song, click ‘Save Link/Target As’)

“Last Christmas” is a song presented by the English Pop duo Wham!