It was undoubtedly a must-see concert. The final leg of George Michael's two-year worldwide tour that will mark the end of his live career.

His Earls Court concerts were billed as The Final Two - a nod to Wham!’s The Final at Wembley Stadium - although dedicated fans will be in Copenhagen for another last chance to wave goodbye on Saturday.

Michael has said he wants a 'quieter life', and at the second Earls Court show last night he told fans: 'It's been an amazing ride but there seemed to be too many moments when the compromises seemed too huge.'

Never Going to Dance Again? George Michael failed to convince critics that this was his final performance

Perhaps that was a reference to personal problems ending up in the media, or simply his age.

'I'm an old man, I really need to sit down,' he said after nearly two-and-a-half hours strutting up and down the ego ramp.

Nevertheless, Michael's voice was smooth and his dancing was defiantly funky for his age. The former 'Wham!' member told the 32,000 excited fans at London's Earls Court 'You are going to be the recipients of 103 shows' experience.'

And today's newspapers all agreed that the show was about as Flawless as it could get. That is where the similarities ended though, as opinions varied as wildly as George Michael's back catalogue.

Looking slick in a brown suit, tinted shades and platforms, Michael, 45, opened the two-and-a-half hour set with the 1990 hit 'Waiting for that day', before moving swiftly into the super-smooth 'Fast Love'.

Flawless: The big-budget production was as smooth as George himself

But it was the earlier hits that the crowd really came to see, and a rousing rendition of 'I'm Your Man' that really had them going, singing along so enthusiastically that Michael himself was drowned out.

Critics' opinions were less uniform. Despite the fact that there was generally positive praise for the slick, big-budget production, reviewers from The Times and The Guardian were critical of Michael's more recent work and style.

Times writer Stephen Dalton deemed the performance 'more Cliff than Elvis', and said of his look 'he looks more like a wholesome daytime TV presenter'.

The Guardian's Ian Gittins in turn had praise for the 'celebratory, disco-friendly revisits of Wham! landmarks', but found Michael's post-Wham! works 'so tasteful as to lack any great flavour'.

The Evening Standard had better things to say about Michael's performance, finding him 'an easygoing superstar, eager to roll back the years for an adoring crowd', though the compliments stalled when it came to 'dodgy rave moments and over-long ballads'.

Faith-ful: Earls Court arena was packed with 32,000 fans

The 25 Live Tour finale garnered more praise from The Independent, The Sun and The Telegraph.

The Independent said that 'a good dose of nostalgia' was exactly what the audience came to see, and deemed his voice 'pitch-perfect'. The Sun sent their superfan showbiz reporter whose gushing review mirrored the response of the crowd that Michael had wrapped around his little finger.

But it was George Michael's enthusiasm, energy and humour that really won round both crowd and reviewers. 'It's great to be home I have to tell you,' he said.

I'm Your Man: Crowd-pleaser George Michael

His self-deprecating humour belied his 100 million record-selling status as he joked about his 1998 LA arrest. 'In America they know me as the guy who did Faith... and a few other things'. He played on the joke further dressing in a policeman uniform for his performance of Outside.

Michael also mocked the heterosexual lyric about 'the perfect girl for me' in Everything She Wants ('yeah, right!').

Freedom 90 was a perfect finale for his screaming supporters.

But as the pop star sang 'I'm Never Going To Dance Again', neither the critics or the audience seemed convinced that this was the last they would see of the music megastar.

Michael even promised that there would be more to come as he revealed to the audience on Sunday that he would be releasing a new Christmas song on Christmas Day, along with a cover of Nina Simone's Feeling Good. Both will be free to download.

The 25 Live farewell tour began in Barcelona in September 2006. The worldwide tour covered Europe and North America and has attracted more than 1.3 million fans