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Music from the Edge of Heaven

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Music from the Edge of Heaven
North American cover artwork
Studio album by
Wham!
Released27 June 1986
RecordedAugust 1984; 1985–1986
VenueWorkers' Gymnasium (Beijing)[1]
StudioSarm West (London)
Length45:14
LabelColumbia CK-40825
ProducerGeorge Michael
Wham! chronology
Make It Big
(1984) 		Music from the Edge of Heaven
(1986) 		The Final
(1986)
Singles from Music from the Edge of Heaven
  1. "Last Christmas"
    Released: 3 December 1984
  2. "I'm Your Man"
    Released: 11 November 1985[2]
  3. "A Different Corner"
    Released: 24 March 1986
  4. "The Edge of Heaven"
    Released: 9 June 1986[3]
  5. "Where Did Your Heart Go?"
    Released: October 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[5]
Stylus Magazine(Positive)[6]

Music from the Edge of Heaven is the third and final studio album by English pop duo Wham!. It was released on 27 June 1986 by Columbia Records.[7]

Background

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Music from the Edge of Heaven was only released in North America and Japan. In other territories, an album called The Final was released. Both albums share some of the same songs. Music from the Edge of Heaven generally acted as a studio album from Wham! for the North American and Japanese markets. It consisted of some songs not available on The Final as well. The Final was a greatest hits album as it included a few of the same songs, but also included many of their previous hits from their two prior albums. Decades later, Music from the Edge of Heaven was not included in the CD remastering series by the duo's record company because of the album's limited release; however, The Final was included.

"The Edge of Heaven", "Battlestations", "Wham Rap! '86" and "Where Did Your Heart Go?", according to the liner notes, are newly recorded for the album, with "The Edge of Heaven", "Battlestations" and "Where Did Your Heart Go?" also appearing on The Final; the other half was slightly changed for the collection, with the exception of the Pudding Mix of "Last Christmas":

  • The version of "A Different Corner" featured has an intro that does not appear elsewhere, aside from the song's music video.
  • The version of "I'm Your Man" is slightly edited down from the Stimulation Mix and features a newly recorded spoken bridge.
  • This marks the only appearance of "Blue (live in China)" on CD.

A box set of the three studio albums by the band titled Original Album Classics was released on 20 March 2015, which included Music from the Edge of Heaven.

Although it did not have a physical release in forms such as vinyl or CD in Europe, Music from the Edge of Heaven was released in Europe on the iTunes Store for the first time to download in late 2017.[8]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by George Michael, except where noted.

Hot Side
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Edge of Heaven" 4:31
2."Battlestations" 5:25
3."I'm Your Man" 6:05
4."Wham! Rap '86"
6:33
Cool Side
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."A Different Corner" 4:30
6."Blue" (live in China; recorded at the Workers' Gymnasium, Beijing[1]) 5:43
7."Where Did Your Heart Go?" (Was (Not Was) cover)
5:43
8."Last Christmas" (Pudding mix) 6:44
Total length:45:14

Personnel

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  • George Michael – vocals, keyboards, piano, drum machine, arranger, producer
  • Andrew Ridgeley – backing vocals, guitar
  • Danny Cummings – drums, percussion
  • Andy Duncan – drums, percussion
  • Charlie Morgan – drums, percussion
  • Trevor Murrell – drums, percussion
  • Deon Estus – bass
  • John McKenzie – bass
  • Bob Carter – keyboards, piano
  • Richard Cottle – keyboards, piano
  • Tommy Eyre – keyboards, piano
  • Elton John – keyboards, piano
  • Danny Schogger – keyboards, piano
  • Robert Ahwai – guitar
  • David Austin – guitar
  • David Baptiste – saxophone
  • Andy Hamilton – saxophone
  • Guy Barker – horns
  • Simon Gardner – horns
  • Chris Hunter – horns
  • Paul Spong – horns
  • Rick Taylor – horns
  • Shirlie Holliman – backing vocals
  • Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque – backing vocals
  • Janet Mooney – backing vocals
  • Leroy Osbourne – backing vocals
  • Jenny Hallet – backing vocals
  • Dee C. Lee – backing vocals
Technical
  • Chris Porter – engineer, mixing

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Certifications and sales for Music from the Edge of Heaven
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) — 158,000[10]
United States (RIAA)[14] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Patrick, Al (28 April 1985). "ROCK: East meets Wham!, and another great wall comes down". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Booker T & The Mgs, Green Onions, Single". BPI.
  3. ^ "Booker T & The Mgs, Green Onions, Single". BPI.
  4. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Music from the Edge of Heaven at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  5. ^ Fricke, David (28 August 1986). "Wham: Music from the Edge of Heaven: Music Review". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007.
  6. ^ Inskeep, Thomas (6 December 2005). "Music from the Edge of Heaven – On Second Thought — Stylus Magazine". Archived from the original on 29 March 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA.
  8. ^ iTunes – Wham! – Music from the edge of heaven
  9. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Archived 12 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 27 February 2012
  10. ^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  11. ^ "Wham! Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  12. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1986". RPM. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  13. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Wham – Edge". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  14. ^ "American album certifications – Wham – Edge of Heaven". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
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