Customer Reviews

History: Past Present & Future

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The title of the album is very appropriate. With the first CD giving us a blast from the past of amazing songs, and the second disk pulling us into the future. Many people have complained about the second disk, but I find that the songs on it are quite brilliant. The first song, Scream, is one of the most original songs of the nineties. It has a sound you won't find anywhere else, and the brother/sister duo mix their vocals extremely well. The second track, They Dont Really Care About Us, is so passionate and stimulating. You almost can't help turning up the volume. Stranger in Moscow is one of the most beautiful songs MJ's written, and its production is top notch. Earth Song is THE most beautiful song he's done, and it has a feel that gives you goosebumps. Overall, the album is one of the best I've heard. Some people critisize it for being too angry, but the anger gives the songs a passion and a depth that other artists lack. Its definitely worth the money for this deep and interesting work of art.

This is, just in case people are confused, 1-part greatest hits and 1-part new album. And it's sort of a strange combination. With the greatest hits CD, you get the absolute best of Michael's glory days. And the second CD, proves that Michael was on top of his game, after all the bad publicity and the hellish year that 93-94 was. His sister Janet, riding high on the third of her huge successes, the self-titled JANET- even comes to his aid here.

Now Michael Jackson has lead a very difficult life, and his music career has reflected his personal struggle. Some people say you hear the fight with the cynical public and hounding media and people who've turned on him in many of his songs. Some of the songs on the greatest hits disc reflect a toughness Michael adopted in his hit records toward the general misunderstanding of his actions and lifestyle (the lavish Neverland ranch / amusement park, young children for close friends, longing for fantasy and detachment from harsh reality).

The older songs on the first disc are just pop/R&B anthems of love of affection and love of dance. His two hit records of the '80s were very interesting, I mean who would have thought he would score a humongous hit with a song so clearly intended to be a novelty- "Thriller"? Then Bad's songs were a huge step down from the perfect production that the Thriller album was. Bad as an album was a bigger success of image and publicity than it was for it's music. And then Dangerous was another publicity measure- the controversy of the video "Black or White", and a song titled "In the Closet", and over-the-top videos like "Remember the Time".

This is why his music remains the strangest thing about him. And it probably always will be. But his best record since Thriller is here, comprising the 2nd disc. "Heal the World" from the Dangerous album doesn't come close to the heights that "Earth Song" reaches. "Stranger in Moscow" and "You Are Not Alone" rate up there as the best slow jams of his career. And "Scream" is truly a success of it's multi-million dollar budgeted music video, Janet's added presence, it's overall message, and the super-funky beat! Michael also proves he's up to speed with incredibly hip jams like "2 Bad", "This Time Around", "They Don't Care About Us", and the ultra-smooth "Money".

Unfortunately this album's not perfect, and the proof is in the worst song Michael Jackson's ever recorded - "Childhood Theme" for Free Willy 2. The song is every bit as bad as the film! Also "Little Susie" is creepy, and in the most disturbing way you can imagine- think "Thriller" times ten. So this is a 4-star affair rather than 5. That and the fact that excellent Jackson tracks are missing from the greatest hits, you knew there'd be some- "In the Closet", and "Smooth Criminal". I mean, "Heal the World" is really sacrifice-able!

But let's talk about those classic Jackson songs- "The Way You Make Me Feel" from Bad is my favorite Jackson song of the '80s, and a lot of people have said "Man in the Mirror" is a low point of Bad, but I feel it's one of the highs. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is one of the best disco songs of all time. This is how Jackson will always be remembered by me and the people who were bigger fans, the people who got me listening to him when I was a kid. I may always be much more rabid about following Madonna, and I may have grown up with Mariah Carey. But Jackson will always be the male King of Pop for me. This is a good way to immortalize him. Not great, but really good.

I was able to research and purchase exact item I'd been seaching for. Item arrived in pristine condition. I could not be happier. Thanks.

This has to be one of my "all-time" favorite CDs. It's definitely a must have to your collection.

I have to GOLD edition of this 2xCD album and it rocks. The first CD is imbued with his past works that sound just as fresh today as when they were first released. Need I say more? The second CD gives us an insight of what is present state was like back then in '95. The album is good on a whole. But onyl a handful of tracks are worth having a rewind through. Some of the songs of this album are somewhat sorrowful but beautiful in their own sense of style. But this album is unique in a sense that, until today many artists cannot campare to even anything they've done, to him. He has already made his mark on the world. So please do not forget him. Just listen to this album. Because many of songs give a transparent view of his life. They are very inspirational. To date he is still "King Of Pop!". Keep FIGHTING MJ your fans still do!!!!!

I am a Michael-a-holic and I have a huge collection of Michael's cds. I forgot about cassette tapes as an option for more Michael music. I bought this cassette, a double cassette, planning to frame it with many of the brand new, sealed cassettes from Michael that I have started collecting. Until recently I really didn't know that cassettes of Michael's music were still available through the Invincible album in the early 2000's. But then again, this is Michael, the great innovator, so it makes perfect sense that the world's greatest artist would still have cassettes produced. It's fun to collect his cassettes, and all forms of Michael's music for that matter. After all, Michael's music spans decades from 45 rpm records, to 33 rpm, to 8 track tapes in the Jackson 5 days and his early solo career, to his cd/vcd discs up to today's cds. The moral of the story is you can never have too much Michael music. I love my copy of this cassette. It's retro, and it reminds me of the great days when cassettes were popular, especially the 1980's, when I came to know and love Michael. I am now 41 years old and I'm grateful to God that I lived so many years on this earth with Michael, but it was not enough and I miss him desperately.

After "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad", there weren't too many places for Michael Jackson to go. He had survived his 1993 criminal allegations, but his music was faltering. "HIStory" contains fifteen big hits on the first disc and fifteen other songs on the second. It could have barely survived with the latter disc as a new album. There are some upbeat funk-rock numbers like, "This Time Around", "D.S." and "2 Bad", but the rest seem to flounder. "Scream" (a duet with sister Janet) is an incomprehensive mess and "HIStory" is six and a half minutes of sound bytes! The ballads, "Stranger In Moscow", Earth Songs" (particularly pretty) and "Childhood" fare well enough, however. The trouble with this set is that the first CD seems to say, "This is what I gave you" and the second says, "This is what I got". The second CD is nearly biographical in its lyric and it's not pleasant. Ending with "Smile" is as pure narcissism as one can get. Sure Jackson had some bad breaks, but he sure had some damn fantastic ones too. Half of the songs on the new CD should have been shelved, but that wouldn't have bided well with sales. As honest as Michael Jackson might be, he is still selling Michael Jackson.

I will ignore the first disc because any real fan will have all these old hit on MJs first four Epic albums. Missing on disc one are many gems like Girlfriend and Baby be Mine which is why all true fans listen to the original album, not hits packages. There are some tracks on disc 2 that are good- three of them to be exact ( the first 3 tracks Scream, They dont Care, Stranger in Moscow), Earth Song is pure Megalomania but tolerable. The rest of the album will leave you feeling like a washed out morphine addict which is apparently what MJ was when he recorded the Album. This album was supported by the very successful but truly disappointing History Tour. Michael treats his fans like enemies in this album, it is a statement to his detractors not a party album for his followers. This is where The Legend Discontinues...