Michael Jackson
Blood On The Dance Floor (HIStory In The Mix)

THE REVIEW

After the review I wrote some time ago on this very site, I had a vision: I dreamed of Michelle Hunziker kissing my ..........., oh sorry, that's not relevant (perhaps). Anyway, having read the comments from my illustrious colleagues (with more or less flattering remarks), I felt flattered and at the same time spurred to continue.

So instead of enjoying the glory on a hammock (like Inter is doing these days), I continue by reviewing another MJ album. Many of you might be asking which one, what will be the next stop for the fearless reviewer recently enlisted in the DeBaserian army? Well, this time it's Blood on The DanceFloor, an album created to promote the incredibly successful double album HIStory and to support the equally successful HIStory tour, which showed that Michael's brand was still of the highest quality and that he was a money-making machine for the record labels. After HIStory, it seemed that Mike would take a break similar to after Thriller (Bad took 5 years to come to light). But no, because just 2 years later, Blood On The DanceFloor was released.

The album starts wonderfully with the title-track, which is very danceable, with an excellent rhythm and listenable to anyone, and with a chorus that gets stuck in your head on the first listen and doesn't leave! Notice also the intelligent mix of musical genres (Latin American, for example) that makes MJ's mediocre interpretation indistinguishable.
"Morphine" is a song with an extremely delicate theme: the use of drugs, which Michael used (morphine to be precise). The singer's voice is very harsh, with many well-executed sound effects, but the true emotion starts midway through the song, when the usual rhythm takes a back seat, and you're immersed in a melancholic interlude where MJ, with a poignant voice accompanied by a piano, talks about the harmful effects of Demerol. However, while we're reflecting on how many bad things we've seen on the news today, Mike abruptly brings us back to reality, and after a couple of intense refrains, where we might want to take off the headphones to cry like little girls in our room or with our mom (or wife, or girlfriend, or lover), the song ends suddenly with the choir shouting the word "Morphine".

"Superflies Sister" is an acceptable song with a good rhythm that, like "Blood On The DanceFloor", tried to break into the dance tunes of the era. Listenable, but nothing more.
And here come the heavyweights. The next track is "Ghosts", a repetition of "Thriller" where Michael doesn't copy himself; instead, he renews, experimenting with ghostly settings never tried before (after all, as Ilpazzo said, being a remix album, in case of failure, he wouldn't have lost much face). Style do or die, and I’d say this time, Mike struck gold.
Then we move to "Is It Scary", which is very similar to "Ghosts" (sinister voice, ghostly setting) surely not a bad thing. The mystical refrain is a gem for music lovers (actually, more for connoisseurs than mere enthusiasts).

Alright, here we are, the moment has come. It's the turn of the remixes. Alright, they're awful, but maybe if we sift through, we might find some noteworthy episodes. Starting with the remix of the originally excellent "Scream". Hey, but this isn’t bad accompanied by all those electronic effects, dancing well. The same goes for "This Time Around", played on a tribal rhythm. But then why do all those villains say that the album sucks because of the remixes? Because it’s the pure, bloody, damn truth. The only ones that are saved are the ones I've already mentioned and, perhaps, "HIStory". Then comes the darkness, with the distorted versions of beautiful songs like "You Are Not Alone", "Earth Song", "Stranger in Moscow", for goodness' sake.

So to sum it up, I’d give a nice 2 to the damn remixes and a 4 to the five new tracks, and if I'm not mistaken, that averages to 3.
Having said that, let's move on to the statistics: this album sold 6 million copies, a FLOP, even though I’ve said it and I repeat: dreams of selling 6 million copies with a single album are something Italian singers can only fantasize about.

Hey, there's a knock at the door, who could it be? No, do you think? I don't think so, I'll just go and open......................................................................................................................IT'S YOU AGAIN! NO DON’T TOUCH ME HELP, HELP, HELP..............HEY WHAT IS THAT THING NO I DON'T WANT IT, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, oh yes go! more! make me scream! oh you aren't really going to do it! I was joking! no, no, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!