Review: “Sold” by Boy George (CD, 1987)

Today’s Pop Rescue from a fate unknown, is the 1987 debut solo album Sold by British singer, songwriter, and television presenter, and member of iconic group Culture Club, Boy George. Will this album turn out to be value for money, or will you soon be hunting down your receipt? Read on…

The album opens with the mysteriousness of titular track and third single, Sold. A guitar throws us a little repeated riff before the beat and fantastically 80’s synths drop in. Here, Boy George gives some harder almost rock vocals, sounding somewhat unlike those heard on a Culture Club track. Curiously, this is the first of the four tracks co-written with Lamont Dozier – a mastermind behind many of the Motown hits. Strangely, this track doesn’t fit that style at all, leaving me to wonder how much he influenced it. The vocal style jars a little, but perhaps that’s the attitude to this solo album, but as a single it stumbled, reaching #24.

Next is I Asked For Love, and in this song we’re album to hear George’s more familiar singing vocal. The track meanders along with great ease as he’s flanked here with some soft backing vocals over a simple pop song. This probably should have been a single.

Second single Keep Me In Mind is next, and this takes a mellow soft love song sound to it, that reminds me of one of those Michael Jackson album fillers from the 80s. Whilst second out in the singles sequence, it failed to repeat its predecessor’s #1 status, instead stumbling and falling just inside the Top 30, at #29.

Lead single Everything I Own is next, and this track gave Boy George a UK #1 with his solo debut single. This track is stylistically very much like a missing reggae-style Culture Club song. The chorus gives plenty of fodder for singing along to, and it’s flanked by tons of percussion, with the space in the song being just as catchy as the sound.

Freedom comes bursting in next, and a racing beat and synth pads lead us towards the first verse. George is defiant here in his lyrics, opening with ‘read it in the bible, I told you not to waste my time’. Backing vocalists and dramatic synth stabs help to keep this song flowing and evolving nicely. It’s quite a nice little foot-tapper, and again probably could have fared well as a single.

A fill of snares drop in at the start of Just Ain’t Enough that fleetingly made me think of Jive Bunny… but it’s a false alarm. Here, George has an air of Elton John in his performance with his rockier vocals set alongside a piano. The beat is upbeat, the song is catchy, and the backing vocalists sound like they’re having a ball, but George’s vocals just sound quite raspy here, and sadly that detracts a little. An Elton version would work better.

That’s followed by Where Are You Now (When I Need You)?, and it seems to be nodding a little towards disco pop, with big vocals and sweeping string/brass sections. This track is a really nice catchy song, with some funky bass, a great beat, and perfect backing vocals. I can imagine there being some banging remixes, but sadly, it didn’t make it to being a single.

The energy seems to continue on for next song Little Ghost, which vocally doesn’t sound like Boy George at all – imagine a capable singer trying to sound like Elvis whilst backed with some harder sinisterness from Arcade Fire (Neon Bible era)! The track is actually a cover of a song by Max (also 1987), although George makes it heavier, although fairly loyal to Max’s version. It’s nice enough.

Next Time follows that, and takes a guitar-led playfulness. The piano makes it sound like comedic, but wait for George’s vocals as they really are a piss-take. Here, he sounds like he’s putting on some more of his raspy vocals and in the process sounds like he’s trying to voice Popeye having an orgasm most of the time. I’m not sure there’d be a ‘next’ time if this was sung to me.

We’re back to safety for next song We’ve Got The Right. Here, George gives us a nice mid-tempo 1980’s fully rounded pop song. This allows George to show off his soft vocals and range with ease, and he sounds great here, perhaps a little lacking in vocal high points, but it’s a good strong song.

A piano leads us into the album’s final track To Be Reborn. This ballad was the fourth and final single, and whilst it is a big slow number, it does show off George’s vocals as he sings these heart-aching lyrics with wonderful precision. Eventually a slow beat arrives, allowing the song to progress, but they keep aside to let George’s vocals to shine. The single reached #13, giving BG a higher position than the three preceding singles.

Boy George’s lead single ‘Everything I Own’ from 1987.

Verdict

Over all, this album is a bit of a mixture of great pop songs and some slightly jarring stylistic choices.

I was curious to see just how non-Culture Club this album could be, and how pop conforming it would be given Boy George’s trail-blazing style, but what we get is a mixture. There’s some ballads – with To Be Reborn being a wonderful song, some nice easy pop songs like I Asked For Love and Everything I Own, and a banger of a track (that sadly didn’t make it as a single) in the guise of Where Are You Now (When I Need You)?.

However, there are some moments where the album takes a tumble and these culminate in the track Next Time which just feels like a particularly stupid jam session that accidentally got pressed to the album – at best, a contractual obligation from a singer who decided to mock it with a laughably bad vocal style.

There’s some nice gentle tracks here, one stinker, and one banger, and plenty of wonderful 1980’s sounds to wallow in. It’s Sold, but i’m keeping the receipt and may be back in 16 days or less.