Songs from the Last Century
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Songs from the Last Century is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 6 December 1999 by Aegean Records and Virgin Records. Produced by Michael and Phil Ramone, it was his only album of cover versions. It consists mainly of old jazz standards plus new interpretations of more recent popular songs, such as "Roxanne" by the Police and "Miss Sarajevo" by U2Template:Efn and Brian Eno with Luciano Pavarotti. Both songs were released as promotional singles.
History
This album is the only album in Michael's entire solo catalogue to not reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number two instead. It was kept off the top spot by Shania Twain's Come On Over.<ref>1999 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive, 18 December 1999. Retrieved 6 August 2014.</ref>
A music video for "Roxanne" was 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 album's opening track, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", sung by Michael with Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti at one of his famous "Pavarotti and Friends" live shows. This version is included on the limited edition of Michael's 2006 greatest hits album, Twenty Five.
Track listing
- "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (E.Y. Harburg, Jay Gorney) – 4:22
- "Roxanne" (Sting) – 4:11
- "You've Changed" (Bill Carey, Carl Fischer) – 4:25
- "My Baby Just Cares for Me" (Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson) – 1:45
- "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (Ewan MacColl) – 5:19
- "Miss Sarajevo" (Adam Clayton, Brian Eno, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul Hewson) – 5:11
- "I Remember You" (Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger) – 4:12
- "Secret Love" (Paul Francis Webster, Sammy Fain) – 2:39
- "Wild Is the Wind" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 4:02
- "Where or When" / "It's All Right with Me" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart / Cole Porter) (instrumental) (hidden track) – 7:00
Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col
- Abe Appleman – violin
- Diane Barere – cello
- Elena Barere – concert master, violin
- Herb Besson – trombone
- Yuri Vodovoz – violin
- Virgil Blackwell – clarinet
- Arvil Brown – violin
- Jacqui Danilow – bass guitar
- Marji Danilow – bass guitar
- Lawrence Feldman – woodwind
- Frank Filipetti – engineer, mixing
- David Finck – bass guitar
- Barry Finclair – concert master, violin
- Crystal Garner – viola
- Maura Giannini – violin
- Karen Griffen – flute
- Juliet Haffner – viola
- Corky Hale – harp
- Laura Hamilton – violin
- Joyce Hammann – violin
- Sheryl Henze – flute
- Kenneth Hitchcock – woodwind
- Jim Hynes – trumpet
- Regis Iandiorio – violin
- Jean Ingraham – violin
- Greg Jakobek – design
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Tony Kadleck – trumpet
- Jeff Kievit – trumpet
- Chris Komer – French horn
- Carol Landon – viola
- Jeff Lang – French horn
- Kim Laskowski – bassoon
- Ann Leathers – violin
- Jeanne LeBlanc – cello
- Nancy McAlhany – violin
- Diane Lesser – oboe
- Richard Locker – cello
- Dave Mann – woodwind
- Rob Mathes – arranger, conductor, piano
- Andrew McPherson – photography
- George Michael – design, liner notes, primary artist, producer
- Jeff Mironov – guitar
- John Moses – clarinet
- Rob Mounsey – arranger, conductor, piano
- Nick Murdoch – piano
- Jan Mullen – violin
- Lewis Nash – drums
- Danny Cummings – percussion
- Phil Palmer – guitar
- Laura Oatts – violin
- Caryl Paisner – cello
- Scott Parker – assistant engineer
- Shawn Pelton – drums
- Steve Walters – bass guitar
- Charles Pillow – woodwind
- Sue Pray – viola
- Phil Ramone – liner notes, producer
- Tim Ries – woodwind
- Marcus Rojas – tuba
- Roger Rosenberg – woodwind
- Stacey Shames – harp
- Mark Orrin Shuman – cello
- Pamela Sklar – flute
- Andy Snitzer – woodwind
- Jason Stasium – mixing
- Byron Stripling – trumpet
- Marti Sweet – violin
- Donna Tecco – violin
- David Tofani – woodwind
- Carol Webb – violin
- Ellen Westermann – cello
- Torrie Zito – arranger
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 5 |
| European Albums (Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 7 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 59 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)<ref name="spain">Template:Cite book</ref> | 11 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 74 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 18 |
| Chart (2000) | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 93 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 39 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 86 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 87 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 33 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 64 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 98 |
Certifications and sales
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