Most underrated Michael songs (both solo and in group)

OffTheWall1979

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I'm especially fond of the music of Michael and his brothers in the late 70s and I feel many of those songs are underrated - both by the public and the fans. Of course, there are other songs from the 80s, 90s and 00s that are underrated, but they are still mostly known atleast by the fans. So, according to you guys, which songs of Michael do you believe are truly underrated? In the video below I compiled the 10 songs I feel are underrated in the mind of the public/media and/or fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtzU1fv-DUU
 
Solo career

Get On The Floor
Girlfriend
It's The Falling In Love
Lady In My Life
Speed Demon
Liberian Girl
Another Part Of Me
Keep The Faith
Can't Let Her Get Away
2 Bad
DS
Little Susie
Childhood
HIStory
Superfly Sister
2000 Watts
You Are My Life
Don't Walk Away
Heartbreaker

Jackson 5
Can You Remember
One More Chance
2-4-6-8
True Love Can Be Beautiful
Can I See You In The Morning
SkyWriter
Blues Away
Enjoy Yourself
Man Of War
Find Me A Girl
Destiny
Bless His Soul
That's What You Get For Being Polite
Lovely One
Give It Up
Walk Right Now
Torture


These are all good/great songs that I feel are underappreciated by general public and/or fans alike.
 
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Get on the Floor - Fantastic song. It is shocking to me how rarely it is mentioned among people's favourites, including fans'. For me both last year and this year it turned out to be one of my most played songs on Spotify.

Things I Do For You - very autobiographical IMO

Time Waits for No One - great vocals

Bless His Soul - I LOVE it when Michael comes in for the bridge

Speed Demon - never got the bashing this song got from fans

Only underrated by the general public, fans do tend to rate these quite highly:

Who Is It
Stranger in Moscow
Is It Scary
Whatever Happens
Workin' Day and Night
 
Destiny (The song)
Things I Do For You
Torture
Goin' Places
Enjoy Yourself
All Night Dancin'

I could fill this list with tons of Jackson's songs.

As for his solo songs

Get On The Floor
It's The Falling In Love
Baby Be Mine
Speed Demon
Just Good Friends
She Drives Me Wild
Keep The Faith
2 Bad
HIStory
Superfly Sister
Don't Walk Away
 
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Happy, Too Young and almost all of the Music & Me album. It's a fantastic selection of songs.
 
I've always been shocked that History (the song) isn't rated by more fans as a complete and utter masterpiece (because it is, at least imo). DS and Heartbreaker are both two tracks which I feel are much stronger than they are given credit for.

I am always surprised when fans place History as one of the weakest songs from the HIStory album. In my opinion, it's one of the best. Amazing message with contrasting vocal style. What's there to not love about that song?
 
I am glad History gets love. I forgot to mention it, but indeed it is a great song and rarely given any attention or mention, so it is pretty underrated (I mean the original, of course, not the remix). There is a fellow MJ fan in my circles who mentioned it as one of her fave songs, so I do have examples when it wasn't overlooked.
 
I am glad History gets love. I forgot to mention it, but indeed it is a great song and rarely given any attention or mention, so it is pretty underrated (I mean the original, of course, not the remix). There is a fellow MJ fan in my circles who mentioned it as one of her fave songs, so I do have examples when it wasn't overlooked.

HIStory was one of my first favourite songs off the second disc on that album. I have many memories of staying up late when I was a kid, listening to my iPod with that album on repeat - among the most played being HIStory :)
 
As far as his solo (post-79) career goes, I'd say that I truly love a few songs many seem to downplay. Among fans I've often seen criticism or benign neglect of

We are here to change the world - mostly overlooked and probably considered sonically dated
Just good friends - dismissed due to greater expections placed on duets with Stevie
She drives me wild
Can't let her get away - these two often being called the weakest songs on Dangerous
This is it - which, in fairness, may be too painful for many considering it was the first song released after June 25th

The general public is sadly unaware of quite a few other masterpieces. The lack of exposure as singles goes a long way in explaining that though

Why you wanna trip on me?
Tabloid junkie
Childhood
Stranger in Moscow (especially in the U.S.)
Little Susie
Is it scary?
You are my life
Break of dawn
Speechless
We've had enough

These are all songs I wish the world had gotten wind of because I believe they are most important. They all capture Michael's life and spirit superbly.

With the risk of upsetting the Michael-album-puritans, I'd go as far as saying that even the highly controversial Breaking News manages to do that to a certain degree, in spite of Michael's "minimal" vocal input, let us call it :lol: In spite of the mixed vocal delivery, the lyrical content of the song remains faithful to Michael's vision and attitude and to me that is what matters most; I've always believed the message to be much more important than the messenger. And that particular song, irrespective of how many people featured on it, does send a rather powerful message, Michael's message.


And I always felt that the performance of History on the HIStory tour was one of the best songs performed on those shows. The staging, the intro music and the overall atmosphere... I remember being there at Wembley Stadium and it was just electric. Probably the best atmosphere I've ever experienced in person at a live show.

And when you think about it, it's such an unconventional, disjointed song, and yet Kenny and MJ made it translate to the stage so well. It's one of the few songs from the HIStory tour where the lip-synching doesn't bother me, because the theatrics are so stunning. Plus, MJ always looks so happy performing that song. Whenever I picture it in my mind, I just see his massive, broad smile in my head.

You couldn't be more right. The performance of the song on the tour truly is epic and momentous. I've always loved it. Being there in person to witness it was even better. I just tend to get a bit sad when thinking about it - when he spoofed away beneath that stage twenty years ago it was the last time I got to see him. Irrespective of that, it remains a wonderful song with an incredible message and a masterful visual setup. Michael and Kenny really outdid themselves with that concert ending. Cultural diplomacy at its very best with all the flags, the flames, the band, his white jacket :p Highly inspirational and uplifting, both on an individual and collective level.

Not sure if the song is truly overlooked, not on this message board anyhow. I've seen two threads dedicated to it within the last year or so (here and here). But overall yes, I agree, there are many (both within the fan community and outside) who fail to see its greatness.

As far as his early career is concerned, I'd say most of those songs are unfairly treated and underrated. I'll have to come back later on with a list of my many favorites from those days.
 
For me the most criminally under rated are

1. Show you the way to go - Am I the only one hearing Michael's baritone here and the first song in which he fully pulls off his confident and rich sounding adult vocal. Michael was just 17 when he recorded this. There is so much warmth in his voice too.

2. Walk right now - not really criticised or under rated, just ignored, Triumph was such a good album and there were so many great songs like Haertbreak Hotel and Can you feel it, but this really gets overlooked. Michael again is in fine form and its a funky song you can dance to.

3. I am Love Pt1 and 2 - This is another ignored song, you have the serious and deep adult feel of the first part with Jermaine's simmering vocal and then the second part is almost like a party with an early video showing the brothers leaping up in the air.

4. Break of Dawn - yes some people realise its greatness, but many think its very average or just don't notice it. It is easily his finest adult ballad and is just incredible in scope and sound, Michael sings with absolute conviction, given balladeers like Johnny Gill, Usher and Ginuwine a run for their money, as well as channelling his inner Lou Rawls and Al Green.

5. Will yhou be there - I just love gospel and again Michael proves he can really sing gospel.

6. Xscape - This is really good and why it is has not received more love is beyond. This whole album improves with listening, Place with no name and Do you know where your children are is just brilliant, yet at teh start I di not think too much of them.

7. Don't (Be Messing around) - I really love this song too

8. She's out of my life, forget Eddie Murphy and all the other detractors - this is heartfelt and just incredible, it sends shivers down my spine.

9. Sugar daddy - One of my favourite Jackson 5 tracks, overlooked as it was a bit later than the initial hits and before the more mature and funky Dancing Machine era. This is good bubble gum

10. Girlfriend - yes I know its bubblegum, but this is Hubba Bubba deluxe. playful song with some great lyrics and Michael puts his stamp all over it.
 
Break of Dawn.
Break of Dawn.
BREAK OF DAWN!

Seriously. I know people like to completely dismiss Invincible, but man, BOD is beautiful. The minimal production, Michaels effortlessly beautiful vocals. This song should have babies being conceived all over the world, but instead it's an afterthought.
 
Break of Dawn.
Break of Dawn.
BREAK OF DAWN!

Seriously. I know people like to completely dismiss Invincible, but man, BOD is beautiful. The minimal production, Michaels effortlessly beautiful vocals. This song should have babies being conceived all over the world, but instead it's an afterthought.

THANK YOU

Break of dawn= Ear porn

It's my favourite Song from Invincible and my mum's favourite MJ song
 
Can I just say the first 14 seconds of Break of Dawn - before the first drum kick - is absolute heaven? It's my favourite part of the song and a highlight of Invincible I reckon.
 
It's a shame that Break of Dawn was never released as a single and thus remains unknown to many except the hardcore fans. It has a hit written all over it. One of the highlights from Invincible surely.
 
Very, very niiice to see the emerging consensus about the utter magnificence of Break of Dawn :cheeky: It is a such a hidden gem in Michael's catalog. One doesn't need to be a resident of NaughtyLand in order to appreciate its power. I guess its only real flaw was that back in 2001 it may have been a bit ahead of its time.

And btw of sensual lines and rhythms, last time around I forgot to mention some of Michael's duets/guest appearances. I believe that Alright now with Ralph Tresvant and To satisfy you with Bryan Loren are incredibly underrated. Also, out of all of the Paul McCartney collaborations I absolutely love The man.

Now......after intense research among song databases, I've manage to gather quite the lists of songs dating back to the Motown days. I must actually admit that I've only become familiar with these tunes for several years now so I can very well see how they would fail to register on many people's radar. But ever since becoming aware of them, I've appreciated them tremendously. He truly has a most solid catalog made of many dozens of wonderful songs.

Unlike the post-79 stuff, I cannot possibly go in chronological order since I don't really know the correlations between songs, album and release dates. That is why I will simply group them thematically. Although a strong, funky, groovy beat will always get me movin' and a soothing melody will capture me, for me lyrics have always been pivotal. And in terms of lyrical content there are two major themes which have attracted me to Michael's music, including the earliest one: on the one hand, the positive romantic focus and also the socially aware tunes. Among the love tunes I enjoy the most

Darling Dear
Label me love
If I can't (nobody can)
I am love
Our love
Through thick and thin
Bridge over troubled water
Reach out (i'll be there)
Lucky day
I wanna be where you are
Up again
Morning glow
We're almost there
All the things you are
All I do is think of you
Just a little bit of you
Pride and joy
Music and me
Can't get enough of you
Whatever you got I want
We've got a good thing goin'
Greatest show on earth
Window shopping
You're my best friend my love

Although I don't particularly care for lyrical content related to heartache and I tend to be a romantic optimist who likes to focus on the bright side of romance, I must say that there are a couple of tunes like I ain't gonna eat out my heart anymore or Love's gone bad where the energy in little Michael's voice is beyond infectious that I forget all about the lyrics and just sing along because he sounds so darn cute :lol:

That other great strand pertains to motivational songs, the ones which call both individuals and entire groups to positive change and action. I've always appreciated those in Michael's solo work and it was wonderful to see the continuity and inspiration from his earlier days.

Reach in
Stand
Hallelujah Day
With a child's heart
If n' I was God
Doctor my eyes
In our small way
People make the world go round
Give love on Christmas Day
Someday at Christmas
Too late too change the time
Be not always
Can you feel it
Destiny (the song)
We can change the world
Children of the light
World of sunshine
The eternal light

For the past couple of months I've found myself having almost on a daily repeat the last three on this particular list. I find them incredibly uplifting.
 
The Lost Children. I don't know why this song is hated so much.
 
And btw of sensual lines and rhythms, last time around I forgot to mention some of Michael's duets/guest appearances. I believe that Alright now with Ralph Tresvant and To satisfy you with Bryan Loren are incredibly underrated. Also, out of all of the Paul McCartney collaborations I absolutely love The man.

Nice to see someone mention To Satisfy You. That song is criminally underrated and is mentioned by literally no one as one of his best unreleased tracks. It's so funky and Michael sounds like an absolute angel in that song.
 
I'm especially fond of the music of Michael and his brothers in the late 70s and I feel many of those songs are underrated - both by the public and the fans.

Don't forget how much Jackson 5 is also underrated by fans. It's sad, isn't it?
 
Don't forget how much Jackson 5 is also underrated by fans. It's sad, isn't it?

No it's not sad. Poverty, war, hatred, racism, homophobia and famine are sad.

Some Michael Jackson fans not getting into his young band's work as much isn't.
 
No it's not sad. Poverty, war, hatred, racism, homophobia and famine are sad.

Some Michael Jackson fans not getting into his young band's work as much isn't.

Well, I think it's sad, because they don't know what they're missing
 
His stuff with The Jacksons (particularly Destiny And Triumph) and his Post-Dangerous work is really underrated by the general public. Some of his best work happened in these two periods. Songs like Push Me Away, Your Ways, Morphine and Break Of Dawn (already mentioned) are some of my favorites and they don't really get mentioned enough!
 
His stuff with The Jacksons (particularly Destiny And Triumph) and his Post-Dangerous work is really underrated by the general public. Some of his best work happened in these two periods. Songs like Push Me Away, Your Ways, Morphine and Break Of Dawn (already mentioned) are some of my favorites and they don't really get mentioned enough!

I'm just getting into his music,so far i have only listened to his solo albums (except from i want you back,things i do for you,heartbreak hotel etc. Those where Jacksons songs he performed in his solo tours)

Any recommendations for Jackson 5 songs/albums? Or should i just go and listen to all of them? :D
 
I think that two of their albums as The Jacksons are essential and are as good as anything Michael did on his own, and they are Destiny and Triumph.
And as far as The Jackson 5, maybe you'll be good with an extensive compilation, as their hits are their best for me, and they have a some good covers in their earlier albums.
So to sum up, I think you should listen to Destiny and Triumph by The Jacksons (and maybe go for the others later) and go for The Ultimate Collection for The Jackson 5, and if you love what you hear you'll probably end up listening to all of their albums eventually.
 
I'm just getting into his music,so far i have only listened to his solo albums (except from i want you back,things i do for you,heartbreak hotel etc. Those where Jacksons songs he performed in his solo tours)

Any recommendations for Jackson 5 songs/albums? Or should i just go and listen to all of them? :D

Some underrated Jackson 5 gems:

Be Not Always
Big Boy
Blame It On The Boogie
Bless His Soul
Destiny
Everybody
Find Me A Girl
Give It Up
Jump For Joy
Love Song
Man of War
Push Me Away
Show You The Way To Go
Skywriter
That's What You Get For Being Polite
Time Waits For No One
Torture
True Love Can Be Beautiful
Walk Right Now
We're Here To Entertain You


The best Jackson's albums are Destiny and Triumph
 
I think that two of their albums as The Jacksons are essential and are as good as anything Michael did on his own, and they are Destiny and Triumph.
And as far as The Jackson 5, maybe you'll be good with an extensive compilation, as their hits are their best for me, and they have a some good covers in their earlier albums.
So to sum up, I think you should listen to Destiny and Triumph by The Jacksons (and maybe go for the others later) and go for The Ultimate Collection for The Jackson 5, and if you love what you hear you'll probably end up listening to all of their albums eventually.

There where parts of Triumph tour in off the wall documentary and i thought it looked great but there wasn't much on YouTube :/ so i think i kind of lost interest and returned to his solo work :D which i shouldn't have, of course.But now i'm ready to spend my holidays with the Jackson 5 :D i will definitely listen to the 2 albums and the collection, thank you very much!
 
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Some underrated Jackson 5 gems:

Be Not Always
Big Boy
Blame It On The Boogie
Bless His Soul
Destiny
Everybody
Find Me A Girl
Give It Up
Jump For Joy
Love Song
Man of War
Push Me Away
Show You The Way To Go
Skywriter
That's What You Get For Being Polite
Time Waits For No One
Torture
True Love Can Be Beautiful
Walk Right Now
We're Here To Entertain You


The best Jackson's albums are Destiny and Triumph

Okay the only song i know from that list is Blame it on the Boogie :D
If i remember it correctly,MJ mentioned That's What You Get For Being Polite in his deposition in 1993.
I will definitely listen to them,thank you very much!
So far i've only seen the Victory Tour but it didn't have any songs from Victory :D But there where many songs i didn't know, maybe i will recognize them on the albums.
 
Some underrated Jackson 5 gems:

Be Not Always
Big Boy
Blame It On The Boogie
Bless His Soul
Destiny
Everybody
Find Me A Girl
Give It Up
Jump For Joy
Love Song
Man of War
Push Me Away
Show You The Way To Go
Skywriter
That's What You Get For Being Polite
Time Waits For No One
Torture
True Love Can Be Beautiful
Walk Right Now
We're Here To Entertain You


The best Jackson's albums are Destiny and Triumph
Most of those songs are The Jacksons...the ones in bold are Jackson 5
 
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