I've just finished my review of Invincible. I think it's fair but I can hear some of you screaming with disagreement already! Please feel free to disagree, all music is subjective.
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Invincible Review
In a time when the world is gearing up for a re-released version of Michael's (and the world's) best selling album of all time and his fanbase are driving themselves crazy with the thought of a brand spanking new album, it's hard to believe that it's nigh on seven years since Michael's last collection of new songs.
To put things into perspective, although Michael is renowned for taking a long time between records, the same amount of time between Invincible & now is the same amount of time between 1987 and 1995 where we had Bad, Moonwalker, Bad Tour, Dangerous, Dangerous Tour & HIStory. That's why we're desperate!
Not that it's not understandable. In the intervening seven years Michael has been through what no human should go through.
Anyway, I digress; this is supposed to be a review of Invincible. I'll start by addressing the obvious. This is deemed by many to be his weakest album. I'll explain why during the review but unfortunately for Michael, anything he does is compared against the biggest selling and most popular albums of all time. Can you consistently keep that up for 30 years?
Using a varied production team, headed up by Rodney Jerkins; Invincible again keeps up the trend for long albums, beating his previous record of 15 tracks.
I've written on my Dangerous review about the sounds that start a Michael Jackson album. Invincible starts the same way with an intro that sets the tone for the whole album – mechanical and computer generated. This leads into a hell of a hook and gives us Unbreakable. With a writing & production team of 5, Unbreakable announces a return with a song that is lyrically similar to the HIStory album "no matter what you do, I'm still gonna be here". A stormer of a track, many have since said it should have been the lead single and rumours abound that is what Michael wanted.
Heartbreaker is next, another good track, like Unbreakable primarily produced by Rodney Jerkins. Production wise, it's certainly innovative, but for this fan, it just doesn't have that Jackson-magic. The trend for a lot of tracks this millennium is an over-reliance on production and innovation and not melody (I'm looking at Timbaland and the like).
The title track Invincible is next and it's a great song about an unobtainable girl. Now, this has got melody – a hook and a tune you can really sing along with. Three tracks in, and all songs so far have got two things in common. Firstly, a writing & production team that could fill a dinner party and secondly guest rappers. A trend Michael started on the Dangerous album has now spiralled out of control. It doesn't work for me, simply because they're unnecessary and don't add anything.
We slow things down now on Break Of Dawn. This was to surface again on the Number Ones album (not that I think it hit #1 anywhere!). A very nice soul/R&B slice that Michael excels at. Smooth & silky with sexual overtones – "just wanna make sweet love 'til the break of dawn" he sings with great passion.
We continue the breakdown with 'Heaven Can Wait'. With Brandy on guest vocals, Heaven lyrically is similar to Kool & The Gangs' Cherish, it's an ode to the angels not to take him while he has this loved one. The track mainly stands out due to Michael's vocals. From the smoothly sung verses to the anguished, pleading ad-libs at the end it sounds beautiful. Small hints of Jackson genius slip in here and there, "you're beautiful, you're wonderful, incredible, I love you so."
Track 6 gives us our lead single (and only real video) from the album. You Rock My World starts with a spoken exchange between Michael & comedian Chris Tucker before thumping into a hook-filled R&B cut. For me, it's the first time a MJ single had to grow on me before I liked it. Not as instantly accessible as other lead tracks such has Black or White, but then, Michael wasn't in the habit of releasing the best tracks as lead singles (I Just Can't Stop Lovin' You, The Girl Is Mine). With a video that was a pale replication of Smooth Criminal and a song that was similar to, but not as good as, Remember The Time – it didn't announce the comeback of a king.
Okay, enough negativity. Unfortunately, for the first piece of genius on the album, we come to a track that had no writing involvement from Jackson. 'Butterflies' is a stunning piece of soul that is a hidden gem in the Michael Jackson archive. Written by Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry, the song personifies its title by gliding beautifully through the listeners mind as we are treated to a gorgeous Michael falsetto that gives us well….butterflies. A stunning track.
Hooray! Next is a track that Michael has written, wait for it…BY HIMSELF! And it shows. Speechless shocks from the first second as we are treated to an acapella introduction that leads into an outright love song. One of the few Invincible tracks that fall into my 'songs only Michael could make' list. Just when you think it's over, the acapella starts again. Sublime.
I love it when Michael has two tracks on an album that are far removed from each other. For example Who Is it/Give In To Me, TDCAU/Stranger In Moscow, and 2000 Watts following Speechless is no exception. One of many Invincible tracks that could have been a lead single. Simply because in 2001 Michael had to musically shock again. He had to release something to show he was still relevant in the new millennium. You Rock My World didn't do that, but 2000 Watts would. Lyrically meaningless, the song was just about music & dance. It reminded me of Janet's throb from 9 years earlier. Don't look for hidden messages; it's just a groove. Vocally unrecognisable as Jackson, this should have been played on the radio and gained a massive following in the clubs before anyone realised who it was, gaining Jackson a new fanbase who loved him for his music.
Another track that fully differs in style to it's predecessor is next. You Are My Life is co-written with genius of Carol Bayer Sager (Nobody Does It Better, Arthur's Theme). A sweet ballad that I'd guess is dedicated to Michael's children. Yes, it's a very soppy love song and maybe this is because of my growing age, but I love it. A beautiful melody, heartfelt lyrics and wonderfully sung. What more do you need?
The mandatory rock track is next. Following Leave Me Alone & Tabloid Junkie comes another attack on the press and a plea for 'Privacy'. Not my cup of tea. Maybe for the first time in 30 years of listening to Michael Jackson albums, this listener started using his skip button on subsequent plays. It just doesn't take off, it's repetitive and lyrically (although I agree with the sentiment) it's starting to tire.
I know some people reading this may want to slaughter me for this, but the second track I skip when listening to Invincible is 'Don't Walk Away'. I can't put my finger on it, but this medium paced ballad just doesn't do it for me. I expect genius when I listen to Michael Jackson, this isn't it.
Following the massive success of 'You Are Not Alone' on HIStory comes another Michael Jackson / R Kelly collaboration, 'Cry'. This time to a lesser degree of success. You can imagine the laziness of the record company exec who decided to release this 'It was a massive success last time, let's release this one'. But again, we'd had a MJ by numbers for a first single and here was a second one. The public needed to be challenged and blown away, not being told to 'Change The World' again.
A brave move by Jackson next, surely he must have had to argue with Sony to get a track called 'The Lost Children' on the album. The second and last track to be written by Michael alone, again it has trademark Jackson songwriting all over it. I've talked out how tracks such as Heartbreaker and others didn't do it for me, it's because they don't sound like Michael Jackson tracks. I'm not feeling it. Although I'm sure it didn't happen, they sound like Mike has just turned up to record his vocals & gone. Call me romantic, but I like the idea of Michael Jackson up in his tree writing Heal The World or Earth Song then putting it together from start to finish. The Lost Children sounds like that.
Oh come on! Now you can have it. I'm getting excited just writing this because here it comes. The best Michael Jackson single that never was. Whatever Happens is a collaboration with Carlos Santana, two 8 times Grammy winners putting together a piece of genius. This is one of the tracks that would have torn up people's preconceptions of what a Michael Jackson song is. Just when they thought they heard everything he had to offer and the best was over, this song should have hit the airwaves. A Latin tinged R&B medium paced tune with little nods here and there to Jackson's previous work "He's working day & night", this could have started a new wave of hysteria. With a different song could have come an equally different video that was toned down, restrained by fabulous in it's genius. Vocally it's awesome, like most Michael tracks, especially when he cuts loose at the end with the ad-libs.
If Invincible has had its low points, then at least it ends on a high. 'Threatened' may be another song with horror overtones but it delivers. With a mechanical, industrial sound and a genius Rod Sterling sample (The Twilight Zone). Threatened is a Thriller for the 21st century. With chilling lyrics and clever production, the song finishes with a message for the listener "What you have just witnessed could be the end of a particularly terrifying nightmare. It isn't, it's the beginning". Just imagine what the video would have been like…
Okay, for those that have read my earlier reviews of Dangerous & HIStory will have noticed that this isn't quite as positive and uplifting. I make no apologies for that, but want to say that I very much enjoy Invincible and often play it. However, it is a flawed work.
Firstly, I'm reminded of this parable, "a camel is a horse built by a committee". What that means is that if you have a vision of how something should be, create it yourself. Don't 5 or 6 others have their say, because at the end of it - it won't be your vision, it will be 6 people's vision, all with their idea of what it should look like.
Secondly, it's overlong. Yes, it's only 2 tracks more than Dangerous, but cut 5 tracks off Invincible, it would still have been 11 tracks that would have delivered a more consistent and relevant album.
This is why Invincible isn't Michael's greatest album. However, it's still one of the best to be released this century and it does not deserve its reputation. Another point to note, is that it still sold 10 million copies, more than any Prince album (bar Purple rain), and 2 million more than Justin Timberlake's latest which has been deemed a huge success.
One other point it would be remiss of me to omit, is Michael's vocals on Invincible. Never before have they been so diverse. From the falsetto on Butterflies to the 'rapped' couplets on 2000 Watts he sounds like a man at the top of his game.
In summary then, some fantastic tracks and amazing vocals make for a superb piece of work. But over-reliance on others stopped it from being yet another full work of genius.
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Invincible Review
In a time when the world is gearing up for a re-released version of Michael's (and the world's) best selling album of all time and his fanbase are driving themselves crazy with the thought of a brand spanking new album, it's hard to believe that it's nigh on seven years since Michael's last collection of new songs.
To put things into perspective, although Michael is renowned for taking a long time between records, the same amount of time between Invincible & now is the same amount of time between 1987 and 1995 where we had Bad, Moonwalker, Bad Tour, Dangerous, Dangerous Tour & HIStory. That's why we're desperate!
Not that it's not understandable. In the intervening seven years Michael has been through what no human should go through.
Anyway, I digress; this is supposed to be a review of Invincible. I'll start by addressing the obvious. This is deemed by many to be his weakest album. I'll explain why during the review but unfortunately for Michael, anything he does is compared against the biggest selling and most popular albums of all time. Can you consistently keep that up for 30 years?
Using a varied production team, headed up by Rodney Jerkins; Invincible again keeps up the trend for long albums, beating his previous record of 15 tracks.
I've written on my Dangerous review about the sounds that start a Michael Jackson album. Invincible starts the same way with an intro that sets the tone for the whole album – mechanical and computer generated. This leads into a hell of a hook and gives us Unbreakable. With a writing & production team of 5, Unbreakable announces a return with a song that is lyrically similar to the HIStory album "no matter what you do, I'm still gonna be here". A stormer of a track, many have since said it should have been the lead single and rumours abound that is what Michael wanted.
Heartbreaker is next, another good track, like Unbreakable primarily produced by Rodney Jerkins. Production wise, it's certainly innovative, but for this fan, it just doesn't have that Jackson-magic. The trend for a lot of tracks this millennium is an over-reliance on production and innovation and not melody (I'm looking at Timbaland and the like).
The title track Invincible is next and it's a great song about an unobtainable girl. Now, this has got melody – a hook and a tune you can really sing along with. Three tracks in, and all songs so far have got two things in common. Firstly, a writing & production team that could fill a dinner party and secondly guest rappers. A trend Michael started on the Dangerous album has now spiralled out of control. It doesn't work for me, simply because they're unnecessary and don't add anything.
We slow things down now on Break Of Dawn. This was to surface again on the Number Ones album (not that I think it hit #1 anywhere!). A very nice soul/R&B slice that Michael excels at. Smooth & silky with sexual overtones – "just wanna make sweet love 'til the break of dawn" he sings with great passion.
We continue the breakdown with 'Heaven Can Wait'. With Brandy on guest vocals, Heaven lyrically is similar to Kool & The Gangs' Cherish, it's an ode to the angels not to take him while he has this loved one. The track mainly stands out due to Michael's vocals. From the smoothly sung verses to the anguished, pleading ad-libs at the end it sounds beautiful. Small hints of Jackson genius slip in here and there, "you're beautiful, you're wonderful, incredible, I love you so."
Track 6 gives us our lead single (and only real video) from the album. You Rock My World starts with a spoken exchange between Michael & comedian Chris Tucker before thumping into a hook-filled R&B cut. For me, it's the first time a MJ single had to grow on me before I liked it. Not as instantly accessible as other lead tracks such has Black or White, but then, Michael wasn't in the habit of releasing the best tracks as lead singles (I Just Can't Stop Lovin' You, The Girl Is Mine). With a video that was a pale replication of Smooth Criminal and a song that was similar to, but not as good as, Remember The Time – it didn't announce the comeback of a king.
Okay, enough negativity. Unfortunately, for the first piece of genius on the album, we come to a track that had no writing involvement from Jackson. 'Butterflies' is a stunning piece of soul that is a hidden gem in the Michael Jackson archive. Written by Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry, the song personifies its title by gliding beautifully through the listeners mind as we are treated to a gorgeous Michael falsetto that gives us well….butterflies. A stunning track.
Hooray! Next is a track that Michael has written, wait for it…BY HIMSELF! And it shows. Speechless shocks from the first second as we are treated to an acapella introduction that leads into an outright love song. One of the few Invincible tracks that fall into my 'songs only Michael could make' list. Just when you think it's over, the acapella starts again. Sublime.
I love it when Michael has two tracks on an album that are far removed from each other. For example Who Is it/Give In To Me, TDCAU/Stranger In Moscow, and 2000 Watts following Speechless is no exception. One of many Invincible tracks that could have been a lead single. Simply because in 2001 Michael had to musically shock again. He had to release something to show he was still relevant in the new millennium. You Rock My World didn't do that, but 2000 Watts would. Lyrically meaningless, the song was just about music & dance. It reminded me of Janet's throb from 9 years earlier. Don't look for hidden messages; it's just a groove. Vocally unrecognisable as Jackson, this should have been played on the radio and gained a massive following in the clubs before anyone realised who it was, gaining Jackson a new fanbase who loved him for his music.
Another track that fully differs in style to it's predecessor is next. You Are My Life is co-written with genius of Carol Bayer Sager (Nobody Does It Better, Arthur's Theme). A sweet ballad that I'd guess is dedicated to Michael's children. Yes, it's a very soppy love song and maybe this is because of my growing age, but I love it. A beautiful melody, heartfelt lyrics and wonderfully sung. What more do you need?
The mandatory rock track is next. Following Leave Me Alone & Tabloid Junkie comes another attack on the press and a plea for 'Privacy'. Not my cup of tea. Maybe for the first time in 30 years of listening to Michael Jackson albums, this listener started using his skip button on subsequent plays. It just doesn't take off, it's repetitive and lyrically (although I agree with the sentiment) it's starting to tire.
I know some people reading this may want to slaughter me for this, but the second track I skip when listening to Invincible is 'Don't Walk Away'. I can't put my finger on it, but this medium paced ballad just doesn't do it for me. I expect genius when I listen to Michael Jackson, this isn't it.
Following the massive success of 'You Are Not Alone' on HIStory comes another Michael Jackson / R Kelly collaboration, 'Cry'. This time to a lesser degree of success. You can imagine the laziness of the record company exec who decided to release this 'It was a massive success last time, let's release this one'. But again, we'd had a MJ by numbers for a first single and here was a second one. The public needed to be challenged and blown away, not being told to 'Change The World' again.
A brave move by Jackson next, surely he must have had to argue with Sony to get a track called 'The Lost Children' on the album. The second and last track to be written by Michael alone, again it has trademark Jackson songwriting all over it. I've talked out how tracks such as Heartbreaker and others didn't do it for me, it's because they don't sound like Michael Jackson tracks. I'm not feeling it. Although I'm sure it didn't happen, they sound like Mike has just turned up to record his vocals & gone. Call me romantic, but I like the idea of Michael Jackson up in his tree writing Heal The World or Earth Song then putting it together from start to finish. The Lost Children sounds like that.
Oh come on! Now you can have it. I'm getting excited just writing this because here it comes. The best Michael Jackson single that never was. Whatever Happens is a collaboration with Carlos Santana, two 8 times Grammy winners putting together a piece of genius. This is one of the tracks that would have torn up people's preconceptions of what a Michael Jackson song is. Just when they thought they heard everything he had to offer and the best was over, this song should have hit the airwaves. A Latin tinged R&B medium paced tune with little nods here and there to Jackson's previous work "He's working day & night", this could have started a new wave of hysteria. With a different song could have come an equally different video that was toned down, restrained by fabulous in it's genius. Vocally it's awesome, like most Michael tracks, especially when he cuts loose at the end with the ad-libs.
If Invincible has had its low points, then at least it ends on a high. 'Threatened' may be another song with horror overtones but it delivers. With a mechanical, industrial sound and a genius Rod Sterling sample (The Twilight Zone). Threatened is a Thriller for the 21st century. With chilling lyrics and clever production, the song finishes with a message for the listener "What you have just witnessed could be the end of a particularly terrifying nightmare. It isn't, it's the beginning". Just imagine what the video would have been like…
Okay, for those that have read my earlier reviews of Dangerous & HIStory will have noticed that this isn't quite as positive and uplifting. I make no apologies for that, but want to say that I very much enjoy Invincible and often play it. However, it is a flawed work.
Firstly, I'm reminded of this parable, "a camel is a horse built by a committee". What that means is that if you have a vision of how something should be, create it yourself. Don't 5 or 6 others have their say, because at the end of it - it won't be your vision, it will be 6 people's vision, all with their idea of what it should look like.
Secondly, it's overlong. Yes, it's only 2 tracks more than Dangerous, but cut 5 tracks off Invincible, it would still have been 11 tracks that would have delivered a more consistent and relevant album.
This is why Invincible isn't Michael's greatest album. However, it's still one of the best to be released this century and it does not deserve its reputation. Another point to note, is that it still sold 10 million copies, more than any Prince album (bar Purple rain), and 2 million more than Justin Timberlake's latest which has been deemed a huge success.
One other point it would be remiss of me to omit, is Michael's vocals on Invincible. Never before have they been so diverse. From the falsetto on Butterflies to the 'rapped' couplets on 2000 Watts he sounds like a man at the top of his game.
In summary then, some fantastic tracks and amazing vocals make for a superb piece of work. But over-reliance on others stopped it from being yet another full work of genius.
And yes, I've also believed 'You Are My Life' is about his children. Well done!
