"Heal the Pain" is a song written and performed by British singer-songwriter
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
and released on
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
in February 1991. A contemplative, acoustic guitar-based love song, it was the fourth of five UK singles taken from his second solo album, ''
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' (1990).
The song entered the
UK Singles Chart in February 1991 and peaked at number 31. It followed a pattern of being slightly lower than its predecessor (the previous three singles had peaked at numbers 6, 23 and 28, respectively). One more single from the album would continue the pattern, by not even breaking the threshold of the top 40. "Soul Free", also taken from ''
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'', appeared as the B-side. For the fourth US single, Columbia Records used "Soul Free" as the A-side and "
Cowboys and Angels" as the B-side, but the single did not chart.
The band
Lemon Jelly have used an uncredited sample of the track on the B-side of their single "
Rolled/Oats
Lemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London that formed in 1998 and went on hiatus starting in 2008. Since its inception, the band members have always been Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for awards l ...
".
Brazilian singers
Fernanda Takai
Fernanda Barbosa Takai (; born 25 August 1971) is a Brazilian singer, better known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Pato Fu. She has also been working on a solo career since 2007.
In 2011, she collaborated with Atom™, ...
and
Samuel Rosa
Samuel Rosa de Alvarenga (born July 15, 1966) is lead singer, primary composer and guitarist of Brazilian rock band Skank (band), Skank. He has a psychology degree from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
Samuel writes the music for most of t ...
recorded a version of the song in
Portuguese titled ''Pra Curar Essa Dor'', for Takai's fourth studio album, ''Na Medida do Impossível'', released in 2014.
Critical reception
Adam Sweeting from ''
The Guardian'' named "Heal the Pain" one of the "best tracks" of ''
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1''. He added that the song "with its close harmonies and neck-brushing acoustic guitars, is the
Paul McCartney ballad the Fab One never wrote."
[Sweeting, Adam (30 August 1990). "Music: Now George Wants Your Cheques". '' The Guardian''.]
Charts
2006 version
In 2005, it was announced that Michael would be recording a version of the track with
Paul McCartney, in whose style the song was written. Michael appeared on the
Chris Evans show on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
on 5 December 2005, and announced that he had recorded the song with McCartney "last week" but did not know what he was going to do with it yet. The track was later added to the greatest hits collection ''
Twenty Five''.
In 2008, it was released as a single from the US release of George Michael's greatest hits album ''Twenty Five''.
References
External links
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George Michael songs
1991 singles
2008 singles
Songs written by George Michael
Song recordings produced by George Michael
Pop ballads
Epic Records singles
1990 songs