Michael Jackson
Dangerous

THE REVIEW

Talking about Michael Jackson unfortunately doesn't always mean talking about music.

Many times people tend to analyze his media persona, his scandals, his exaggerations, his lust, and his dance moves.

But beyond a great show and scandalous animal, Michael Jackson was in my opinion one of the greatest composers of the last forty years.

I just remember that before "Off The Wall" in 1979 he already had 4 solo albums and another twenty with the Jackson 5 and The Jacksons on his record.

I chose "Dangerous" because aside from being the final chapter of a commercially perfect trilogy, ["Thriller"(1982) and "Bad"(1987)] it is also, in my opinion, the peak stylistic and musical expression of his work.

If with "Off The Wall" and "Thriller" his soul and funk roots were still evident; with "Bad" he developed his pop form full of typical sounds of the eighties but with a strong and rooted soul culture of Motown. "Dangerous" is the culmination of his transformation into the King of Pop, offering himself completely to electronic sounds that are never trivial but at the expense of the real sound of true instruments. However, strong black influences remain, like gospel choirs and rhythms typical of soul music. All these artistic influences make this album so original that it is Jackson's most unique and recognizable musical work.

It starts with "Jam," and immediately the rhythm becomes intense (it seems to recall the frenzy of "wanna be startin' something"). Pompous arrangements with brass, artificial sounds, and an intense singing full of that hoarse and raging voice that in this album replaces the clear and melodic of the previous albums. It is immediately clear that with "Jam" begins the renewal of the style that is confirmed in the SPANISH-INSPIRED POP of "Why You Wanna Trip On Me" and in the almost erotic "In The Closet." The musical backdrop is continuously filled with excellent electronics and leads us slowly to the first calm moment of "Heal The World" where Jackson's idea of a ballad reconfirms the epic compositional skills of "We Are The World," repeating himself with another very moving classic. After that, we find the masterpiece "Black Or White" that, together with "Give in to me," demonstrates how Jackson is able to write rock masterpieces that join "Beat It" and "Dirty Diana" (imagine a whole rock album on the level of these tracks and tell me what would have happened).

We reach the end with the moving gospel of "Will You Be There," the sweet and refined "Gone Too Soon," and the closure of the title track that summarizes all the sound concept of the album. Because this was Michael Jackson: a refined composer capable of writing memorable and eternal pop gems without ever repeating himself; and when an album like this, eighty minutes long, is recognized as a masterpiece by everyone, then Jackson will be musically understood.

ps: I listen to brit pop, prog '70, beat, psychedelia, and rock 60-70.... do you understand what I mean?

thanks