Trisha Shetty (Editor)

U Can Never B2 Straight

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Released
  
2002

Length
  
67:39

Artist
  
Boy George

Label
  
Virgin Records

Recorded
  
1991, 1995, 2002

U Can Never B 2 Straight(2002)
  
Ordinary Alien(2010)

Release date
  
2002

U Can Never B2 Straight httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb8

The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit(1999)
  
U Can Never B 2 Straight(2002)

Genres
  
Acoustic music, Country music

Producers
  
Kevan Frost, Boy George, John Themis

Similar
  
Boy George albums, Ballad albums

Cheapness and beauty


U Can Never B2 Straight is a 2002 album by Boy George. The album includes acoustic songs from George's London play Taboo, new and previously unreleased songs, as well as selected songs taken from his albums Cheapness and Beauty and The Martyr Mantras, the latter from when George was part of the band Jesus Loves You.

Contents

Boy george ich bin kunst i am art on brittish pop icon


Album overview

The album includes 16 songs (8 previously unreleased), each dedicated to someone in particular or in general. Three songs are dedicated to George's ex-boyfriend Michael Dunne ("If I Could Fly", "Losing Control" and "The Deal"), whereas "Unfinished Business" is for Kirk Brandon (who took George to court for this song, but lost).

The hidden track "Out of Fashion" was taken out as a single in remixed form as a collaboration with dance duo Hi-Gate; a version of the song is also featured on the Taboo musical soundtrack. Another track which was released as video-only was the opener "Ich Bin Kunst", a song dealing with the late performance artist Leigh Bowery, a great friend of George's, whose character he took on in his musical.

U Can Never B2 Straight includes all the acoustic ballads originally on George's 1995 album Cheapness and Beauty, including the single "Il Adore", as well as "Same Thing In Reverse" (a different version from the dance remix which reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Dance Chart). "Same Thing In Reverse" is dedicated in the booklet credits to 'Eminem and all scared, pretty homosexuals'... The song "Julian", a new song, is also featured on the EP Straight, a CD which was included with George's 2005 autobiography of the same name.

The album also contains the following three tracks: "She Was Never He", taken from the 1999 fan-requested compilation The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit; "Fat Cat", originally on Culture Club's 1999 reunion album Don't Mind If I Do, and the popular Krishna-inspired "Bow Down Mister", which gave George one of his last UK chart successes after splitting from Culture Club.

Reviews

AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5. It also got four stars from Q magazine.

Track listing

  1. "Ich Bin Kunst" (2002) (song from the musical Taboo) - 2:38 (Boy George, Kevan Frost)
  2. "St. Christopher" (2002) (new song) - 3:46 (Boy George, Kevan Frost)
  3. "She Was Never He" (1996) (unreleased mixed version) - 3:33 (Boy George, John Themis)
  4. "Cheapness & Beauty" (1995) (acoustic version taken from the "Il Adore" single) - 3:47 (Boy George, John Themis)
  5. "Fat Cat" (1999) (acoustic version) - 3:24 (Boy George, Emily Themis)
  6. "If I Could Fly" (1995) (taken from Cheapness and Beauty) - 4:08 (Boy George, John Themis)
  7. "Unfinished Business" (1995) (taken from Cheapness and Beauty) - 3:36 (Boy George, John Themis)
  8. "Julian" (2002) (new song) - 3:39 (Boy George, Kevan Frost)
  9. "Wrong" (2002) (new song originally in Taboo) - 4:07 (Boy George, Kevan Frost)
  10. "Letter to a School Friend" (1996) (unreleased)- 3:49 (Boy George, John Themis)
  11. "The Deal" (2002) (old live favourite often sung around 1991 to 1993) - 4:41 (Boy George, John Themis)
  12. "Losing Control" (1992–2002) (unreleased version adapted from a 1992 Jesus Loves You country demo) - 3:15 (Boy George, John Themis)
  13. "Same Thing in Reverse" (1995) (from Cheapness and Beauty, even if an acoustic version is found on the Japanese version of that album) - 3:35 (Boy George, John Themis)
  14. "Il Adore" (1995) (from Cheapness and Beauty) - 6:14 (Boy George, John Themis)
  15. "Bow Down Mister" (1991) (from Jesus Loves You's The Martyr Mantras) (Boy George)
  16. "Out of Fashion" (2002) (acoustic version of a song from Taboo) - hidden bonus track

Ich Bin Kunst

dedicated to Leigh Bowery, Nicola and Christine Bateman

  • Boy George: co-production
  • Kevan Frost: keyboards, drum programming & brass arrangements; mix at Frosty Bros. Studio (Kev's flat); co-production
  • Ben Castle: saxophone & brass arrangements
  • Raul D'Olivera: trumpet
  • Mike Innes: trombone

    • St. Christopher

    dedicated to Chris Manning

  • Boy George: co-production
  • Kevan Frost: backing vocals, acoustic guitar & brass arrangements; mix at Frosty Bros. Studio (Kev's flat); co-production
  • Ben Castle: saxophone & brass arrangements
  • Raul D'Olivera: trumpet
  • Mike Innes: trombone
  • Sharleen Hector: backing vocals

    • She Was Never He

    dedicated to Natasha and Jody

  • Boy George: co-production
  • John Themis: guitars, backing vocals, co-production; mix at Mayfair Studios
  • Kevan Frost: backing vocals
  • Alan Branch: engineer

    • Cheapness & Beauty

    dedicated to all tattooed car thieves - dedicated to Jon Moss

  • Jessica Corcoran: production
  • John Themis: guitars, backing vocals, strip & remix
  • Zee Asha: backing vocals
  • Alan Branch: engineer

    • Fat Cat

    dedicated to all sexually confused straight boys?

  • John Themis: guitars, production; mix at home
  • Emily Themis, Katherine Themis: backing vocals

    • If I Could Fly

    dedicated to Michael Dunne

  • Jessica Corcoran: production
  • John Themis: guitars & string arrangements; mix at Abbey Road Studios
  • Nick Ingman: string arrangements
  • London Chamber Orchestra: strings

    • Unfinished Business

    dedicated to Kirk Brandon

  • Jessica Corcoran: production & mix
  • John Themis: guitars, string arrangements & mix

    • Julian

    dedicated to Julian, of course

  • Boy George: co-production
  • Kevan Frost: acoustic guitar, backing vocals and co-production; mix at Frosty Bros. Studio (Kev's flat)

    • Wrong

    dedicated to Luke and all dreamers

  • Boy George: co-production
  • Kevan Frost: acoustic guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals and co-production; mix at Frosty Bros. Studio (Kev's flat)
  • Pete Adams: piano & Hammond
  • Liz Chi: Chinese violin "edu" solo
  • Joel Pott, Sharleen Hector, John Gibbons: backing vocals

    • Letter To A School Friend

    dedicated to Miss Carter and Michael Crome

  • John Themis: guitars, production; mix at Mayfair Studios
  • Zee Asha, Linda Duggan, Mary Pearse: backing vocals
  • Richie Stevens: drums
  • Winston Blisset: bass
  • Peter Adams: keyboards
  • Alan Branch: engineer

    • The Deal

    dedicated to Michael Dunne

  • Boy George: co-production
  • Kevan Frost: acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals and co-production; mix at Frosty Bros. Studio (Kev's flat)
  • Liz Chi: violins & violin solo
  • Sarah Chi: violins

    • Sharleen Hector, John Gibbons: backing vocals

    Losing Control

    dedicated to Michael Dunne

  • John Themis: guitars, keyboards, bass, backing vocals, production & mix
  • Sugar Hajishakalli: bouzouki
  • Andy Kyriacou: drums
  • Jimmy "Mixologist" Sarikas: engineer

    • Same Thing In Reverse

    dedicated to Eminem and all scared, pretty homosexuals

  • John Themis: guitars, backing vocals
  • Zee Asha: backing vocals
  • Jessica Corcoran: production & mix

    • Il Adore

    dedicated to Stevie Hughes and all the lost boys

  • Jessica Corcoran: production
  • John Themis: guitars, string arrangements; mix at Abbey Road Studios
  • Nick Ingram: string arrangements
  • London Chamber Orchestra: strings
  • Christopher Warren Green: violin solo

    • Bow Down Mister

    dedicated to Lord Krishna and John Richardson & family

  • Bruce Forest: production
  • Soho Krishna Temple, London Gospel Choir & Basil: special thanks

    • Songs

    1Ich Bin Kunst2:40
    2St Christopher3:48
    3She Was Never He3:35

    References

    U Can Never B2 Straight Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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