Patience

George Michæl has been sorting out his personal life.
You will either ignore the rest of my blog or actually feel interested to read on, especially if you ask "Which part of his personal life?"

There's the toilet thing, his Mother's Cancerous death, the media-frenzied outing, the passing of his HIV Positive partner (Anselmo), or the latest...
George Michæl with his parter of 8 years will leave his home on the edge of the Thames (and his homes in America) and possibly move to Vancouver, Canada. He is so unhappy with his deceitful Prime Minister and the politics played with the US government, it's convinced him to move.
This is not a spare of the moment publicity stunt to coincide with the album release. George Michæl has been through a hell Michael Jackson can really only dream of at present. He doesn't need CD sales - thats not what he's looking for at all. He wanted to get an album out to tell his fans that he is still here, and is now (still very) capable of making an album.

Of course, George Michæl gave his first TV interview in ten years to Oprah (which helped with US album sales, but not important in the bigger picture) and we learned a lot about why he went into seclusion. He had dark days. He was depressed, and he now returns with reason (much like Prince). Here is a snippet from the Oprah Interview:

"I just wanted to tell people that I know I’ve been away a long time. The honest truth I needed to sort out my personal life. Then I felt I sorted out my personal life. Then I found out my partner was ill. I knew I was not going to be able to work. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to write or sing while I was as terrified as I was of losing my partner. He died. I spent 2 years grieving over that. 3 years after Anselmo died, I met Kenny. I called my mother the day after I met Kenny to tell her I met this wonderful man. Unfortunately, it was the same call she had to tell me she had cancer."

George Michæl has not only overcome his past demons, troubles and bad rep, he now seems to have healed, and is back in his groove, working hard and making music - his energy.
His first move was to release 'Patience' and then announce that this is his last "album". Anything further is to be released on the internet, and I applaud that. It marks a change in George Michæl, from the chart dependent days of 'Wham', 'Faith' or 'Listen Without Predjuice'.
If you own 'Older', then you will understand that on a musical level that 'Patience' is similar, but the drive behind each of these albums is seemingly different.

George Michæl HAS substance, and those who wish to obtain the good stuff will find it, more frequently and on-demand online. This is the calibre of high quality work that will not come from any made for TV Idol or todays 'hairgel' Pop/Rock bands.
George Michæl has the history, credibility, freedom and talent and I'll sure as hell support him. In years to come, those who ignore this move may realise how important this really is. Many have boxed him as one of those struggling-but-talented 80's has-beens. They of course don't know much about him at all and only see dollar signs.

Artists like Elton John, George Michæl, Michael Jackson and Madonna have been at the top for a long time, have gone through tremendous change and despite some having major personal issues, remain extremely talented and continue to prove they are the lifeblood of international pop music regardless of what the current 'trend' or 'fashionable pap' is. They're innovators and are often one or two steps ahead of the game. They are true superstars and I feel lucky to even own a George Michæl CD, as I may never buy anything new from him on CD again.

George Michael on Oprah: Transcript