Sunday Spins: 'The Singles: Echoes From the Edge of Heaven'

The Singles: Echoes From the Edge of Heaven (Sony) is a new retrospective of the amazingly fast and successful career of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as the duo WHAM! The retrospective was released worldwide on July 7, 2023.

The release is to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the WHAM! debut album Fantastic and also the recent Netflix documentary. 

I have the gatefold, 2-LP edition of the The Singles on 180g black vinyl, and yes, I purchased when the package was announced. The package is a chronological look at WHAM! and their biggest hits, starting with "Wham Rap!" and ending with "Where Did Your Heart Go."

For some odd reason, "Careless Whisper" is not part of the package. A shame since it is the biggest hit that George and Andrew wrote together. Plus, the song has a huge part in both the Netflix documentary and Andrew Ridgeley's 2019 book about his time in WHAM!

Beyond radio singles, the greatest hits release also includes some popular remixes as well. After all, WHAM! created music for dance floors!

There are many versions of The Singles, including a special box that has each single as a 7" record in a little carrying case. It's super cute and crazy expensive (it also includes a book and cassette tape, too). I chose to purchase the vinyl 2LP because I did not have all the WHAM! songs for my record player yet. I already have "Careless Whisper" on one of my George Michael records, so I'm good. I won't need to purchase any more WHAM! vinyl in the future. I suspect with the rebirth of the popularity of vinyl, that was the thought process behind this new package. For folks who are lucky enough to own original pressings of Fantastic and Make It Big, there is no need for this special anniversary release, except maybe to see the great inside cover art and read the lovely liner notes. 

I have been enjoying my new vinyl quite a lot. The sound is bloody fantastic and "Club Tropicana" is just perfect for summer. I pop it on and Eric just shakes his head and smiles. It's hard not to smile when an infectious and goofy track like "Club Tropicana" is pumping in the background.