Songs from the Last Century

Songs from the Last Century
Studio album by George Michael
Released	13 December 1999
Recorded	1999
Genre	Jazz
Length	43:11
Label	Virgin
Producer	George Michael, Phil Ramone
George Michael chronology
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael (1998) Songs from the Last Century (1999) Patience (2004)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
BBC	(mixed)[2]
NME	(3/10)[3]

Songs from the Last Century is the fourth album by singer George Michael, released on 13 December 1999. Co-produced by Phil Ramone, it was his first album of cover versions. It consists mainly of old jazz standards, plus new interpretations of more recent popular songs, such as "Roxanne" (originally by The Police) and "Miss Sarajevo" (originally by U2 with Luciano Pavarotti). "Roxanne" was released as a single in other countries except the United Kingdom.

History

This album is the only in George Michael's entire solo catalogue to have not yet reached number one in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number two instead. It was kept off of the top spot by Shania Twain's Come on Over.^[4]

The cover album had a hit in The Police's "Roxanne", for which George released a music video, shot in Amsterdam, in the so-called Red District, using ordinary people, not actors, who really live their lives on the street.

Another version exists of the record opener, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", sung by George with popular Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti at one of his famous "Pavarotti and Friends" live shows, and then included on the limited edition of Twenty Five.

Track listing

1. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" – 4:22
2. "Roxanne" – 4:11
3. "You've Changed" – 4:25
4. "My Baby Just Cares for Me" – 1:45
5. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – 5:19
6. "Miss Sarajevo" – 5:11
7. "I Remember You" – 4:12
8. "Secret Love" – 2:39
9. "Wild Is the Wind" – 4:02
10. "Where or When" / "It's All Right with Me" (Instrumental) (Hidden track) – 7:00

Personnel

• Abe Appleman - Violin
• Diane Barere - Celli
• Elena Barere - Concert Master, Violin
• Herb Besson - Trombone
• Virgil Blackwell - Clarinet
• Bono - Composer
• Arvil Brown - Violin
• Bill Carey - Composer
• Adam Clayton - Composer
• Jacqui Danilow - Bass
• Marji Danilow - Bass
• Walter Donaldson - Composer
• The Edge - Composer
• Brian Eno - Composer
• Sammy Fain - Composer
• Lawrence Feldman - Woodwind
• Frank Filipetti - Engineer, Mixing
• David Finck - Bass
• Barry Finclair - Concert Master, Violin
• Carl Fischer - Composer
• Crystal Garner - Viola
• Maura Giannini - Violin
• Jay Gorney - Composer
• Karen Griffen - Flute
• Juliet Haffner - Viola
• Corky Hale - Harp
• Laura Hamilton - Violin
• Joyce Hammann - Violin
• E.Y. "Yip" Harburg - Composer
• Lorenz Hart - Composer
• Sheryl Henze - Flute
• Kenneth Hitchcock - Woodwind
• Jim Hynes - Trumpet
• Regis Iandiorio - Violin
• Jean Ingraham - Violin
• Greg Jakobek - Design
• Ted Jensen - Mastering
• Tony Kadleck - Trumpet
• Gus Kahn - Composer
• Jeff Kievit - Trumpet
• Chris Komer - French Horn
• Carol Landon - Viola
• Jeff Lang - French Horn
• Kim Laskowski - Bassoon
• Ann Leathers - Violin
• Jeanne LeBlanc - Celli
• Diane Lesser - Oboe
• Richard Locker - Celli
• Ewan MacColl - Composer
• Dave Mann - Woodwind
• Rob Mathes - Arranger, Conductor, Piano
• Andrew McPherson - Photography
• Johnny Mercer - Composer
• George Michael - Design, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Producer
• Jeff Mironov - Guitar
• John Moses - Clarinet
• Rob Mounsey - Arranger, Conductor, Piano
• Jan Mullen - Violin
• Larry Mullen, Jr. - Composer
• Lewis Nash - Drums
• Laura Oatts - Violin
• Caryl Paisner - Celli
• Scott Parker - Assistant Engineer
• Shawn Pelton - Drums
• Charles Pillow - Woodwind
• Cole Porter - Composer
• Sue Pray - Viola
• Phil Ramone - Liner Notes, Producer
• Tim Ries - Woodwind
• Richard Rodgers - Composer
• Marcus Rojas - Tuba
• Roger Rosenberg - Woodwind
• Victor Schertzinger - Composer
• Stacey Shames - Harp
• Mark Orrin Shuman - Celli
• Pamela Sklar - Flute
• Andy Snitzer - Woodwind
• Jason Stasium - Mixing
• Sting - Composer
• Byron Stripling - Trumpet
• Marti Sweet - Violin
• Donna Tecco - Violin
• Dimitri Tiomkin - Composer
• David Tofani - Woodwind
• Ned Washington - Composer
• Carol Webb - Violin
• Paul Francis Webster - Composer
• Ellen Westerman - Celli
• Torrie Zito - Arranger

Credits adapted from AllMusic.^[5]

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (1999) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[6] 12 Austrian Albums Chart[6] 12 Belgian Flanders Albums Chart[6] 11 Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart[6] 4 Canadian RPM Top Albums[7] 33 Dutch Albums Chart[6] 6 French Albums Chart[6] 7 German Albums Chart[8] 4 Hungarian Albums Chart[9] 5 Italian Albums Chart[6] 4 Japanese Albums Chart[10] 59 New Zealand Albums Chart[6] 8 Norwegian Albums Chart[6] 13 Spanish Albums Chart[11] 11 Swedish Albums Chart[6] 16 Swiss Albums Chart[6] 6 UK Albums Chart[12] 2 US Billboard 200[13] 157

Certifications } Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[14] Gold 35,000^^ Belgium (BEA)[15] Platinum 50,000^* Canada (Music Canada)[16] Gold 50,000^^ France (SNEP)[17] 2× Gold 197,700[18]^* Germany (BVMI)[19] Gold 150,000^^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[20] Platinum 15,000[21]^^ Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22] Platinum 100,000^^ Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[23] Gold 25,000^x United Kingdom (BPI)[24] 2× Platinum 600,000^^ Summaries Europe (IFPI)[25] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^* ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. Allmusic review
2. BBC review
3. NME review
4. 1999 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive, 18th December 1999. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
5. "George Michael - Songs from the Last Century Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
6. Peak positions. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
7. Top Albums/CDs – Volume 70, No. 9, 20 December 1999. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
8. Longplay-Chartverfolgung. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
9. Hungarian Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
10. George Michael albums sales ranking. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
11. Spanish Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
12. Top 75 Releases. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
13. Songs from the Last Century – George Michael. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
14. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
15. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2000". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
16. "Canadian album certifications – George Michael – Songs from the Last Century". Music Canada.
17. "French album certifications – George Michael – Songs from the Last Century" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
18. "Les Albums les plus Vendus de la Décennie (2000-2009)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
19. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (George Michael; 'Songs from the Last Century')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
20. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
21. RIANZ
22. "Spanish album certifications – George Michael – Songs from the Last Century" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
23. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (George Michael; 'Songs from the Last Century')". Hung Medien.
24. "British album certifications – George Michael – Patience". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Patience in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
25. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1999". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.