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Is Invincible (the album) Michael's best in studio vocal performance ever?

Ms. BlueGangsta

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His vocals were always amazing and out of this world, but some of his best in studio vocals I've ever heard were on Invincible (Butterflies for example).
So, what do y'all think?
I want your opinions. :yes:
 
definitely not
the vocals on Invincible seem a bit forced to me, as if he's literally shouting to sing
 
were they great? yes... were they his best? no!! I just don't like the filtration that they did with his vocal tracks, sometimes technology takes away authenticity. What makes Michaels vocal so enjoyable is not just his tone, pitch, and emotion he showcases it's also the unfiltered sounds he usually left in... you could hear him breath, you could even hear him change the page on the vocal track at times.. him stomping, clapping.. It became real, and all emotion is kept when it's not as filtered... Invincible lost some of that...

His breathing pattern was different too, everything was less spontaneous and more controlled... That's not the REAL Mike! that's studio heads taking away at him, and probably Michael letting them guide the ship too much on that one.
 
KOPV said:
were they great? yes... were they his best? no!! I just don't like the filtration that they did with his vocal tracks, sometimes technology takes away authenticity. What makes Michaels vocal so enjoyable is not just his tone, pitch, and emotion he showcases it's also the unfiltered sounds he usually left in... you could hear him breath, you could even hear him change the page on the vocal track at times.. him stomping, clapping.. It became real, and all emotion is kept when it's not as filtered... Invincible lost some of that...

His breathing pattern was different too, everything was less spontaneous and more controlled... That's not the REAL Mike! that's studio heads taking away at him, and probably Michael letting them guide the ship too much on that one.
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This! There's some good moments but overall it's my least favourite set of vocal performances. The production seems more important than the vocals some of which are buried in the horibble sound mix. HIStory's vocals are beautiful, Bruce used some lovely techniques on it and of course all prior albums are emense vocal wise.
 
His voice sounds very forced, as others have said. There is some good performances but overall I'd say it's his worst. You can definitely tell the years of singing improperly were taking their toll.
 
ChrisC said:
For me, his worst.
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LOL, well damn.
KOPV said:
were they great? yes... were they his best? no!! I just don't like the filtration that they did with his vocal tracks, sometimes technology takes away authenticity. What makes Michaels vocal so enjoyable is not just his tone, pitch, and emotion he showcases it's also the unfiltered sounds he usually left in... you could hear him breath, you could even hear him change the page on the vocal track at times.. him stomping, clapping.. It became real, and all emotion is kept when it's not as filtered... Invincible lost some of that...
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I definitely hear the filtering, but it's never really bothered me much.
I was okay as long as his vocals weren't outright auto tuned.
His breathing pattern was different too, everything was less spontaneous and more controlled... That's not the REAL Mike! that's studio heads taking away at him, and probably Michael letting them guide the ship too much on that one.
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This could be true.
 
I agree...especially about Butterflies. also Unbreakable, 2000 Watts, Privacy, Speechles, You Are My Life, Whatever Happens, Break Of Dawn and so many others
 
Invincible has ups and downs vocally.

His voice is simply divine on Speechless and Butterflies, the latter of which very well may be among his best simply for that stunning falsetto! He also sounds pretty youthful in his upper register in You Rock My World.

At the same time, Heaven Can Wait may be the single worst he's ever sounded. He's screaming for those notes. Even the "hee!" during the bridge sounds utterly painful.

Bit of a mixed bag in my opinion.
 
Nice to see another Invincible thread, it's been a few hours since the last one :p.

Anyways, I think his best album vocally was Thriller.
 
ChrisC said:
Bad through to HIStory for me. Perhaps edged by HIStory if I had to choose.
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Probably HIStory for me also. Songs like Smile, Little Susie and You Are Not Alone are carried by his flawless vocals. Stranger In Moscow and Earth Song are incredible next level.
 
aazzaabb said:
Probably HIStory for me also. Songs like Smile, Little Susie and You Are Not Alone are carried by his flawless vocals. Stranger In Moscow and Earth Song are incredible next level.
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Agree, but the youthful exhuberance on Burn This Disco Out and the title track make Off The Wall hard to beat.
 
Tony R said:
Agree, but the youthful exhuberance on Burn This Disco Out and the title track make Off The Wall hard to beat.
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I do love that era in MJ's voice. The freedom with which he sings even in the year or two prior to Off the Wall gives me chills - his soaring adlibs on 'Save Me' and his small parts on 'Brand New Day'.

But his technical ability reached far deeper from Bad onwards, I think. The story he could tell with his voice. The different emotions he could express, the different ways he could use his voice. Michael added more layers and became more versatile. Whether that was ambition, aging or the music itself demanding it of him - perhaps a combination of all three.
 
to me his voice was at an overall greatness during Dangerous album.. it fully matured and everything just seamed to come to him seamlessly... Aside from that vocal styling had highlights on each album.. depending on what I'm looking for... Aggression / softness / deeper registers / falsetto etc.


This reply could be edited 10 times with completely different answers and I'd stand by it 100%... his voice was just impeccable PERIOD...
 
Tony R said:
Agree, but the youthful exhuberance on Burn This Disco Out and the title track make Off The Wall hard to beat.
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It's funny that you mention Off The Wall cause after posting about HIStory I began thinking about his vocals on Off The Wall and how devastatingly melodic and exuberant they are. A case can be argued for every album pre-Invincible I guess. He lost his ability to hit certain notes recording Keep The Faith and was devastated. Bruce Swedien told him he just had to face it sooner rather than later and just get on with it. I think his vocal performance on it is just emense.
 
aazzaabb said:
It's funny that you mention Off The Wall cause after posting about HIStory I began thinking about his vocals on Off The Wall and how devastatingly melodic and exuberant they are. A case can be argued for every album pre-Invincible I guess. He lost his ability to hit certain notes recording Keep The Faith and was devastated. Bruce Swedien told him he just had to face it sooner rather than later and just get on with it. I think his vocal performance on it is just emense.
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Yeah, I heard that KTF story. He originally sung it I the 'wrong' key and broke down.

Vocals on every album you mention are amazing. Plus the different styles.....

The heartfelt balladry of Childhood and Smile
The soaring gospel of MITM and Keep The Faith
The filthy rock of GITM, Dirty Diana and Beat It
The snarling spitting funk of Jam and TDCAU
The carefree disco of Off The Wall and Rock With You
 
I know the word ''underrated'' gets thrown around a lot, but I really think that MJ was an underrated vocalist. People spend so much time focusing on his dancing that they forget what an amazing and versitile vocalist he was. The same guy who sings Don't Stop Til You Get Enough is also the same guy who sings Give Into Me.
 
Not for me personally. The peaks on Invincible vocally are staggering but some of the low points vocally are shocking to me. I mean I don't mean to offend anyone, even though Michael's voice sounded good, some tracks on the album sound like one take vocals. That from a known perfectionist such as Mike astounds me.

Personally for emotional depth with range, I'd go Bad or Dangerous, that to me was Michael at his peak as vocalist.
 
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His vocals on Bad are incredible. Every track is just bam! I know a lot of folks don't rate Just Good Friends but his performance on it is class. Leave Me Alone also, Man In The Mirror, basically every single track. He really goes for it on everything.
 
Smoothcriminal1995 - the fact you feel the need to be self conscious of offending others by not liking a vocal by Mike really shows to exactly what I talk about how there needs to be more freedom in opinion.. We all love Michael and should not have to worry so much of saying the wrong thing.. There was nothing wrong with what you said even if people don't agree..

Its interesting that we can understand how stupidly politically correct our society has gotten but we come here and deal with similar (If not more) political correctness..












On that note.. smoothcriminal1995 you are WRONG!!




just messing ;) haha
 
Bad has stunning vocals, peaking with MITM, but Dangerous and HIStory has more diversity.

And the vastly overlooked Gone Too Soon is beautiful in its simplicity with lovely nuances.
 
KOPV said:
Smoothcriminal1995 - the fact you feel the need to be self conscious of offending others by not liking a vocal by Mike really shows to exactly what I talk about how there needs to be more freedom in opinion.. We all love Michael and should not have to worry so much of saying the wrong thing.. There was nothing wrong with what you said even if people don't agree..
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For me personally, I asked for opinions and whether they're positive or negative in this case I want them, and IMO a negative opinion about Michael's vocals is hardly enough to offend me because it's just that, an opinion, not a fact, nor has anyone in here tried to pass off their opinions of MJ's vocals as a fact, and in the end there's just as many people on earth that love the vocals on Invincible as those that hate it or are neutral.

However disregarding this thread, and speaking on a larger scale, discussing MJ isn't the same as how other fanbases get to discuss their favorite artist.
Other fanbases can go outside of their respective fan sites and see their favorite artist be for the most part lauded/loved or at least discuss them with the general public without assholes being assholes by bringing up false allegations for example, or using the aforementioned false allegations as a basis to say that they're glad that the artist is dead, that the artist was the scum of the earth, a disgusting animal, etc.
But MJ fans don't have that luxury, and it can/would be rather tiring to see all sorts of unavoidable disgusting bullshit about MJ just browsing the net in general and then coming back to an MJ fansite to see constant negativity as well.

Anywho, there's an entire section dedicated to negative and otherwise perverse conversation about Michael just waiting to be utilized where you and whomever else wants to discuss Michael in any way that they wish can do so to their hearts content.
Without being contested though, I honestly doubt it.
Its interesting that we can understand how stupidly politically correct our society has gotten but we come here and deal with similar (If not more) political correctness..
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Not to derail my own damn thread, but from personal experience and observation the same people that cry, whine, and complain about political correctness are almost always the same people that have extremely racist or homophobic opinions that they are mad they can't publicly express without getting checked or at the worst having their ass whooped. :/
 
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Pink Diamond Princess said:
Not to derail my own damn thread, but from personal experience and observation the same people that cry, whine, and complain about political correctness are almost always the same people that have extremely racist or homophobic opinions that they are mad they can't publicly express without getting checked or at the worst having their ass whooped. :/
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I understand what you mean, but nobody here has been on that kind of level. This is pretty subjective, anyway.

I also understand what SmoothCriminal means-there are certain songs that I really do NOT care for, but I never say a word because I know for a fact that at least 600 forum members would trounce me. :)
 
Well Pink you may be more open minded than many, and if that's the case my statement does not really classify you.. Its just a common observation I have in general and was fitting to the post with worrisome of offending people for not liking something.. a vocal! that stems from constant criticism of opinions..

to your statement about those who complain about political correctness (I guess you did not fit my post, I don't fit yours) because I am pretty damn open to whatever floats peoples boats.. I think so anyway, my family is every color under the sun which is probably a part of it. I am straight and proudly I can say I have even walked in the Pride parade...

To get the thread back on track, lets hear peoples opinions on the vocals - be open and honest.. feel free!
 
In a way yes, his vocals are really on point here, but he was 42/43 by this stage so his voice was at its most mature and most diverse. But the singing on Invincible does run rings around the Jackson 5 era and even most of the singing up to Thriller. The songs and singing are good, but his voice is not covering all of the emotions it does on Invincible. OTW and Thriller, are emerging adult Jackson, but Bad onwards is his true full adult developed vocal showpieces.
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I would say Bad is the threshold here, the songwriting goes up a notch from Dance and basic Love songs you find on OTW and Thriller, IJCSLY is his first truly sincere love song and Man in the Mirror was the first full conscience song with heartfelt vocals (Human nature comes close). Dangerous, History and BODF also showcase great vocals (The singing on Morphine and Ghosts/Is it Scary) that have emotional highs and lows in a few bars.
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But pure singing, yes you can not go past Heaven can wait (Woefully under rated song), Break of dawn (Not underated at all but still great), Speechless and Butterflies, is so pure. His voice is so clear and so heartfelt. Still Invincible does not pack the rhythmic punch of the early albums or the songwriting gravitas of Bad and Dangerous, plus as MJ entered his 40s, he probably wanted people to focus more on his singing rather than his dancing (Which would be slowing down).
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As great as the vocals on Invincible are, the songwriting is very average. Break of Dawn and Heaven can wait are very well sung and produced, but the lines are generic R and B ballads and YRMW is a great dance pop song, but the lyrics are very average and sound a lot like Smooth Criminal/Remember the Time/This time around and Blood on the Dancefloor. The sound has been done to death and I think MJ was repeating himself here. The voices at least make it knew. break of Dawn is great because he was trying a pure sexy R& B ballad in a Prince style, even though its totally Michael with those vocals and sincerity, the song has a Prince like feel and you can see Prince singing it.
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So to sum up, Michael's vocals and his singing, yes Invincible is the best, but songwriting and everything else - hell naw! Michael's real peak to me here was Thriller (Dance and Pop appeal), Bad (Sound) and Dangerous (Songwriting and the whole package). Technically Bad and Dangerous are the peak, Thriller is close, as susccessful as Thriller is, Michael still felt he had more to prove and he proved that with Bad and Dangerous. History onwards is still great, but he was trading on his legacy. History was the first album to have lesser jams. (There is not a bum note on Thriller, Bad or Dangerous)
 
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