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. Co-produced with Phil Ramone, it is Michael's only album consisting entirely of cover versions. It consists mainly of old jazz standards, along with new interpretations of more recent popular songs such as "Roxanne" by The Police and "Miss Sarajevo" by U2 and Brian Eno. Both were released as promotional singles.
History
Songs from the Last Century is the only album in Michael's solo catalogue to not reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number two on the chart dated 11 December 1999. It was kept from the top spot by Shania Twain's Come On Over.
Another version of the album's opening track, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", features Michael and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti performing at the "Pavarotti and Friends for Cambodia and Tibet" live show on 6 June 2000. This version was included on the limited edition of Michael's 2006 greatest hits album, Twenty Five.
Promotion
The cover photography was shot in New York City in November 1999 and features the original World Trade Center in the background.
A promotional video for "Roxanne" was filmed in the Red District of Amsterdam, depicting the daily routines of real-life sex workers. At the end of the video, a woman named Franciska, who uses the alias "Roxanne", is shown leaving the profession.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.
- 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
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1999–2000)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
| 5
|-
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Top 100)
| 2
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Irish Albums (IRMA)
| 7
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 59
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
| 11
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1999)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 74
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 18
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2000)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 93
|-
! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 39
|-
! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
| 86
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)
| 87
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)
| 33
|-
! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 64
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)
| 98
|}