Michael Album Appreciation Thread

[Dan]

Woahhh!! Hold on! Hear me out!

Aside from the Cascio tracks (which despite the disgusting, money-grabbing nature of them - objectively speaking, I think they're decent songs - I do not agree with them though!), I feel the album was great. Some great tracks were chosen and I think the remixing of the tracks were more like "completing" the tracks. They're definitely the most Michael sounding out these and the Xscape tracks. This album has a very "Michael feel" to it which I think was missing from Xscape (I personally loved Xscape too though). This is all just my opinion though and I feel it's almost frowned upon to like this album and I think that we are sleeping on a great album because of three track. At the same time, I notice that the album now represents greediness, false-advertising and fraud but I think that Michael's music should shine through that.

Let me know your thoughts on this album!


Thanks,

~Dan~

[kai]

I agree. Beside the cascio-desaster it seems they really tried to complete the songs the way michael started them. Thats what i always said about this album in comparison with Xscape. Never liked most of the new Xscape mixes but i am glad they released the original demos. I'd definitely buy a re-release with banned cascio tracks and maybe a second CD with original demos.

[lubyss]

I like the album (and monster, I know, even it is not MJ still it is a badasssss song). I agree that all songs have a MJ feel and I like they followed the pattern of the songs. But it is a dislike at the same time. It doesn´t have the consistency of an album, but more like a compilation.
Xscape is really consistent in this way...

[king_of_style]

I like the album (and monster, I know, even it is not MJ still it is a badasssss song).

Agreed. "Monster" is great on its own merits, and at the end it really almost sounds like MJ where the singer says something like "Why you haunting me? Why you stalking me? Why you haunting me? Why'd you do it?" If Michael had actually put his voice to that track it would probably be one of my favorites from him.

[Hess]

I like the album a lot.

Much Too Soon is propably my favorite song released after he died.

[Maxym]

Well it's got two or three tracks that are OK ("Hold My Hand" thought I wouldn't have started MJ album with Akon speaking..., "Hollywood tonight", and "Another day" *, the rest were somehow ruined in the mixes and better versions exist outside the album ... except maybe for "Behind the Mask" which mix is overstuffed, but I don't know a better version outside the album, not as badly ruined as "Xscape " tracks though.)


(* Also I'm not saying that these are my favourite songs on the album, but these are those that I think the mix didn't ruined them for me.)


Also a lot of people criticize the cover as being a poor attempt by the estate to imitate "Dangerous" cover, but from what I read it was actually MJ who had ordered a painting summarising his career (not sure if he ever saw it or not as I don't know when the painting was finished).

[mj_frenzy]

The ‘Michael’ album has very serious issues.

For instance, ‘Another Day’ is an incomplete track, meaning that they should not have included it on the album (it lacks the third verse).

Or, ‘Hold My Hand’, which apart from being melodically very monotonous and weak, Michael Jackson sounds like a guest vocalist on his own song.

On the positive side, ‘Behind The Mask’ is actually the only good song on that album, but one good song cannot redeem a generally mediocre album.

Also a lot of people criticize the cover as being a poor attempt by the estate to imitate "Dangerous" cover, but from what I read it was actually MJ who had ordered a painting summarising his career (not sure if he ever saw it or not as I don't know when the painting was finished).

Michael Jackson actually had ordered (from painter Kadir Nelson) a painting summarising his career.

Painter Kadir Nelson was about to begin creating that original painting, but the project fell through when the painter started his research for getting inspiration.

The painter did not even begin it when Michael Jackson was still alive, so the singer never saw it.

After the singer’s death, the Estate contacted Kadir Nelson in order to begin and finish that original painting, which later the Estate used it as the cover of the ‘Michael’ album.

[kai]

Agreed. "Monster" is great on its own merits, and at the end it really almost sounds like MJ where the singer says something like "Why you haunting me? Why you stalking me? Why you haunting me? Why'd you do it?" If Michael had actually put his voice to that track it would probably be one of my favorites from him.

that sounds like mj because they took michaels actually voice from another song... but only the "why" thats why it sounds identical all the time.

[DanGerouS-]

the Michael album gets played regularly by me - without the cascio tracks, i'd prefer putting instrumental tracks instead of those.
Hold my Hand was a perfect "comeback" single. though more MJ vocals would have been much better.

my absolute favorite track is Hollywood Tonight (nearly any version). Teddy Riley overall did a good job, because it sounds "finished" and the vocals are much better than on the demo (MJ sounded "sick" there). i wish they would have used the original bridge and maybe some guest singer for that (Janet, Madonna, Lady Gaga) - that could have been amazing.
i hated the video mix, a cheap BJ rip-off and the vocals sounded powerless (imo that ruined a good chart success)

[Pentum]

Agreed. "Monster" is great on its own merits, and at the end it really almost sounds like MJ where the singer says something like "Why you haunting me? Why you stalking me? Why you haunting me? Why'd you do it?" If Michael had actually put his voice to that track it would probably be one of my favorites from him.

This is funny. Ironically, most of it is just fabricated from Invincible:

Have a listen:

https://sndup.net/8hqc/d

Even the "you" is copied, but not sourced in the audio. It's most likely the same "you" they used in Black Widow towards the end.

[lubyss]

This is funny. Ironically, most of it is just fabricated from Invincible:

Have a listen:

https://sndup.net/8hqc/d

Even the "you" is copied, but not sourced in the audio. It's most likely the same "you" they used in Black Widow towards the end.

well that means they´ve got acces to the invincible sessions multitracks... which are most likely the most hidden, not leaked, not owned by anybody than other albums sessions... Still love it, ´cause invincible is my favourite album...

[SmoothGangsta]

well that means they´ve got acces to the invincible sessions multitracks... which are most likely the most hidden, not leaked, not owned by anybody than other albums sessions... Still love it, ´cause invincible is my favourite album...

Stewart Brawley is the answer to that mystery. He worked on the invincible album and helped put those songs together.

[Mikky Dee]

Woahhh!! Hold on! Hear me out!

Aside from the Cascio tracks (which despite the disgusting, money-grabbing nature of them - objectively speaking, I think they're decent songs - I do not agree with them though!), I feel the album was great. Some great tracks were chosen and I think the remixing of the tracks were more like "completing" the tracks. They're definitely the most Michael sounding out these and the Xscape tracks. This album has a very "Michael feel" to it which I think was missing from Xscape (I personally loved Xscape too though). This is all just my opinion though and I feel it's almost frowned upon to like this album and I think that we are sleeping on a great album because of three track. At the same time, I notice that the album now represents greediness, false-advertising and fraud but I think that Michael's music should shine through that.

Let me know your thoughts on this album!


Thanks,

~Dan~

Thank you for making this thread. I think eventually it could expand into people talking about individual tracks on the album, the way we do with all of the other non-posthumous albums.




The debacle that happened with the Michael album is so incredibly unfortunate and sad; because, aside from the issue with the Cascio songs, it's really a beautifully made tribute to MJ. I agree with you, when you say that it has a genuine "Michael feel" to it....it really, really does and the songs are top notch, in my opinion - sonically and lyrically. It is such a shame that the album has so many negatives attached to its name and I think the controversy, so soon after Michael's passing, is what set the tone for the relationship of MJ fans with the Estate, forever afterwards.

I agree with you when you say that the album is slept on - it definitely is - and that is a travesty, considering that seven out of the ten songs ARE very good. That's 70%. I also do like Breaking News.....so that makes it 80% for me. LOL. I never would have liked Monster or Keep Your Head Up, even if they were all Michael in the vocals - to me they are just not album worthy at all.

[Mikky Dee]

I agree. Beside the cascio-desaster it seems they really tried to complete the songs the way michael started them. Thats what i always said about this album in comparison with Xscape. Never liked most of the new Xscape mixes but i am glad they released the original demos. I'd definitely buy a re-release with banned cascio tracks and maybe a second CD with original demos.

I've always said that I'd love a re-release of the Michael album (minus the Cascio tracks, of course).

I'd like it to be a hybrid album of the best tracks from Michael and Invincible, with original demos incorporated, as you have said; or even a couple of other almost-finished previously unreleased songs that were created post-Invincible and/or post trial (fans seem to be highly interested in music from this era). The album could be called "Invincible Michael" - I think fans would love it and it might go some way towards repairing the Estate/MJ Fan relationship.

[Mikky Dee]

the Michael album gets played regularly by me - without the cascio tracks, i'd prefer putting instrumental tracks instead of those.
Hold my Hand was a perfect "comeback" single. though more MJ vocals would have been much better.

my absolute favorite track is Hollywood Tonight (nearly any version). Teddy Riley overall did a good job, because it sounds "finished" and the vocals are much better than on the demo (MJ sounded "sick" there). i wish they would have used the original bridge and maybe some guest singer for that (Janet, Madonna, Lady Gaga) - that could have been amazing.
i hated the video mix, a cheap BJ rip-off and the vocals sounded powerless (imo that ruined a good chart success)

"Hold My Hand" and "Hollywood Tonight" are two of my favourites from the album and I also give an honourable mention to "Another Day". I love the videos for both songs and I remember experiencing ALL of the feelings when the album and the singles/videos were first released. So, so good.

Oh, God....and then there's "Behind the Mask" and the two videos for that.....just excellent! Classic MJ in that song.
I love that fans worldwide had an opportunity to be in the second video for BTM.