Michael Jackson's Music is the Strangest Thing About Him

This is, just in case people are confused, 1-part greatest hits and 1-part new album. And it's sort of a strange combination. With the greatest hits CD, you get the absolute best of Michael's glory days. And the second CD, proves that Michael was on top of his game, after all the bad publicity and the hellish year that 93-94 was. His sister Janet, riding high on the third of her huge successes, the self-titled JANET- even comes to his aid here.



Now Michael Jackson has lead a very difficult life, and his music career has reflected his personal struggle. Some people say you hear the fight with the cynical public and hounding media and people who've turned on him in many of his songs. Some of the songs on the greatest hits disc reflect a toughness Michael adopted in his hit records toward the general misunderstanding of his actions and lifestyle (the lavish Neverland ranch / amusement park, young children for close friends, longing for fantasy and detachment from harsh reality).



The older songs on the first disc are just pop/R&B anthems of love of affection and love of dance. His two hit records of the '80s were very interesting, I mean who would have thought he would score a humongous hit with a song so clearly intended to be a novelty- "Thriller"? Then Bad's songs were a huge step down from the perfect production that the Thriller album was. Bad as an album was a bigger success of image and publicity than it was for it's music. And then Dangerous was another publicity measure- the controversy of the video "Black or White", and a song titled "In the Closet", and over-the-top videos like "Remember the Time".



This is why his music remains the strangest thing about him. And it probably always will be. But his best record since Thriller is here, comprising the 2nd disc. "Heal the World" from the Dangerous album doesn't come close to the heights that "Earth Song" reaches. "Stranger in Moscow" and "You Are Not Alone" rate up there as the best slow jams of his career. And "Scream" is truly a success of it's multi-million dollar budgeted music video, Janet's added presence, it's overall message, and the super-funky beat! Michael also proves he's up to speed with incredibly hip jams like "2 Bad", "This Time Around", "They Don't Care About Us", and the ultra-smooth "Money".



Unfortunately this album's not perfect, and the proof is in the worst song Michael Jackson's ever recorded - "Childhood Theme" for Free Willy 2. The song is every bit as bad as the film! Also "Little Susie" is creepy, and in the most disturbing way you can imagine- think "Thriller" times ten. So this is a 4-star affair rather than 5. That and the fact that excellent Jackson tracks are missing from the greatest hits, you knew there'd be some- "In the Closet", and "Smooth Criminal". I mean, "Heal the World" is really sacrifice-able!



But let's talk about those classic Jackson songs- "The Way You Make Me Feel" from Bad is my favorite Jackson song of the '80s, and a lot of people have said "Man in the Mirror" is a low point of Bad, but I feel it's one of the highs. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is one of the best disco songs of all time. This is how Jackson will always be remembered by me and the people who were bigger fans, the people who got me listening to him when I was a kid. I may always be much more rabid about following Madonna, and I may have grown up with Mariah Carey. But Jackson will always be the male King of Pop for me. This is a good way to immortalize him. Not great, but really good.

Past, Present, Future...There can only be one!

History was Michael Jackson's first greatest hits album since one that he made in the late 80's that never came out on CD i think. On this double album you'll find the best of the best on the first disc, including "Billie Jean" "Bad" and "Thriller" 15 songs are included and all pretty good. I would have liked to see "Smooth Criminal" and "In The Closet" on the first disc however. You can find the first one on the new greatest hits album "Number One's".



The Second disc included all new songs and there are lots of good songs too. It starts with the amazing duet between MJ and Janet "Scream" which also was the most expensive video ever made at that time. It is a agreesive uptempo track not to miss. "They Don't Care About Us" is probably the best song of the album. It's a typical MJ song, midtempo with both good lyrics and hook. "Stranger In Moscow" is a ballad about how it can feel to be completely alone. "This Time Around" is a midempo trademark song that also includes some Rap. The fifth song is "Earth Song" which follows the trend of songs about peace and global problems. The song starts slow but becomes faster for the longer it goes. It's very unique and convincing. One of the best aswell. "DS" is also a midtempo song about the villain Dom Sheldom. I don't know who he is though."Money" is one of my favorites, it's soulish and very catchy with yet another good hook. "Come Together" is a very good cover of the classic Beatles song. MJ rarely make covers but when he does they are well made. "You are Not Alone" was the only new song that weren't written by Michael. It was R.Kelly that wrote it, its yet another wonderful ballad and highlight. "Childhood" is slow, really slow and long. It's about Michael's non-existant childhood. Very deep song with good lyrics. "Tabloid Junkie" is a uptempo song about what the newspapers write about artists, it's got a good hook. "2 Bad" is not a remix of the 1987 song "Bad" this one is a new uptempo song but it's forgettable. "History" is far too long here, but this one was the original version of the song. The uptempo song could be found on "Blood On the Dancefloor" "Little Susie" is a deep ballad about a young girl that dies. More of a tribute then something to write home about. Ditto with "Smile" written for the memory of Charlie Chaplin.



I didn't like some of the unreleased songs at first but though the years they growed on me. "History" disc 2 got great variety and no fillers really even if some songs aren't top songs for the charts. All of the songs also make sense since they bring up interesting subjects. One negative thing with the album was that there were only lyrics of a few of the newer songs, on all others Mj's album there have always been lyrics available for the songs. I could probably go on forever about this album. For both casual and major fans this is a album to not miss. Make sure that you listen to the second disc though, and don't skip any of the songs before you've heard them completely. "History" is a must have.

The Book according to MJ

Michael Jackson has faced a lot of controversey in his career but folks musn't shy away from such a talented figure.
I'm sorry Janet fans but Michael is the only true talented Jackson, Janet is Madonna junior and sells records with her sexy abs.

Now regarding this 2 disc essential compilation. The first cd is just full of classic hits, end of story. The second cd is Michael's most confessional work, expressing his feelings towards, racism, politics, state of the world, and the media. He also expresses the longings of his childhood in "Childhood," and how he must return to the roots of his past. A cover of "Smile" is not the best, but doesn't hurt and the ballad of Little Susie is heartaching and very creative.
A must have, BUY NOW