Essential Albums of the '80s: Michael Jackson - Bad (1987)

Michael Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller is hands-down the biggest pop album of all time. How do you follow that? You can’t, even if you’re a studio perfectionist like Jackson it’s going to fall short. But nonetheless, Bad doesn’t live up to its name, even if it doesn't live up to Thriller. In fact, it can claim a chart feat Thriller cant, which, until this week, was that it was the sole album ever released that scored five Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits. The dance pop on Bad has a harder edge than Thriller and if those songs fall short, it’s only by a hair. The pulsing keyboards of the title track, the rolling melody of “The Way You Make Me Feel” and the dark sheen of “Smooth Criminal” make those songs almost in league with “Thriller” or “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin.’” And the ballads are actually better than those on Thriller, particularly the album’s first single and Siedah Garrett duet, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” and the classic “Man in the Mirror,” which was the album’s biggest hit and the best of Jackson’s “change the world” songs. However, the obligatory rocker track, the paranoid “Dirty Diana,” doesn’t come close to bliss of “Beat It” (it’s amazing it was the album’s fifth #1 hit). The album hits its lowest points on the weird racing car-themed “Speed Demon” and, surprisingly, the Stevie Wonder duet “Just Good Friends.” In Britain, those are the only two tracks that weren’t released as singles. In addition to the seven tracks released in the US, Brits also got bonus track “Leave Me Alone” and breezy “Liberian Girl,” whose video featured, well, everybody. Best: Man in the Mirror, Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, Smooth Criminal.

Album Review: Michael Jackson - Michael (3.5/5)

Michael is the first posthumous release from Michael Jackson--the first of many if we're to believe the claims that Jackson amassed an archive of unreleased material before his death last year. To say this release has been controversial is an understatement. Some viewed this as a way to honor his legacy, to finish and release the songs he wanted his fans to hear. Others take another view--that Michael wouldn't have been happy with these songs unless he'd finished them himself. Further, some conspiracy-minded folks claim it is isn't even him singing on the tracks.

I'm willing to believe it's him singing. Certainly sounds like him to me. But I think the other criticism of the project is an important one. Jackson was notoriously perfectionist about his albums, working long hours to get each song exactly the way he wanted it. Without such finishing on these tracks, I can't help but wonder whether he would think they live up to his own standards.

As such, Michael feels more like the work of a group producers--albeit talented ones--with Michael relegated as guest singer. It also doesn't feel like an album, with the tracks cobbled together from various recording sessions from the last few years. Some, I suspect, are even older. Two of the songs produced by Teddy Riley, for example, "Monster" and "Breaking News," sound like Dangerous outtakes, sounding like updates of the new jack swing sound Riley produced for Jackson in 1991. Riley had subsequently produced tracks for Jackson on Invincible, and they didn't sound like this. "Monster" is pretty decent, but "Breaking News" treads many of the same tired cliches about fame and media exposure that Jackson has explored before. The best Riley-produced cut is "Hollywood Tonight," a groovy, upbeat song with funky guitar, a rollicking horns and synths melody and even some Jackson beat-boxing.

The album is heavy on ballads, a little too heavy in my opinion. "Hold My Hand" with Akon is decent enough, although it obviously tries (and fails) to be the next "Man in the Mirror," with its soaring melody and choir vocals. My favorite ballad is "(I Like) The Way You Love Me," which has an old school Motown feel to its sweet melody. The key changes at the end are fun too, as Jackson takes his voice higher and higher. An earlier version of this appeared on his 2004 compilation, The Ultimate Collection. "Keep Your Head Up" explores another Jackson cliche--the environmental song--while "Best of Joy" is fairly forgettable mid-tempo stuff.

Lenny Kravitz shows up to guest on and produce "(I Can't Make It) Another Day," which is a typical dark Jackson rocker in the vein of "Dirty Diana" or "Give It to Me." The album closes well with the upbeat "Behind the Mask" and tender ballad "Much Too Soon," both of which originated during Jackson's late '70s/early '80s creative peak. "Behind the Mask" is confident and fun, while "Much Too Soon" generates some genuine emotion missing from the other slow songs.

There's a lot to like here. Most of the songs are pretty good, and overall, it's better than his last album, Invincible. But it just doesn't feel like an album, which nags at me while I listen to it. Also, I suspect these songs are the best of the unreleased material, so I'm concerned subsequent similar releases will just go down from here. Surely, that's not the musical legacy Jackson would have liked to have left.

Best: Hollywood Tonight, Behind the Mask, (I Like) The Way You Love Me, Much Too Soon, Hold My Hand

Michael Jackson, Michael

Sony recently announced the release of Michael, the posthumous album from Michael Jackson, for December 14. It is preceded by first single, "Breaking News," which is out tomorrow. I'm not sure if that's a release for retail or just for streaming on his site.

More info here. Here's the teaser:

You Are Not Alone

The X Factor Finalists' single "You Are Not Alone" is out and selling like gangbusters. Today's midweek report shows its already moved 82,000 copies. That's about 3,000 copies less than Leona Lewis's "Happy" sold all last week. So obviously, it will be this week's #1 hit, and likely the biggest selling single to date this year (that is until one of these finalists releases his, her or their debut single Christmas week).

"You Are Not Alone" is, of course, a remake of Michael Jackson's 1995 #1 hit. Now that he's gone, I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more covers of Michael Jackson songs. There are relatively few major ones--the only other one that comes to mind is Alien Ant Farm's 2001 version of "Smooth Criminal," a #3 hit in the UK. Mariah Carey had a US #1 in 1992 with "I'll Be There," but technically that's a Jackson 5 remake.

Several of Jackson's or Jackson 5's songs have been sampled prominently: "Human Nature" on SWV's "Right Here (Human Nature)," "Can You Feel It" on The Tamperer feat. Maya's "Feel It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" on Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music."

Michael Jackson memorial

I watched bits of the Michael Jackson memorial today. There were some great moments and some not so great ones. Mariah Carey didn't sound very good, but it was nice to see Trey Lorenz again. Jennifer Hudson did a good job with "Will You Be There." Brooke Shields did a nice job telling stories about the good times she and Michael shared, such as sneaking into Elizabeth Taylor's hotel room to look at her dress.

The most genuine moment of the event though, and it made me cry, was little 11 year-old Paris Jackson at the final moment of the memorial. Through tears, and comforted by aunt Janet, she told us simply that he was a wonderful father and she loves him. No matter how famous or how messed up Jackson was, his passing comes down to the fact that this sweet little girl lost her daddy the other week. Seeing him through her eyes for that brief moment made him more human to me than he's ever been.

Billboard on Thriller

Billboard has a really excellent feature story about the history and context of the album Thriller. I found it quite interesting. One particular tidbit was that Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones had to re-edit the album a bit after it was recorded to make sure it wasn't too long, since shorter albums sounded better on vinyl (because they could have wider grooves--who knew?). I wish there were features like this about other classic pop albums.

Michael Jackson Albums

Lots of people are snatching up Michael Jackson's back catalog. For some, it's a first time exposure, for others (like me), it's filling in gaps. Here's a quick look at the singer's 10 albums (note that I don't own the first four albums, so they are not reviewed, just featured).

Got to Be There (1972)
Jackson's first of his four Motown-era solo albums was perhaps his most successful, giving him several top 10 hits in both the US and the UK. The album isn't particularly innovative--it has several remakes, including of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," which was only a year old at the time--but it does have some charm. Best: Got to Be There

Ben (1972)
This second album, released the same year, appears to be more of the same--sweet Motown songs, including several remakes ("My Girl," for example). This album is most notable for its one and only single, title track "Ben," which was Jackson's first solo #1 hit. It's probably the most beautiful song you'll ever hear about a rat. Best: Ben

Music & Me (1973)
Jackson's third album had no hits of note, so there's not much I can say about it. What I've heard sounds really slow. The album peaked at #92 in the US.


Forever, Michael (1975)
Michael's fourth album was also not a major hit; however, unlike Music & Me, it did give him a top 40 hit in "Just a Little Bit of You." More notably, another track, the quite lovely "One Day in Your Life," would wind up Jackson's first UK #1 hit 6 years later. His voice very clearly changed with this album. Best: One Day in Your Life

Off the Wall (1979) (4.5/5)
This is where the magic of Jackson's solo career really got going. Leaving Motown for Epic Records, as well as the production skills of Quincy Jones, gave Jackson an enduring set of fresh, energetic disco, funk, R&B and pop, that many consider second only to Thriller. Although the last few tracks are a little weak, there's little not to like about this fun album. Best: Rock with You, She's Out of My Life, Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Get on the Floor, Off the Wall

Thriller (1982) (5/5)
What's there to say about Thriller that hasn't already been said? It's probably the most important pop album ever recorded, effortlessly weaving elements of R&B, rock, and dance music together into a perfect pop package. I love how all the upbeat songs have such distinctive synth basslines ("Billie Jean's" bassline has to be the most iconic bassline ever). It was the first album to score 7 top 10 hits. It's the best-selling album of all time. It still holds up and always will. Best: Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller, Wanna Be Startin' Something, The Girl Is Mine, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing), Human Nature, Baby Be Mine, The Lady of My Life

Bad (1987) (5/5)
Bad was my first Michael Jackson album, and I loved it to death back in 1987. It holds the record for the most #1 hits from album--five--and manages to pack quite a few other gems as well. The dance pop shines from meticulous production (love that bassline on "The Way You Make Me Feel"), but the ballads are really quite good too, both the do-gooder "Man in the Mirror" and the love duet "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." Best: Man in the Mirror, Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Liberian Girl, Smooth Criminal

Dangerous (1991)(4/5)
This is where Jackson's musical career started to decline, although when you start from such a high peak, this still looks like a massive success: Another major #1 hit ("Black or White"), 7 top 40 hits, etc. Jackson parted ways with Quincy Jones and enlisted Teddy Riley and Bill Bottrell to craft this album in the New Jack Swing vein, the R&B sound popular at the time. As such, Dangerous feels more rooted to its time than his prior two albums. The album's first half suffers from a peculiar sameness to the songs, although there are some good ones there (namely "Remember the Time"). The second half is thankfully more varied. Best: Remember the Time, Black or White, Will You Be There, Who Is It, In the Closet

History (1995) (4/5)
History is a messy album, but I actually rather liked most of it. It's edgier than Dangerous, although it has its treacly moments too. But when it's on point it works well, such as the upbeat duet with sister Janet on "Scream" or paranoia-fueled tracks like "They Don't Care About Us" and "Stranger in Moscow," which is a particularly nice ballad. Credit R. Kelly for producing the album's best moment, the ballad "You Are Not Alone." Best: You Are Not Alone, Stranger in Moscow, Scream, They Don't Care About Us, This Time Around, History

Invincible (2001) (2.5/5)
It's a shame that Michael Jackson's final album was a disappointment. The songs are largely uninteresting, and it doesn't help that the first three are sound like they were cut from the same tuneless beat-driven R&B cloth popular at the time. A couple of good songs come in the middle--the lead single "You Rock My World" and unusual ballad "Butterflies--before the album becomes schmaltzy with the usual songs about changing the world and children. Best: You Rock My World, Butterflies, Whatever Happens

Michael Jackson, 1958 - 2009

It's almost unbelievable that the biggest pop star of my lifetime has just died. While his star has certainly faded in recent years--damaged by financial, legal and other troubles--at a time he was on top of the world. Particularly during the '80s, where his Thriller album became the decade's defining pop masterpiece. When I started listening to pop music in 1987, Jackson was just beginning his string of #1 hits from Bad--"I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana." His 1991 New Jack Swing album Dangerous gave him a major #1 hit in "Black or White" and a fantastic video for "Remember the Time." 1995's History was his last set nominated for the Grammy Album of the Year, an award he won for Thriller, and was also nominated for with Bad. Sadly, his last album, 2001's Invincible was unremarkable, but prior to that he left a legacy of quality pop music that stretched back to his Jackson 5 Motown days. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, dead at 50.