In my opinion, the mid-90’s were George Michael’s peak period of vocal performance and integrated artistry (without meaning to belittle a few very accomplished and mature songs, such as "A Different Corner" or "Kissing A Fool", that were released as early as 1986/1987). His performances at the Concert of Hope in Wembley on 01-Dec-1993, at the MTV Unplugged concert in Three Mills Studio on 11-Oct-1996 and at the Parkinson tv show on BBC1 on 09-Dec-1998 are the most accomplished and moving I have seen. His album Older, released in 1996, reached levels of universality and timelessness never surpassed in his career, and rarely matched by any other pop artist (for lack of a better suited music genre). The Older album as a whole is a perfected piece of art, as cohesive and evolved as it could ever be. And the MTV Unplugged performance, coming on the heels of Older’s release, prominently features songs from that album.To finally be able to access officially the MTV Unplugged recording in full is in itself an incredible favour to all GM fans. I keep optimistic that the Concert of Hope will one day receive a similar treatment.Now, to see the Japanese BSCD2 manufacturing standard applied to that MTV Unplugged recording is superlative. The sound quality is clear, intent and smooth, and it feels like being right there in the front row. This intimate live version of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” creates emotion of a new type, as the power of the song goes beyond what had been previously experienced through the studio version (let alone the countless other renditions undertaken by other artists, some of which it would be an outrage to even mention!)Being able to listen to "Praying For Time", “Cowboys & Angels”, “Freedom! '90 (Back To Reality Mix)” and “Too Funky (Extended)” in BSCD2 format is another reason to own the Japanese version of the Deluxe box set reissue of Listen Without Prejudice. This is one set to not miss out on, despite its hefty price tag.

Comes with full sized extra Japanese booklet and although the download code mentions everything in the box I actually only got the "Fantasy feat. Nile Rogers" in the download. Not complaining though as the Blu spec2 CD's are indeed superior in sound compared to regular CD's. I was very sceptical about that until I heard the Blu spec 2 CD of Youthquake by Dead or Alive.