Michael Jackson
Off The Wall

THE REVIEW

"Michael Jackson is dead." The most shocking and monumental news since the attacks of September 11, 2001! Because in this case too, millions and millions of people around the world have died, dead in heart, dead in soul, and the musical landscape has also died, leaving us with a total void and the MTV generation of the new millennium... which is basically a container of crap! Music and show business are deteriorating just as Jackson's body and mind were. Less and less art and more throwaway products, fewer and fewer artists, whom I would prefer to call craftsmen rather than ARTISTS!

With the death of Michael Jackson, pop dies, the art of musical entertainment dies (the real one... the one he established and no one else has equaled), the last great MYTH in capital letters dies! Let's be honest... who is left for us now? I apologize to the fans of the artists I will mention... but... come on... let's face it... who is left for us? Madonna? Oh, please! A decent showgirl who rode the waves of fashion and cunning, mediocre singer, poor dancer, decent athlete... what she did in pop, no one else did? Yes, but... artistically there are many like her! Prince? Yes... a genius from Minneapolis who nevertheless didn't even come close to the power and global impact of Michael Jackson's music (I'm not just referring to sales but to the impact as a character and especially emotional impact. And you can see it from the worldwide FRENZY that happened after Jackson's death... with people tearing their hair in the streets, crazy TV stations, overcrowded internet (Google thought it was a virus!), 12 suicides!, not even for Mercury, Presley, Lennon... let's see if it will happen for Prince's death) and then? Who's left? Janet? A lifelong imitator of her brother? Who? Well... perhaps the only genius still alive is Quincy Jones, who, together with Michael, contributed to the revolution of pop music. What is certain... is that beyond what I have written... there's no one left of Mister Jackson's caliber.

Michael's last part of life was hell; an eternal child with a troubled past, a life of media pressures, family madness, a stolen childhood, a "special" man not understood by the "normal";... the "genius and recklessness" was inevitable! I don't know what saved him from suicide before now. Michael Jackson is the misunderstood man par excellence, an unparalleled genius who couldn't handle such great fame, a delicate, fragile man... psychologically fragile. Michael Jackson's story is a tragic story... despite having brought MAGIC to the world for 50 years. When such a character dies, we are left with only the beautiful things. The accusations of pedophilia, the bleached skin, the masks and umbrellas, we couldn't care less! (except for the usual gossip and TV brainwashed individuals who continue to express themselves like TGCOM journalists, gratuitously tarnishing Jackson's name by even opening groups on Facebook... obviously with no more than 12 members!) before moving on to the review I would like to spend the last words on his private life, just to clarify! Michael Jackson didn't bleach his skin to deny his race, he was suffering from vitiligo... just like some of my friends and colleagues! The parents of the kids who accused Michael of sexual molestation... brainwashed their children to extort money from Michael Jackson. The parents of these "abused" became rich! Michael Jackson is dead! Now these absurdities about his image are FINALLY proving false day by day (the first kid that Michael "abused" has already declared that he was forced by his father to invent everything, who wanted money from Michael), unfortunately in this world, justice and praise only come after death. A myth is recognized as such only when it dies! It's the mad rule.

The death of Michael Jackson did not leave us with scandals, rape, and racism... Michael left us an immense legacy: The art of music! Everyone is remembering him for the untouchable "Thriller" and its 104 million copies sold. On TV the same refrains for days. I would like to remember him instead for what I think is his best album along with "Dangerous". "Off The Wall" is an unmatched masterpiece of pop and R&B that in 1979 forever changed the sound of pop music. A record of a quality that is nothing short of excellent, without a flaw, perfect in music, in sound balance, in arrangements, in insights, in ideas, in impact, in catchiness, in immediacy, in energy, and especially for the AMAZING voice of its protagonist. For many... too many... Michael Jackson is synonymous with dance... but I would like to remember him as one of the most original and talented singers of all time. His voice conquers space and time, surpasses every cultural barrier, possesses anyone who listens to it, captivates millions... "Off The Wall" is one of the most brilliant productions in music history.

A piece like "Get On The Floor" still manages to beat everyone! The sound, the timing of the arrangement, the vocal performance of the genius Jackson, and the energy of this song obliterate all today's pop artists combined in a single blow! With Michael there has never been a past... only a future! I imagine a scenario set in 2081... a futuristic stereo echoing the notes of "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and people screaming "wooow MICHAEL!!!" it's universal music.. like MOZART's! Yes... I compared him to Mozart! Hate me if you want... but the musical impact on people that extends into the future is the same. The grandchildren of the grandchildren of our great-grandchildren will listen to "Off The Wall"! And they'll say "wow... in an ancient time like 1979 this man did something like this". Michael Jackson wasn't understood back then because he was too ahead ("Dangerous") and perhaps is still too ahead today. He dies physically, but he lives and will live forever in the history of music.

This man has earned a bow from Elvis in heaven...