The Martyr Mantras

This is Boy George‘s masterpiece. Besotted with the culture of the UK’s acid house explosion and its psychedelic and spiritual sense of possibility, he created the More Protein label in 1989 and began releasing dance tracks. But for all the hedonism, for all the mish-mash of Hare Krishna and other spiritual teachings, for all his natural camp archness, these tracks contain his best, sharpest, most emotionally potent songwriting. The early singles “After the Love” and “Generations of Love” remain some of the most potent ever dancefloor expressions of bittersweet feelings, and there is a deep politicised thread around trauma, community and escape throughout — plus the outright protest song “No Clause 28,” referring to a British Conservative law banning “promotion of homosexuality in schools.” The music captures the energy of early Chicago house brilliantly with contributions from Paul Oakenfold and a Mark Brydon of Chakk / Moloko, with some mid/downtempo grooves seasoning the pot just so. And most importantly of all, George’s voice is the best it’s ever been, devastating in its emotional force, the absolute definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove.