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Rating: "History", or the story. The one that concludes for the king of pop.
A double CD that, as the cover states, deals with the past, the present, and the future (the latter will actually turn out to be sparing in strokes of genius). The first disc presents a collection of hits from our artist: tracks that have made the history of the music video but also (and above all) the history of world pop. These tracks are so well-known, so ingrained in our musical DNA (or at least they should be) that there's no need to describe them or even try to.
The second disc will instead be the subject of this review. "History" ignites the first fires with “Scream”, an aggressive and powerful track where Michael duets with his sister Janet. “Scream" was also one of the most expensive videos in the history of music… A group of children sings a cappella a chant: “They don't care about us” begins like this only to radically change with radio voices in the background creating here too a violent and engaging atmosphere. The first real gem of the album, however, is “Stranger in Moscow”, one of Jacko's best tracks: it starts slow, very slow with a relentless, pouring rain that gives life to a ballad composed of frightening melodic lines. To be listened to with eyes closed surrounded by darkness. The story continues with “This time around” which echoes Michael's previous danceable and angry atmospheres also seasoned here by an excellent melodic base. The first real ballad is “Heart Song” which starts with a distant and haunting piano to which a tearful vocal interpretation is added, but slowly the song grows until it explodes with Jacko's screams duetting with the choir (great performance also by the latter).
“D.s.” is practically the “Black or White” of the new course and, coincidentally, lacks originality. We move on to the seventh track “Money” where M.J.'s singing is almost whispered but nonetheless proves to be full of pathos and energy. The next track is nothing but a cover of the Beatles, namely “Come Together” (let's not forget that Jackson had acquired almost all the rights to the Liverpool quartet's songs some time prior). “You are not alone” is a sweet track, almost a lullaby, that elevates the overall level of the album. This calm and poignant piece is followed by another, that is “Childhood” (which will be later used in the film “Free Willy 2”) where MJ distances himself from some pedophilia accusations that were already beginning to circulate against him at that time (Before you judge me, try hard to love me, look within your heart, then ask: have you seen my childhood?). The next two tracks are: “Tabloid Junkie” and “2 Bad” and they are characterized by their danceability and the anger with which they are sung. The title-track instead proves to be too pompous and is worth practically little. The lot is closed by two very melancholic tracks: “Little Susie” and “Smile”.
To conclude some numbers: Sony invested 40 million dollars to make the album; 4 statues were built for its release, one placed in London, one in New York, one in Hollywood, and one on the stage of the History Tour; seven (!!!) singles were released; the album sold 36 million copies.
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