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Michael: Album Reviews

HornyForMike

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http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3255884/Jackos-new-trackos-are-BAD.html

WILL.I.AM, RED ONE and MARK RONSON all worked on MICHAEL JACKSON tracks before the King Of Pop died.

But none of them appears on this dated 'new' album Michael, which has been completed since his death.

There are a few tracks worth a listen but most are off-cuts from the dodgy 2001 record Invincible - and it shows.

Overall it's pretty disappointing and not a patch on his era-defining albums Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad.

I hope the Jackson estate leave any other unheard studio snippets alone after this release. It's out on December 14.

Here's my track-by-track verdict.

Hold My Hand - This first single from the album is a decent slice of pop- even though there are more of Akon's vocals (and his 'wooos' and yelps) on it than MJs.

Hollywood Tonight - *****'s trademark beatboxing and whistling drive this track which has production from 80s RnB man TEDDY RILEY.

Keep Your Head Up - Probably the best song on the album - this has a top notch beat from TRICKY STEWART, who was behind Single Ladies and Umbrella. It also has motivational lyrics, including the line "keeping your head up to the sky, keeping your wings so you can fly."

(I Like) The Way You Love Me - A cheesy ballad originally recorded in 2004 is annoying from the first note. Like many of the songs on Michael it has very few actual lines of the star singing and lots of production and backing vocals to mask the faults.

Monster Ft. 50 Cent - This is the star on paranoid form, angry with the media - as in his old songs Scream and Leave Me Alone. He sings: "Monster- he's like an animal/ I only wanna be a star" before asking "Why you stalking me?/ Why you haunting me." Fiddy's verse adds nothing to the song.

Best Of Joy - One of the last songs Michael recorded before his death. He was set to finish it in London during his ill-fated This Is It shows. It's another dated and repetitive track.

Breaking News - Paranoid nonsense which only showcases how self-obsessed the star was. The production is just atrocious. He sings "Everybody wanting a piece of Michael Jackson/ Reporters stalking the moves of Michael Jackson"

(I Can't Make It) Another Day Ft. Lenny Kravitz - A demo version of this uptempo song was leaked back in 2008 prompting Lenny to complete it. He got DAVE GROHL to play drums on the song and put his own backing vocals and old-school guitar solo on the track.

Behind The Mask - The instrumental for this was originally recorded by a group called YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA and it's the most modern sounding-track on Michael. There is even a DAFT PUNK-like vocoder vocal. A sax solo almost spoils the fun.

Much Too Soon - A short soppy ballad recorded during the sessions for Thriller. It's not bad but makes you yearn to hear classics like Baby Be Mine and Rock With You.

Michael died in June 2009 just days before he was due to begin a residency at London's O2 Arena.

He suffered a heart attack after being given two powerful sedatives by his personal doctor Conrad Murray.

The Jackson family estate signed a £128million deal with Sony Music in March this year. It's thought the label will now release 10 different MJ albums over seven years, although most will be collections of material already available.
 
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http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...his-album-really-is-off-the-wall-2148784.html

Just when it seemed Michael Jackson had finally been left to rest in peace, out comes his first studio album in nine years.

It is 18 months since Jackson's death and a year since the release of his last album This Is It. That release, which featured a handful of unreleased tracks, was a bestseller and Michael, which comes out on Monday will, of course, follow suit – it is already top of all the digital charts on iTunes, Amazon, HMV and Play.com on pre-orders alone. Yesterday it was played to a handful of journalists for the first time.

The project took shape when the producers and collaborators – including Akon, 50 Cent and Lenny Kravitz – took 10 unfinished songs by Jackson and completed them. The late star's vocals are more prominent in some songs than others, but the good ones take the listener straight back to his hits, although "Hollywood Tonight" is overloaded with production. With a beat-boxing and marching groove throughout, Jackson's vocals are layered with a spoken bridge added by Teddy Riley and a whistling refrain.

It's followed by the softer "Keep Your Head Up", featuring Jackson's high-pitched vocals. Questions have surrounded Michael since its announcement, notably over the authenticity of his vocals on the first official single "Breaking News", a duet with Akon, which was leaked as an unfinished track in 2008. What is clear is that a lot has changed in the nine years since Jackson's last studio album, Invincible, thanks to the slick work of producers like Mark Ronson and Will.I.Am – who has been vocal in his criticism of the whole project.

But here, a couple of the tracks are so over-produced that, with all the backing vocals, you can barely hear Jackson's voice. The album is best regarded as a compilation, jumping as it does from Jackson's gentler anthemic numbers to stomping "Billie Jean"-style tracks, such as the stand-out "Monster", featuring 50 Cent.

"(I Can't Make It) Another Day" was written by Lenny Kravitz, recorded as a demo and leaked in 2008. Another track was written by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto for Yellow Magic Orchestra. Jackson is said to have loved it so much he asked to re-write it with new lyrics.

Only one of the tracks on the album was fully completed by Jackson (back in the Thriller era), the album's closer, "Much Too Soon". It could explain why some of the songs seem to simply fade away, without any proper endings, rather like the man himself.
 
Re: Michael: first review

I don't expect glowing reviews from the media. Yet, the reviews posted here are quite discouraging.

I ignore the one from the Sun.

The one from Independent mentioned about over-production. :doh:

Gosh... it seems my worst nightmare has come true... :no:
 
This should be the official 'Michael album reviews thread"

Here's another one

Exclusive track by track review of Michael Jackson's new album
by Clemmie Moodie, Daily Mirror 2/12/2010

THE wait is over – and the biggest and most unlikely album of the decade is here.

I’ve had the first ever listen to Michael Jackson’s new collection of tracks, compiled 17 months after he died.

And the album, called Michael, is not half Bad - even if some of the vocals sound slightly less than Jackson-esque.

MJ’s brother Randy has said it’s not Michael on the record but after having an earwig myself, I am satisfied it really IS Michael Jackson.

His voice is unmistakable in the majority of tracks, including personal favourites, Monster and Hollywood Tonight. Now the late star, who died aged 50, is odds-on to trounce his rivals from beyond the grave.

Yep, it’s game on between Take That and ***** as the Thriller star is tipped to land the No1 Christmas album slot.

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: “There’s a huge chance Michael will sneak in and get the top spot from Take That.

“Take That have sold over one million copies already, but someone of Michael Jackson’s status, with his fanbase, has a massive chance of knocking them off. His fans are so excited – like Elvis it keeps adding to the MJ momentum.”

You just can’t Beat It.



http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news...-michael-jackson-s-new-album-115875-22755516/
 
Re: Michael: first review

[deleted] the lovely babykinsilk05 beat me to it
 
Re: Michael: first review

I don't care what the critics say. Even without the controversy surrounding the album, they'd still be talking trash. They did the same thing with "Invincible" and "HIStory" before that. So whatever. I only care about what I think. Not what somebody tells me to think.
 
Re: Michael: first review

The albums not sounding too great by the reviews :(
 
Re: Michael: first review

so what else is new....

:wtf:
 
Re: Michael: first review

HornyForMike said:
Only one of the tracks on the album was fully completed by Jackson (back in the Thriller era), the album's closer, "Much Too Soon".
Click to expand...

this explains a lot.
 
http://www.metro.co.uk/music/849094-michael-jackson-lifts-lid-on-his-demons-from-the-grave

The superstar rails against the media, hangers-on, moneymen and his personal demons.

Singing on his first posthumous album, called simply Michael, his haunting lyrics were played on British soil for the first time yesterday to Guilty Pleasures.

It’s not long into the 43-minute, ten-track record before his insecurities surface.

On Monster, featuring rapper 50 Cent, he hollers: ‘Everywhere you seem to turn there’s a monster. Paparazzi got you scared like a monster.’

As question marks remain over his death last year, ***** sings: ‘And you’re running just to scape it. But they’re gunning for the money. It’s dragging you down like a monster.’

He turns his attention to being under the media microscope on Breaking News.

‘The paparazzi will not leave him alone. Reporters stalking the moves of Michael Jackson. Everyone’s wanting a piece of Michael Jackson,’ he sings.

Then, hinting at his own self loathing, the surgery addict sings: ‘Just look in the mirror and tell me if you like what you see.’

R&B star Akon, who duets with ***** on new single Hold My Hand, out on Sunday, said: ‘The world was not ready to hear Hold My Hand when it leaked a couple of years ago. Now in its final state, it has become an incredible, beautiful, anthemic song.’

The album is released on December 15.
 
Re: Michael: first review

Hmm.

Not very good reviews. :(

I hope the album will do well anyway.
 
Re: Michael: first review

lol @ all the reviews. So misguided and idiotic that it makes me cringe.

I find it funny they have no idea what they're talkin about. "Much Too Soon" was completed in Thriller era? LOL! It was finished THIS YEAR in London by Tommy Emmanuel.

Prediction: Legitimate music sites will rate this no higher than 2 stars.

Pitty that the media aren't MJ fans, and couldnt find the good in his legit tracks and notice the fakeness on the illegitimate ones.

Makes me shudder reading that media pick songs like "Keep Your Head Up" and "Monster" as the "best" and "favourite" tracks on there. Imagine they had the opportunity to review Blue Gangsta, Do You Know, We've Had Enough, Escape, Place With No Name or Slave to the Rhythm.

Epic fail from the Estate and Sony here. Cant wait to hear the full thing and do my own review.
 
Re: Michael: first review

Alot of the reviews are just downright disrespectful IMO, taking ignorant and totally unnecessary jabs at Michael as a person. That proves to me further what their agenda is. Sounds to me like they're looking to get in good with any haters still around out there. This is exactly why I said that even without the controversy surrounding the album, they'd still be talking trash. They're not worth it to me. When they start personally attacking Michael, that's when it taints their credibility all the way around IMO.
 
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Re: Michael: first review

I think the album will be very BAD recieved. :(
 
Re: Michael: first review

im so ancy to hear this album
i honestly cant wait for it to be released and i really hope it will do well
predictions anyone??
i really hope this album wont flop dear god no
 
Re: Michael: first review

damien shields said:
lol @ all the reviews. So misguided and idiotic that it makes me cringe.

I find it funny they have no idea what they're talkin about. "Much Too Soon" was completed in Thriller era? LOL! It was finished THIS YEAR in London by Tommy Emmanuel.

Prediction: Legitimate music sites will rate this no higher than 2 stars.

Pitty that the media aren't MJ fans, and couldnt find the good in his legit tracks and notice the fakeness on the illegitimate ones.

Makes me shudder reading that media pick songs like "Keep Your Head Up" and "Monster" as the "best" and "favourite" tracks on there. Imagine they had the opportunity to review Blue Gangsta, Do You Know, We've Had Enough, Escape, Place With No Name or Slave to the Rhythm.

Epic fail from the Estate and Sony here. Cant wait to hear the full thing and do my own review.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I could only imagine what it will be like if BG, DYKWYCA and STTR are included. :no:
 
Re: Michael: first review

C'mon guys, let's not forget that this is not a new Michael Jackson album. It is a an album of unreleased material compiled by Sony. Big difference. It's not so different than all of the compilations we've been getting the past seven years. Except instead of one or two new songs, it's an album of unreleased and recently completed music. In no way should any critic judge Michael himself given that it is not his album, it's Sony's.
 
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