The Essential Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 19, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0009XNUK0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (213 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #36 in Music > Pop > Dance Pop > General AAS
  • #37 in Music > Dance & DJ

Editorial Reviews

The 2CD The Essential Michael Jackson takes you on a journey from budding star, to iconic legend and allows you to immerse yourself in the musical and emotional development of each track defining the story of a global superstar.

Michael Jackson needs no introduction, as part of the Jackson 5 he helped make up a remarkable musical family and one of the biggest pop phenomenons of the early 70s. The Jacksons' infectious brand of funky soul and now iconic stage presence reached out globally and made them and Michael international stars.

As the success of the band grew, Michael branched out with his own solo career first launching with "Got to be There" and then "Rockin' Robin". The momentum started to grow with the release of more successful singles and, as the hype surrounding the Jackson 5 slowed down towards the late 70s, Michael continued to develop and grow as an artist. With the release of Off the Wall, an immaculately crafted set of funky disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush, sentimental pop ballads, Michael cemented his place as a global star. The 1980s were a career-defining period with his instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power Michael Jackson was unstoppable. The 1982 album Thriller became the biggest selling album of all time and combined his musical genius with an exceptional and ahead of its time music video epic. Bad (1987) was released with enormous public anticipation and spawned another succession of hit singles with "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tbe best compilation on Michael Jackson yet, July 25, 2005

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Essential Michael Jackson (Audio CD)

Whoa!!!!! Where did this come from? Without any hype or media attention, Sony has just released "The Essential Michael Jackson" (37 tracks, 157 min.), perhaps the ultimate Michael Jackson compilation.

CD 1 (20 tracks, 79 min.) cover the period up to and including the "Thriller" album, starting with the best known Jackson 5 singles such as "ABC" and "I Want You Back", then shifting to the Jacksons. It would have been better to include "State of Shock" or "Lovely One" instead of "Enjoy Yourself". CD1 finishes off with 7 of the 9 "Thriller" album tracks (the other 2 being "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady in My Life"; it's still hard to believe how successfull that album really was, and how many hits were relased from it, in the days when "radio tracks" meant actual vinyl single releases). This was of course Michael at his absolute best, now 23 years ago.

CD2 (17 tracks, 78 min.) compiles 8 tracks from "Bad" and 7 from "Dangerous", and finishes off with "You Are Not Alone" from HIStory and "You Rock My World" from Invincible. In other words: only 2 tunes from the post-1992 era, and rightfully so, even though the HIStory and Invincible albums are not nearly as bad or mediocre as many would like you to believe. The only track that arguably should be on here (but, at 78 min. already, at the expense of what other track then?) is "Scream", the No. 1 duet with sister Janet.

In the end, this "essential" compilation is better than any other compilation available (HIStory Vol. 1; Number Ones, etc.) as it covers both the Jackson 5/Jacksons era and his solo output. It's very strange to me that this was released without any hype or advertizing campaign, but the main thing is that it's out and available. Hihgly recommended!

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the CD to own for this American icon., June 26, 2009

By 

Robert G. Martinez "Doctor of Rock" (Brooksville FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Essential Michael Jackson (Audio CD)

Thjere are many Michael Jackson CD's on the market. This is the one to own however since it captures all of his big hits and well represents my two favorite albums "Off The Wall" and "Thriller". His best songs are all here" Rock With You, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Beat It, Billie Jean,The Girl Is Mine, Human Nature, etc. as well as his early hits with the Jackson Five and the great later albums like "Bad" and "Dangerous". THIS IS THE BEST SOUNDING representation of these hits I have ever heard. There are 37 cuts. Michael was indeed an American tragedy and a pop music icon. If you can only own one CD, this is the most logical choice. My only quibble is the omission of "Never Can Say Goodbye" which was my favorite Jackson Five song. At one time, he was selling over one million albums-CD's a day (1983-84). He changed the course of pop music history and his legacy will live on despite the cynics. Highly recommended!

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Close enough for those who don't want the albums, July 22, 2005

By 

The JeroCrowe "Student of Music" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Michael Jackson (Audio CD)

While some might gripe about the lack of new material on this collection, very few (and I only say this because I don't own all of them) of the sets in the "The Essential" series of compilations have anything new on them. The point is to make available an affordable compilation of an artist's hits over the course of their career. This is especially useful in the cases of artists who have had career highlights on various labels, such as Johnny Cash or Michael Jackson. In the case of Jacko's collection, this is the only 2-disc set on the market that contains tracks dating from the J5 years to the present, so it's valuable to those who want a lot of his hits in one purchase but don't want to buy the J5's greatest hits, a compilation of pre-Off the Wall hits and then another compilation that covers from Off the Wall to the present.

There are a few glaring omissions to be noted, though: "Dancing Machine," "Scream" (with Janet), and "Say Say Say" (with Paul McCartney) deserve to be on here. "Blood on the Dancefloor" is a personal favorite of mine that would've been nice to get without having to buy a remix album, too, but it's inessential (then again, so is "Dangerous," which made it on). Overall, though, I recommend it for those who want a 2-disc Jackson fix in 1 purchase.