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Michael: Album Reviews

Monster is a perfect pop production.

Monster is better than anything Lady Gaga or Britney Spears have ever released.

So is most of the songs on Michael.
 
I Love "MONSTER"...best track on the album...
 
It's not Bad, but not good either! A track-by-track review of the 'new' Michael Jackson album

By Adrian Thrills

Last updated at 10:02 PM on 9th December 2010

Michael Jackson originally became famous during the vinyl era, an age that gave us Elvis, The Beatles and the Motown label on which The King Of Pop first made his name.
But it was only when music embraced the new technology of the Eighties that he became a *global superstar. It was then that he delivered the best-selling album of all time in Thriller, and used MTV to realise the potential of the pop video.

Now, 18 months after his death, technology is once more adding to Jackson’s legacy. This album was completed using modern studio techniques to enhance the raw material he left behind. As such, it is something of a mish-mash — with a few moments of magic.

The record features ten *previously unreleased tracks *dating back to 1982, the year of Thriller. There is a hard-rocking 2001 collaboration with Lenny Kravitz plus a handful of more recent tracks, including one, Best Of Joy, that Jackson had hoped to complete during last year’s planned residency in London.

Two songs here may be familiar: a demo version of one, the soulful ballad (I Like) The Way You Love Me, cropped up six years ago on Jackson’s Ultimate Collection, while

Behind The Mask was *originally sung by Japanese electro-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra before being made famous by Eric Clapton in 1987.

Despite fans, colleagues and *family members questioning the authenticity of some of the vocals, R&B figurehead Teddy Riley, a Jackson associate since 1991 and producer of three tracks here, downplays such concerns.

He says: ‘I studied everything about him from day one. As the years went by, I *witnessed his tones changing. My feeling on the authenticity of the vocals is that they were all done by Michael.’

My hunch is to agree with Riley, although that doesn’t mean the record consistently captures Jackson at his best. Many tracks were recorded with ‘guide’ vocals, where the singer is perfectly in tune *without really pushing his voice.

A whiff of over-production also hangs over Michael. On Keep Your Head Up, Jackson’s singing is overshadowed by a choir, lush strings, handclaps and an over-wrought finale straight out of ballads week on The X Factor.

Breaking News is another offender. The funky, mid-tempo arrangement is catchy enough, but it is difficult to discern Jackson’s distinctive tone amid the barrage of backing vocals.

When the singer does perform at full throttle, the results are spectacular. Monster, recorded in 2007, finds him hitting the dance floor with an impressive update on the lyrical theme of Thriller.
Squealing ‘He’s a monster, he’s an animal’, the singer actually sounds as if he is enjoying himself. 50 Cent’s rap was added at a later date, but still blends effectively into the mix.

The two songs from the early 1980s also offer snatches of Jackson on top form. Behind The Mask, with new lyrics, is fast and funky.

Much Too Soon is beautifully sung. A sweet ballad with strings arranged by Beck’s father, David Campbell, its plaintive, stripped-back tone is reminiscent of Jackson’s early solo single Ben.

This album would have undoubtedly packed more punch had the singer been able to polish up the less engaged vocal performances here, while the fact that these songs span 28 years inevitably leads to a lack of continuity.

Rather than a studio album to rival Thriller, the King Of Pop’s trustees have come up with an intriguing but patchy compilation.

The 'new' album, track by track...
HOLD MY HAND
An auto-tuned, mid-tempo duet with rapper Akon. 6/10
HOLLYWOOD TONIGHT
Funky workout from the 2001 Invincible sessions. 8/10
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
Average ballad, dressed up with lavish production. 5/10
(I LIKE) THE WAY YOU LOVE MOVE
Soul meets doo-wop on a ballad that runs out of steam. 5/10
MONSTER
Jousting with rapper 50 Cent on album’s prime cut. 9/10
BEST OF JOY
Stripped-down, acoustic *ballad with high-pitched vocals. 5/10
BREAKING NEWS
Fussy backing drowns out Jackson’s R&B-tinged vocals. 5/10
(I CAN'T MAKE IT) ANOTHER DAY
Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl help the singer rock out. 7/10
BEHIND THE MASK
Strong hook and swirling strings on this fast-paced dance track. 8/10
MUCH TOO SOON
Plaintive, accordion-soaked ballad from the Thriller era. 7/10

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...-Michael-Jackson-album.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
 
^ Unfortunately I did, and I thought I was reading the Mirror or something. My, that was bad.
 
Most reviews have been decent actually. There's been a few negative ones but that's gotta be expected. There always is for every album. Overall, critics thought the album was better then they initially thought.
 
It's pretty awful that the media still has a hard time giving Michael credit when it's due, even after his passing. Michael Jackson is releasing a fantastic album and isn't even among us... I think that deserves all the credit in the world. Very few artists have such strong unreleased material to pull off a new and amazing album from beyond the grave. At least most reviewers do recognize his talent, although often times reluctantly. Just gotta be strong and know the truth - Michael Jackson IS music. The hateful, blasphemous little hooligans, who bite the hand that feeds them can all "go to Hell.
 
If you want to give the album a bad review because you don't like the songs then OK. But to hate on the album just because you had issue with Michael shows what a petty person you are. Think about it the ones who give this album bad reviews act like Michael played an active role in producing and putting this album together. I mean really. Some in the media just can't help themselves I remember when the kids got Michael's Grammy some fool went nuts saying the kids were a mess and there clothes were bad I mean it was like wtf you act like they stole money from you. And I bet you she was only acting that way because when you saw P&P you saw what a wonderful job there Dad did with them. Remember when Michael was found not guilty? Some in the media had meltdowns they went berserk some fool from Fox news was screaming on TV the last thing they wanted to happen was for Michael or his estate to do well. And it is so they hate. Does not stop the estate from doing well.
 
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Travis said:
It's pretty awful that the media still has a hard time giving Michael credit when it's due, even after his passing. Michael Jackson is releasing a fantastic album and isn't even among us... I think that deserves all the credit in the world. Very few artists have such strong unreleased material to pull off a new and amazing album from beyond the grave. At least most reviewers do recognize his talent, although often times reluctantly. Just gotta be strong and know the truth - Michael Jackson IS music. The hateful, blasphemous little hooligans, who bite the hand that feeds them can all "go to Hell.
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Justthefacts said:
If you want to give the album a bad review because you don't like the songs then OK. But to hate on the album just because you had issue with Michael shows what a petty person you are. Think about it the ones who give this album bad reviews act like Michael played an active role in producing and putting this album together. I mean really. Some in the media just can't help themselves I remember when the kids got Michael's Grammy some fool went nuts saying the kids were a mess and there clothes were bad I mean it was like wtf you act like they stole money from you. And I bet you she was only acting that way because when you saw P&P you saw what a wonderful job there Dad did with them. Remember when Michael was found not guilty? Some in the media had meltdowns they went berserk some fool from Fox news was screaming on TV the last thing they wanted to happen was for Michael or his estate to do well. And it is so they hate. Does not stop the estate from doing well.
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Just wanted to co-sign both of these.
 
In my morning paper (respected Dutch paper, de Volkskrant) there was an article about Michael. Not so much a review, but more a piece about the origin of and the controversy surrounding the songs. The article ends with a positive note: the album is definitely worth listening to and might be even better than Jackson's latest Invincible. At sometimes the real Jackson magic is even present.
I hope for a complete song by song review next week from this paper. Can't wait.
 
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babykinsilk05;3125588 said:
It's not Bad, but not good either! A track-by-track review of the 'new' Michael Jackson album

By Adrian Thrills

Last updated at 10:02 PM on 9th December 2010

Michael Jackson originally became famous during the vinyl era, an age that gave us Elvis, The Beatles and the Motown label on which The King Of Pop first made his name.
But it was only when music embraced the new technology of the Eighties that he became a *global superstar. It was then that he delivered the best-selling album of all time in Thriller, and used MTV to realise the potential of the pop video.

Now, 18 months after his death, technology is once more adding to Jackson’s legacy. This album was completed using modern studio techniques to enhance the raw material he left behind. As such, it is something of a mish-mash — with a few moments of magic.

The record features ten *previously unreleased tracks *dating back to 1982, the year of Thriller. There is a hard-rocking 2001 collaboration with Lenny Kravitz plus a handful of more recent tracks, including one, Best Of Joy, that Jackson had hoped to complete during last year’s planned residency in London.

Two songs here may be familiar: a demo version of one, the soulful ballad (I Like) The Way You Love Me, cropped up six years ago on Jackson’s Ultimate Collection, while

Behind The Mask was *originally sung by Japanese electro-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra before being made famous by Eric Clapton in 1987.

Despite fans, colleagues and *family members questioning the authenticity of some of the vocals, R&B figurehead Teddy Riley, a Jackson associate since 1991 and producer of three tracks here, downplays such concerns.

He says: ‘I studied everything about him from day one. As the years went by, I *witnessed his tones changing. My feeling on the authenticity of the vocals is that they were all done by Michael.’

My hunch is to agree with Riley, although that doesn’t mean the record consistently captures Jackson at his best. Many tracks were recorded with ‘guide’ vocals, where the singer is perfectly in tune *without really pushing his voice.

A whiff of over-production also hangs over Michael. On Keep Your Head Up, Jackson’s singing is overshadowed by a choir, lush strings, handclaps and an over-wrought finale straight out of ballads week on The X Factor.

Breaking News is another offender. The funky, mid-tempo arrangement is catchy enough, but it is difficult to discern Jackson’s distinctive tone amid the barrage of backing vocals.

When the singer does perform at full throttle, the results are spectacular. Monster, recorded in 2007, finds him hitting the dance floor with an impressive update on the lyrical theme of Thriller.
Squealing ‘He’s a monster, he’s an animal’, the singer actually sounds as if he is enjoying himself. 50 Cent’s rap was added at a later date, but still blends effectively into the mix.

The two songs from the early 1980s also offer snatches of Jackson on top form. Behind The Mask, with new lyrics, is fast and funky.

Much Too Soon is beautifully sung. A sweet ballad with strings arranged by Beck’s father, David Campbell, its plaintive, stripped-back tone is reminiscent of Jackson’s early solo single Ben.

This album would have undoubtedly packed more punch had the singer been able to polish up the less engaged vocal performances here, while the fact that these songs span 28 years inevitably leads to a lack of continuity.

Rather than a studio album to rival Thriller, the King Of Pop’s trustees have come up with an intriguing but patchy compilation.

The 'new' album, track by track...
HOLD MY HAND
An auto-tuned, mid-tempo duet with rapper Akon. 6/10
HOLLYWOOD TONIGHT
Funky workout from the 2001 Invincible sessions. 8/10
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
Average ballad, dressed up with lavish production. 5/10
(I LIKE) THE WAY YOU LOVE MOVE
Soul meets doo-wop on a ballad that runs out of steam. 5/10
MONSTER
Jousting with rapper 50 Cent on album’s prime cut. 9/10
BEST OF JOY
Stripped-down, acoustic *ballad with high-pitched vocals. 5/10
BREAKING NEWS
Fussy backing drowns out Jackson’s R&B-tinged vocals. 5/10
(I CAN'T MAKE IT) ANOTHER DAY
Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl help the singer rock out. 7/10
BEHIND THE MASK
Strong hook and swirling strings on this fast-paced dance track. 8/10
MUCH TOO SOON
Plaintive, accordion-soaked ballad from the Thriller era. 7/10

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...-Michael-Jackson-album.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
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:doh: Whatever! What two songs from the 80's? I thought only "Behind the mask" was from the 80's? And saying it isn't bad, but it isn't good either? Um...Yeah, it IS good! It's better than good!!! Douches.



smooth_criminal05;3125993 said:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2010/1210/1224285142413.html

Great review from the Irish Times
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I wasn't aware that there was a song on the album titled "Best of You". :smilerolleyes:
 
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Overall, the reviews are better than I expected. Not because of the content, but because the media normally loves to 'beat up' on MJ albums - so I'm very pleased with what I am reading!

Let's get this album to number 1 all over the world - where it belongs!
 
Dutch paper de Telegraaf (worst, but sadly most read newspaper of the Netherlands) reviewed Michael really negatively. Only Much too Soon and Another Day are called Jackson worthy and stand-outs. Hold my Hand is tagged an Akon song and all Riley produced tracks are overproduced and messy according to the reviewer. The say it deserves to be in the sales bin immediately :(
 
Roosje said:
Dutch paper de Telegraaf (worst, but sadly most read newspaper of the Netherlands) reviewed Michael really negatively. Only Much too Soon and Another Day are called Jackson worthy and stand-outs. Hold my Hand is tagged an Akon song and all Riley produced tracks are overproduced and messy according to the reviewer. The say it deserves to be in the sales bin immediately :(
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'The Sun' newspaper of The Netherlands Roosje (LOL!)

What else do we expect from the 'gutter press'? (wink)
 
^True, true. But to be honest, gutter press like in the UK doesn't really exist here. Telegraaf is for the masses but they are credible and not half of it is showbizz/aliens/hot girls. But still, it's a trashy paper nonetheless. I always wonder why a country with such polite and decent people like the Great Britain has so many rotten newspapers. It seems like a contradictio, but maybe I think too stereotypical.

Belgium paper De Morgen (to the best of my knowledge quite a popular paper, not sure about the quality) wrote a really positive review, calling Jackson's music very much alive. Although they found the ballads to be to sappy, honorable mentions were Monster, Another Day and above all suprisingly Breaking News, which was called the perfect comeback song... They gave it 3 out of 5 stars, but it read more like a 4-star review.
 
The british press really wants this album to fail.I nearly vomited when I read this
So don’t buy the album. Leave it for the nutters, the hystericals and the completists, the ones who would consume an album of kazoo music by Bubbles the chimp, if Jackson’s manager could scare up some decade old diary entry in which Michael said he was *considering turning it into a B-side.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1337337/Jackos-rave-grave-Thriller.html#ixzz17hekY9dG
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I dont see them telling people not to buy Elvis or Lennon's records .This album is better than so many shitty records they praise.For a country that loved MJ so much and vice versa,their press sucks,wish MJ fans would buy 2 copies of the album just to stick it to the press.
 
dupsy said:
The british press really wants this album to fail.I nearly vomited when I read this

I dont see them telling people not to buy Elvis or Lennon's records .This album is better than so many shitty records they praise.For a country that loved MJ so much and vice versa,their press sucks,wish MJ fans would buy 2 copies of the album just to stick it to the press.
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The Daily Mail has written some awful - 'personal' - comments about MJ and his fans for many years now. In fact, most UK 'newspapers' have.

It doesn't seem to stop MJ selling millions of albums/DVD's in the UK though, and never has. Fortunately the newspaper writers/editors do not speak for the majority of the 'normal' people in the UK.

In fact, here in the UK, if we see people being treated 'harshly' we often take their side and begin to support them. Let's hope the public get this album to number 1 - and shove it right up the press! (wink)
 
Another great review, from Time Magazine.

WOW...WOW....I THINK THIS IS A FANTASTIC REVIEW. VERY LITTLE SNARKS.

NOTE: 10 projects...not 10 albums.


The New Michael Jackson Album: Not Bad, but Pretty Good
By DAVID BROWNE

The Michael Jackson who rises from the mausoleum on Michael isn't all that dissimilar from one who left us last year. On the first of a projected 10 (yes, 10) posthumous albums, Jackson is heard alternating between his two long-standing personas: the wide-eyed purveyor of idealized love and the embittered, self-pitying victim of a fixated media. His affection for treacle and sentiment still runs rampant, his voice still slips into a buttery soprano, and he still uses rock guitars to indicate "rage" and gospel choirs to announce "inspiration."
(Read celebrity remembrances of Michael Jackson.)
Jackson, of course, wasn't around to finish the bulk of these ten tracks, which were recorded as far back as the early '80s and as recently as just before his 2009 death. But the producers who helped him have clearly studied what made Jackson's music so singular. Michael isn't an Off the Wall or a Thriller; by 2009, those days are as long gone as his red zippered jacket. But given its stitched-together makeup — new tracks built around Jackson's voice — neither is it an embarrassing, Frankenstein-pop monster. Against all odds, including Jackson's iffy output in the two decades before his death, it's a shockingly credible record — a carefully assembled recreation of his finest moments as a solo artist and a reminder of why we cared about him to begin with.
(See pictures of artifacts from Jackson's estate.)
Starting with Dangerous and continuing through HIStory and Invincible, Jackson clearly grappled with ways to reboot his sound in a world dominated by hip hop. He tried new-jack beats, guest rappers, and Notorious B.I.G. samples, which only made his music feel earthbound. In death, Jackson is gliding on air again. With their crisp rhythms and a dearth of the bombast that bloated so much of his post-Thriller work, the best songs here evoke his music's lithe, whooshing agility. "Hollywood" has the coasting-on-air quality of classics like "Billie Jean," while "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" (an earlier, unfinished version of which appeared on a 2004 compilation) follows in the footsteps of "The Way You Make Me Feel," with warmer, less processed harmonies.
That song and "Best of Joy" were both co-produced by Theron "Neff-U" Feemster, whose silky work with Ne-Yo is a perfect match for Jackson. Intentionally or not, Michael posits the intriguing possibility that Jackson, had he lived, could have made a musical comeback: thanks to acts like Ne-Yo and Beyonce, R&B has swung back around to his less beat-heavy, more melodic grooves.
(See the top 10 Michael Jackson moments.)
Jackson even sounds liberated vocally. The clipped, clenched-teeth phrasing that strangled later duds like "Scream" is rarely heard. For most of the album, he sounds, once again, like he's just singing. Even on the dank, gothy "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" — another rock merger, this time a decade-old collaboration with Lenny Kravitz — his vocals rarely sound strained. When the first track from the album, "Breaking News," was released, a family member declared that the voice wasn't Jackson's — a claim Jackson's lawyers and former producers shot down. Although his voice is sometimes smothered on Michael, the carefully poised phrasing heard throughout it could be no one else. (The recurring trademark "whoo!"s, though, feel like samples lifted from his older records.)
But if Michael is a promise-filled look at what might have been, it also a reminder that Jackson wasn't the same artist he once was. Down to its vampy vibe, "Monster" works hard to recreate the mood of "Thriller," albeit with the far less scary 50 Cent instead of Vincent Prince (and a less memorable hook). The monster in the title is the paparazzi, who'll "eat your soul like a vegetable," Jackson warns. He harps on that topic both here and on the even more self-important "Breaking News" — a sign that as a lyricist, he was running in circles, trapped in a cramped world of his making. The love songs feel more generalized than ever, and his moralism about the evils of showbiz gets genuinely tacky on "Hollywood," in which he scolds a teen runaway for "giving hot tricks to men." One of the album's most revealing moments comes in "Keep Your Head Up," a wide-screen inspirational ballad that's another variation on his "Heal the World" mode. It's about a working mother, but when Jackson sings, almost breathlessly, "I can't even breathe/I can't even see!" he could be talking about himself.
(Comment on this story.)
Michael's finest moment isn't the dull current single "Hold My Hand," on which the rapper Akon is featured nearly as much as Jackson. That honor goes to "Behind the Mask." Again, Jackson sounds youthful, energized, and alluringly snappish; again, the music has an assertive, effortless drive, aided by a sample from the defunct Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra. "Who do you love?" Jackson pleads with a yearning intensity he hadn't mustered in years.
Sadly, there's a reason for that: "Behind the Mask" dates back to the Thriller sessions. Much like Thriller did with his record sales, this vintage leftover casts an imposing shadow over this "new" album — and makes you wonder if the nine albums to come can maintain even the unexpected merits of Michael. But for now, at least, Jackson receives the acceptable send-off he deserved.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2036294,00.html#ixzz17i1FVnVz


Go buy the album & support MJ's legacy.


THE LEGEND CONTINUES...
 
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I must say - the reviews are wayyy better than I would have thought.
 
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