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The Essential Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson has been entertaining the world with his incredible music talent, supreme dance moves and ground-breaking dynamism for over four decades. And now, for the first time EVER, The Essential Michael Jackson presents his most legendary songs in a two-disc greatest hits set. The Essential Michael Jackson is more than just a collection of greatest hits, though: it’s a timeline, a history lesson, a journey, an escapade and a rich texture of vibrant sounds. It's truly essential!! This ultimate album comprises songs from as early as 1969’s ‘I Want You Back’ with the Jackson 5 to 2001’s ‘You Rock My World’ (‘Invincible’). Tracklisting:
"It is less than eight weeks since a Las Vegas casino hosted an acquittal Party attended by the extended family of Michael Jackson, the singer’s legal team and assorted members of the Santa Monican Jury which had just cleared Jackson of grim Child Abuse claims. The man in the mirror himself remains reclusive, even by his own notorious standards. Yet following the trial, and amid stories of Jackson’s impending financial ruin, Sony have hastily opted to reintroduce us to the cream of man’s oeuvre by releasing this 2 CD "Essential selection". With few track selection surprises on offer any remaining intrigue is designated to figuring out the motives behind the release. Is it a desperate fund raising venture geared to bailing out the fallen idol? Is the CD a damage limitation exercise? Are Sony begging us to now forget the lurid revelations, the full scale "shrine" to Macauley Culkin, the mysterious ante-chamber hidden beyond Jackson’s Neverland bedroom, the slough of "Barely Legal" Porno mags, and re-focus on the artist not the man? Are Sony actually cashing in on publicity from the trial, striking whilst the iron is hot? Whichever way, revisiting Jackson’s hits catalogue should never be considered a chore. The new temptation is to listen out for prophetic lyrical signifiers. And they can be found in abundance. When Jackson’s not complaining that he is "tired of being the victim of hate" (They Don’t Care About Us) he’s staring at the mirror telling himself to "Take a look at yourself, and then make a change" (Man In The Mirror), a snippet of self-help advice the singer should surely have binned. Even Billie Jean’s "The kid is not my son" is given a fresh hue following Martin Bashir’s toe-curling expose of the singer. With the packaging wisely bookended by photos of a youthful Jackson, sparing us an unwelcome glimpse of the present day's Willie Wonka’s death-mask, the track selections are helpfully chronological. This means that CD1 opens with a succession of untouchable Jackson 5 classics. And goes some way to proving Sony’s point in the timing of the release. By the end of 1978’s Blame it on the Boogie the Jesus Juice tastes so damn innocent you feel like heading over to Neverland for a sleepover yourself. When Jackson began dipping his toes in the water as a solo artist the standard doesn’t drop. Astutely teaming up with Arranger, Producer, Composer, and all round genius Quincy Jones the singer entered what is known as his creative golden age. Quincy cut his teeth as an arranger with Miles Davis in the 1950’s and had little difficulty excelling in the field of 1970’s disco. Their first collaboration, the LP Off The Wall took Jackson into uncharted realms commercially, and is well represented by three tracks here. Quincy Jones transformed Jackson from an electrifying disco star, fronting a hi-energy dance outfit into the super-slick, all conquering Uberminch that was to follow. Razor tight production defined the sound. Jones stripped the funkier rhythms of the 70’s down to singular punches, mixing and broadening the genre’s range to include rock guitar licks and swathed synths. It was these details that pulled Jackson out of the racially segregated disco ghetto and into America’s mainstream limelight. Thriller produced no less than 7 global hits, all of which are present on this collection. Disc One closes with the Best Selling Album Of All Time’s title track. It’s the sound of a collaboration that has broken through the sound barrier, oozing confidence and near perfection. In 1983 the pulsating beat was seminal, but in 2005 it’s the eerily predictive voice over from actor Vincent Price that also raises the eyebrows. As the Disc draws to a close Price could almost be foretelling Jackson’s future horrors, anticipating the disintegration that takes place on the second disk. The voice warns that "though you fight to stay alive your body starts to shiver". We are left with Price’s maniacal, haunted laughter. As though some dark force had suddenly arrived to reclaim his dues from Jackson’s Faustian pact. The devil duly obliged, and what followed was to be a progressive deterioration in quality, sales, reputation and face. Disc Two opens with Jackson’s long awaited follow up single, 1987’s Bad and the remaining output is just that, Bad. Each song becomes less "essential" than it’s predecessor and one wishes that the singer’s career had ended the moment he was left scorched by a freak explosion during a 1986 Pepsi commercial. Early on in the disc Jackson dispenses with Quincy Jones, and tracks from "Black And White" onwards feature dated squash court rhythms punctuated by Jackson’s increasingly absurd breathy whoops and high pitched squeals. After Jackson’s un-self-ware claims that "It Don't Matter If You're Black Or White" we are subjected to the sound of an ego lurching out of it’s own orbit. Long Gone are the innocent "Sunshine, Moonlight, Good Times, Boogie" refrains of old. The disc limps bitterly to it’s close. The world’s love affair with Wacko-Jacko was waning, and the man was taking it hard. Despite heralding the UK release of 1995’s Earth Song by floating a 60 foot gold statue of himself down the Thames, Jackson pines over the track "I used to dream, I used to glance beyond the stars, Now I don't know where we are, Although I know we've drifted far". Before collapsing into a despairing messianic howl, sporadically pleading "What about elephants? What about forest trails? What about Abraham?." This collection
is very much a tale of two dics. The first capturing what is exciting,
fresh, invigorating and innocent about great Pop Music, the second
charting the depressing, creeping, corporatisation of the form which
expanded beyond recall during the 1980’s. Like Elvis before
him, Jackson has become a living representation of a sapping suffocation
at the hands of an endlessly exploitative American music industry.
Although in Jackson’s case it appears that he also had his own
hands round the throat. Regardless of how many sales this collection
makes, Jackson’s career is thankfully over. In retrospect it
was in trouble following the moment he turned to "his girl"
in the Thriller video delivering the infamous understatement "I’m
not like other guys". Which is why it would be worth cherishing
disc 1, and burying disc 2 in an unmarked grave. (cue Vincent Price
maniacal laughter)" by Tim Morton
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