Michael Jackson
History

THE REVIEW

Year 1995, Michael Jackson has already broken all possible records, "Thriller" (best-selling album in music history), 5 singles from the "Bad" album at number one in the USA, record attendance for a world tour "Bad Tour" with 4.5 million attendees, countless Grammy Awards, Dangerous Tour, breaking records for TV rights, but then something happens: a boy accuses the KING of something terrible, and the lights go out, the Dangerous Tour is halted halfway through (with 3.5 million attendees already), many, myself included, thought the King was dead, yet here he is releasing this work, of excellent quality although perhaps a bit too self-referential, nonetheless a great commercial success with 18 million copies sold, (the best-selling double album in history and "You Are Not Alone" from this work is the first single to debut at number one in the USA in music history).

I want to start by saying something, MJ might not be to everyone's taste, some may even despise his music, but to consider him a product for teenagers or a man without talent is an insult to human intelligence, before even touching on each of our artistic tastes. "Scream", Jackson returns from hell with this lead single, a duet with his sister Janet, an explosive and futuristic track that's enjoyable but doesn't reach the level of the strong pieces from the previous album.

"They Don't Care About Us", here Jackson surpasses himself, a track with strong roots, tribal rhythm, fabulous anti-racist lyrics, almost rock guitar blended with a dance rhythm, an avant-garde operation rather than teen-pop, a track worthy of his previous works, indeed one of Jackson's best. "Stranger in Moscow" is a beautiful ballad in Jackson's style, with a wonderful interpretation and a vocal range reminiscent of the J5's golden era, a fine piece of work. "This Time Around" - "D.S." - "Money", I will arrange these pieces a bit because I want to talk about the true masterpiece of this record, and I need focus to do so; anyway, the first is a lovely, enjoyable New Jack track enhanced by the artist's stunning voice, excellent rap part, nice song; the second is a bit of a pop-rock failure, not terrible but not convincing in the long run, I'd give it a good 6, the third is a lovely hip hop experience, still rearranged with the Jacksonian touch, excellent work that fully surpasses mere adequacy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, "EARTH SONG", close your eyes, it feels like you're in the Amazon with the voices of a calm nature beginning to tell you the story of the relationship between man and earth, thus the singer's voice is calm and sweet, and guides you in your dream, suddenly, a cry, a lament Ahhhh... ahhhhh..., are the first ailments of the earth starting to revolt against its inhabitants, the tone is still melancholic as if to make us understand the meaning of its words, at one point the world gets really angry and so does the song's performer, who displays a powerful voice, amid fabulous gospel choruses and special effects replicating the sounds of wind and stormy seas, the final plea "What about us" begins, only a genius could manage such interpretations, score 10.

"Come Together" is a cute cover of an old Beatles hit, but it does not do justice to the fab-four—too techno-pop for the base. "You Are Not Alone" has only sold millions and millions of records, nothing special, yet the vocal performance is sublime. "Childhood" is a sort of confession, about the issues-disturbances of this strange, sad, fascinating, naive eternal child, musically very naive, but as usual, the interpretation is Oscar-worthy. "Tabloid Junkie" - "2Bad", music from the future, but a future that will never come, tracks written with the sound of tomorrow in mind, yet this sound has never arrived, the former has wonderful lyrics, and when I translated it, I thought, "this guy really has guts," journalists are roasted and thrown into the trash, only he could do it, I must say, however, that he paid for it in the years to follow, and still today, there's not an article treating MJ like a human being; he rebelled against the system that created him and paid the price, truly fascinating self-destruction he engaged in every day since 1995 and until today, remarkable; the latter is a Jacksonian track with super synthesizer, an angry rapper recounting who the King of Pop is, self-referential to the highest possible level, yet it is a track that gives energy.

"History" is a musical experiment from which our hero's now widespread megalomania is evident, the basic idea is magnificent, retracing man's history through the most important sound images, from Martin Luther King to Gandhi is a stroke of genius, the song is beautiful, pleasant rhythm, a courageous operation, the problem is that he includes himself in history too, a bad taste joke. Now there are two masterpieces that in 150 years will be listened to in music conservatories. "Little Susie" Beethoven—a music box playing—a sweet child's voice singing a tune—the KING's sweet voice spreads in the room and tells the very sad story of little Susie murdered by someone "somebody killed little Susie," wonderful drums and violins, heart-wrenching voice, the performer's incredible engagement draws you into the song, you become a part of little Susie's world, Michael Jackson is a true ARTIST, the finale amidst breathtaking bells, I say it, MASTERPIECE. "Smile" features a superb interpretation of a classic of world music written by Chaplin… SMILE… SMILE… SMILE, and I smile and cry when I listen to this "sublimity."

In conclusion, I say this album is very good but overall does not surpass its predecessors, yet at some points, it exceeds them.

Thank you, and sorry if I went a bit over the top in praising Jackson, but I truly believe he is one of the most underrated artists in music history.