It sounded bloody great mainly because they played it with real, musical instruments, as opposed to the album's generic-sounded version of the song.
Because of this, some fans even suggested that the whole 'Invincible' album should be mixed again but with real, musical instruments and should be re-released in that form.
Apparently, this came down also to marketing reasons because that move (reaching and appealing also to other listeners from other genres) would increase the sales of his albums.
It would have been very laughable if Michael Jackson kept recording and releasing songs like 'I Want You Back' and 'ABC' in his later adult career.
Besides, dark and dreadful songs are the songs that truly define an artist.