Boy George – This Is What I Do (2013) Review

Boy George’s new album, This Is What I Do (2013), is a neat summation of not only the singer’s life, but his entire career to date. Both are chequered with moments of brilliance and times of utter despair. Like George Michael, another troubled eighties icon, Boy George has been in constant danger of becoming a tabloid caricature, much like his beloved and very tragic Amy Winehouse. Heroin addiction, community service in New York, a prison sentence in Pentonville for falsely imprisoning a male escort, huge weight gain, and a near-miss with Celebrity Big Brother all threatened to swallow the star’s musical reputation into a tale of sleaze and depravity, the kind that tabloid newspapers lap up. In the past couple of years he has cleaned up his act: lost all the weight, got off the booze, and got back to what he does best – making music. The cover photo of his new album shows a confident and healthy incarnation ready for business and determined not to end up like Winehouse.

George’s musical career has also seen its fair shares of ups and downs. For someone who has been making music for over thirty years, his output has been rather paltry: 5 studio albums with the band that made him famous – Culture Club – and 3 albums and a number of dance compilations as a solo artist. His last great album was Cheapness and Beauty (1995), released eighteen years ago. It was a record that paid homage to the seventies glam rock George grew up listening to and showed off his brilliant song writing skills. It’s rather a shame that his career is filled with so many ellipses, as he has one of the most distinctive voices in pop. What changed? Getting sober was the first step. A collaboration with Mark Ronson on the single Somebody To Love Me also helped reinvigorate him as an artist, alongside his admiration for Adele and Amy Winehouse (two white artists singing in genres historically reserved for black artists) who have followed in his footsteps.

This Is What I Do is a reclamation, a reminder to the world what a uniquely talented artist he is. The new album touches upon the reggae and gospel sounds of Culture Club, all from the perspective of a man who has been through it all and survived. The most noticeable aspect of this world-weariness is George’s voice – now a gruff baritone. It is a complete wonder and he has fun experimenting within his new register and vocal timbre. First single, King of Everything, is a stately piece of rock-pop with its Adele-sounding dissonances in the verse and a lofty chorus, making it one of his best songs in decades. “Have I lost my crown or will I be king again?” he asks, alluding to his chaotic past and squandered talent. The rest of the album is a sometimes disparate collection of reggae-lite fare, referencing his Culture Club days and the kind of bittersweet ballads of his Cheapness and Beauty days. There is not a single EDM or electro-pop song on the album, perhaps in an attempt to be taken seriously again.

Some of the strongest songs here include Live Your Life, with its autobiographical lyrics about his relationship with his father as a gay child growing up: “Everybody knew the boy was strange… his daddy was cruel he tried to make him tough/Always afraid to give him too much love”. The country-tinged It’s Easy is perhaps one of his most bittersweet ballads and has the ghost of Adele lingering in the shadows. The refrain is at the same time resigned and heartbreaking, as he mourns the end of a relationship; ‘”It’s easy when you’re the one who stops loving first.” Death of Samantha is a cover of a Yoko Ono song and features a vocal performance of a man who seems exhausted and bewildered by his life. It’s repetition of the phrase, “People say I’m cool / Yeah, I’m a cool chick, baby“, is sung with disdain and bitterness. Any Road, with its hypnotic guitar riff, proves that Boy George is still a formidable songwriter.

Unlike many albums, a number of highlights appear towards the end: My Star is a definite second single with it’s ska beats, swaggering gospel vocals, earworm chorus, and frenetic rap by Unknown MC. Love and Danger seems to be a manifesto of George’s life and also features a writing credit from one of his old Culture Club bandmates. Play Me is a six minute dub odyssey, full of record scratches, double bass, and hiccupping vocals. There are a couple of missteps on the album – Bigger Than War covers the same trite territory as Culture Club’s The War Song, while My God features the cringing line “This ain’t a song, it’s a movement”. Nice and Slow is forgettable reggae-lite, redeemed only by stirring album closer Feel the Vibration. These are minor gripes however on an album that is a return to form and a timely reminder that you can’t keep a good queen down.

Official Website of Boy George
Buy Boy George – This Is What I Do (Amazon.co.uk)