Listen Without Prejudice

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 is the second solo album from British pop star George Michael (on this album, it is spelled as George Michæl), released in September 1990. Following the massive worldwide commercial success of his first album Faith, this release found Michael awash in an identity crisis, with a sudden bid to quickly create a new image for himself as a serious-minded artist, while still generating sales.

Seemingly torn at first between his previous role as the camera-friendly media darling and his new role as abhorrer of all things visual, the album's title indicated his desire to be taken more seriously (although cameras were sometimes allowed into the recording studio, the results ending up on an MTV Rockumentary soon afterward). The album was deemed by many as a reverse-psychological tactic to generate renewed interest from an ever larger (and more adult) fan base, but ended up a commercial disappointment compared to Michael's time in Wham! and debut album Faith.

The album was Michael's final album of all-new material on Columbia Records until 2004's Patience. It was the album's disappointing sales in the U.S. that led to Michael's legal battles against Sony Music, in which he accused the corporation of not fully supporting him as an artist.
The first single from the album, "Praying for Time", written by Michael, reached number one in the U.S. Billboard charts and the top ten in the UK in the summer of 1990. It remained in the Billboard Top 40 for ten weeks, and was the last number one solo single from Michael in the U.S. charts. The second single, "Waiting for That Day", was released a month after the album's release. Due to a borrowed lyric from the Rolling Stones' hit "You Can't Always Get What You Want", co-writer credits were given to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It reached the top 40 in the British and American charts. The single's B-side, "Mother's Pride" was an American airplay success when it peaked at number 46 on airplay-only chart in March 1991.

The third album single, "Freedom! '90", written by Michael, became one of Michael's signature songs. "Freedom! '90" was directed by David Fincher, and featured supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, and Cindy Crawford lip syncing. It was a great success in the U.S. charts, reaching the top ten and selling more than 500,000 copies, while earning a gold certification from the RIAA. It was the last song from the album to reach the charts in the United States. However, it was less popular in Michael's homeland when it reached the top 40 in 1991.

The next single, "Heal the Pain", also written by Michael, was a contemplative, acoustic guitar-based love song. It was the fourth of five singles from the album. It entered the U.K. chart in February 1991 and peaked at number 31, but it did not chart in the U.S. The fifth and last single from the album, "Cowboys and Angels", became the only single released by Michael in his career that did not reach the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at number 45. The song's low sales figures were not a surprise as it was the last single to be released from the album. Each single had finished lower than its predecessor and Cowboys and Angels continued the descent.