Michael

Michael Jackson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 14, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Epic
• ASIN: B00192IV9U
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (238 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,201 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

MICHAEL is the much anticipated album of newly completed recordings from Michael Jackson. The creative process never stopped for the King of Pop who was always planning for his next album; unbeknownst to many fans around the world Michael Jackson was writing and recording songs continuously everywhere from a friend’s home in New Jersey to studios in Las Vegas and Los Angeles with a small group of handpicked collaborators. Now, through the unique stories that will be told about the songs that comprise MICHAEL, fans will get mind-blowing insight into how this artist worked and a chance to hear the songs he most recently created along with tracks that Michael had a desire to bring to fruition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy it for what it is., December 14, 2010

By 

Tommy Morais (The Great White North) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Michael (Audio CD)

In October of last year, Michael Jackson's This Is It was released a few months after the King of Pop's death. It was controversial among some fans because it was speculated that body doubles were used and that Michael himself may have not intend fans to view the results of hours of film recording. It turned out to be an excellent film and many fans were happy to see it. Over a year later Sony releases a posthumous Michael Jackson album featuring previously unreleased material (even if some of these found their way to the internet sooner or were already known by some MJ experts) that has some fans doubting. Fans know just how much of a perfectionist Michael Jackson was and this being a posthumous release it is understandable that fans may hate what Sony is doing. Maybe Michael would not have liked that Sony did this and maybe he never intended for the songs on "Michael" to be released to the buying public. Sony has an agreement that allows them to not only own and distribute Michael's music but also release new albums of previously unreleased content until 2017. You can bet that there will be more albums of unreleased content to come. Whether or not you approve of Sony's decision you have to give it to Sony though, "Michael" has some very good songs on it. There are those fans who say that it's not Michael singing on the album and those way say it is him. I'm in between; I think they're both right. Michael definitely sings on most of the songs here but there are some that while similar in voice that may not be him, I don't think I'm the most qualified person to make such a judgment and I'm not trying to ruin your enjoyment of the album with some proofs or anything.

There are 10 songs on Michael, my guess is that Sony wants to keep material for future releases as well so they aren't putting as much song on "Michael" as they could have (which is fine really as long as the songs are good, sure more songs would've been better I suppose but I'm happy with what I've got). It's interesting that here are three collaborations on "Michael", the lead single Hold My Hand with Akon, Monster with 50 Cent (and Orianthi) and (I can't make it) Another Day with Lenny Kravitz. It's interesting to hear the king accompanied by some of these artists and the overall sound of "Michael" is very pleasing. I'm not the biggest fan of Hold My Hand but the song has it all: it's catchy, easy to listen to and has a secure/positive feeling about it. I like Hollywood Tonight, it was an unfinished song but they did a good song out of it and it has some of the classic Michael .The Way You Love Me was originally released on the 2004 Michael Jackson Ultimate Collection box set and I believe it sounded much better on the box set than it does here on "Michael". Best of Joy is a terrific one; this is one of the most enjoyable songs here. I don't like 50 Cents but Monster remains an excellent song! (I can't make it) Another Day featuring Lenny Kravitz and the Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl is one of my favorite songs of the whole album, Michael sounds amazing here and the song delivers. According to some internet bloggers and Amazon reviewers, there are three "fake" songs on "Michael" sang by Jason Malachi which would include Breaking News and Keep Your Head Up. I don't know how true this is, it might be it might not, buy the album and decide for yourself I guess right? If they're fakes then they just sound really close to Michael's voice.

I don't think the King of Pop himself would have been totally pleased with this release because he didn't get to give his blessing and some of this was unfinished material but for fans this is a treat. It does have some good songs that fans will definitely want to hear. The album is worth buying, I don't think it tarnishes Michael's legacy and it's a good album but I wouldn't compare it to his past work. As far as I'm concerned his technically "last" album was 2001's Invincible, this would be best viewed as a good collection of unreleased material. There are fans that obviously won't be happy about this release and some who will not like the material here as much as Michael's classic works. For a collection of posthumous songs this is nice and fans who want to hear the songs should hear them but they probably shouldn't expect the material here to be as good as Michael's past albums. Like I said, skeptics can hate and make various speeches but in the end it's still Michael Jackson and my guess is a lot of people will buy it. To me "Michael" serves to make me remember how great he really was and how much he really is missed. For unreleased material, this is very good and satisfying: 4/5 stars.

52 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Michael!, December 14, 2010

By 

Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Michael (Audio CD)

"Michael" is the first of several posthumous releases promised by Sony. It comprises 10 tracks, two of which most fans had heard before; lead-off single "Hold My Hand", an anthemic duet with Akon and swirling keys, a lilting paean to love and friendship with hints of Bob Marley (especially "No Woman No Cry"), and the retro-sounding "(I Like) The Way You Love Me" which appeared on "The Ultimate Collection" titled "The Way You Love Me" and without the voicemail message/human beatbox intro.

The cover art is a painted collage of Michael's life from "Off The Wall" including scenes from videos like "Thriller" and "Smooth Criminal". Musically, the album also recalls the eighties. If you liked songs like "Smooth Criminal", "Another Part Of Me" and "PYT", songs with a funky Pop sound, you'll love this. Another good thing is that the songs are not over-long, a problem with a huge chunk of "Invincible".

For upbeat songs, we have "Hollywood Tonight" (with harmonies remniscent of those on The Jacksons "The Hurt"), the haunting "Monster" (a look at the tabloids view of Michael, it features a rap by 50 Cent), "Breaking News" (with an intro comprising sensational headlines concerning Michael), the Lenny Kravitz-penned groovy rocker "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" (which alternates between gentle and fiery), and the spectacular "Behind The Mask", a sax-sprinkled groovy number laced with crowd cheers and a Disco-tinged bridge. It reminds me a wee bit of brother Jermaine's "Do You Remember Me".

For ballads there's the inspirational "Keep Your Head Up" (with a Gospel choir), and the guitar/finger-snap driven "Best Of Joy" with both finding Michael digging out his vulnerable falsetto. Closing is the absolutely spectacular "Much Too Soon", a piano/guitar/accordion/string-swathed song with angelic harmonies and the wistful lyrics "I hope to make a change now for the better". It was apparently written during the "Thriller" sessions and features the best vocals on the album.

"Michael" might be a motley collection but it does work much better than one would expect it to.

130 of 180 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Anything for Money, December 14, 2010

By 

Nick Dangerous (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael (Audio CD)

Foreword

The Noughties were a sad and strange decade for the King of Pop. Bookended with two extravagant artistic endeavors- the release of his tenth album `Invincible' in 2001 & the announcement and run into what would have been the `This Is It' comeback residency in London- 50 record breaking sold out shows beginning on 13th July 2009. For the most of the decade MJ did not release any new music nor perform any shows. This was partly enforced by his court trial and recovery from it, but also due to his monetary problems and continued need to secure financial backing from outside sources. Of course we now know the greatest entertainer who ever lived also had a very serious drug problem.

One thing that was clear over the last eight years of MJ's life- despite the absence of a new album he continued to write & record music right up to and including the time of rehearsals for This Is It. Most notably with Black Eyed Peas head honcho will.i.am in Las Vegas & Ireland circa 2007. In interviews of the time the pair spoke of their aims for the collaboration and Will, of how the material sounded like an `Off The Wall for the new century'. It's worth noting that Michael was never one to release anything less than what he viewed as perfect. Unlike his most notable contemporary- Prince who adopts a much less constricted mindset and continues to release 10 x the amount of music that MJ did. Of course it was this type of restraint & artistic focus that had a part in creating Michael's legend and made his album releases landmark global events.

After the below par performance of `Invincible' in the west (partly due to Sony not supporting it, partly due to a decrease in MJ's US fanbase) the follow up would have to be no less than a masterpiece. Not only that but in typical MJ style; - its arrival bigger and more extravagant than what had gone before. Unfortunately that day never came. Following Michael's death he once again became the highest selling recording artist of the year and went on to sell a staggering 35 million albums worldwide in the 12 months after his passing. In light of this Sony struck a deal with the Jackson estate paying them a record breaking 250 million dollars to retain the distribution rights to MJ's music and together with the estate periodically release 10 new projects including compilations of previously unheard material up until 2017.

Aside from the tragedy of the world losing an artistic visionary, musical genius and an often misunderstood but gentle soul who cared about the preservation of the planet, Michael's passing could not have come at a worse time. This Is It did not make the opening night yet it would appear from the film he was in good form and that the gloved one combined with the OTT stage show would have made for something truly spectacular. Whether or not he was in good enough shape to complete 50 shows is another matter. The concerts would likely have been followed by a new album which at the time of the singer's death fans had already been patiently waiting eight years for.

It was not to be but MJ did leave behind recordings of many new songs in various states of completion - some of which would have been used for that 11th album. For the release of `Michael' the Jackson estate and Sony worked together to compile an album of material ranging in vintage from 1981-2009, claiming fans would `hear the songs he most recently created along with tracks that Michael had a desire to bring to fruition.' Various musicians were hired to perform on some of the unfinished songs and the final mix was executed by longtime MJ collaborator Teddy Riley. At long last, the album that never was is finally here... or is it?

Review

Hold My Hand (Duet with Akon) (3:34)
Written by Aliaune Thiam, Giorgio Tuinfort, Claude Kelly
Produced by Akon, Giorgio Tuinfort & Michael Jackson

Originally recorded in Las Vegas circa 2008 with the intention to be included on Akon's then upcoming album `Freedom', HMH was leaked to the internet the same year. The estate now tell us MJ actually intended this song to be the lead single for his next studio album. Whatever the case HMH is a laid back anthem with a simple message of love, unity and peace. Essentially a sing-along ballad intended for mass appeal which despite being a duet actually features more of Akon than MJ with the only lead vocals from Michael being the first verse. Despite MJ taking the backseat to Akon this dynamic actually works quite well. Akon went into the studio late this year to finish up vocals on this new version and the track climaxes with a choir sung chorus & hand claps. 8/10

Hollywood Tonight (4:31)
Written by Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer/Spoken Bridge Written by Teddy Riley
Produced by Teddy Riley, Michael Jackson/Co-Produced by Theron "Neff-U" Feemster

Invincible leftover the estate claim MJ resurrected in 2007 to work on again. This one's a banger that demands you blast your speakers and is all about a girl who leaves behind humble origins to pursue dreams of stardom in Tinseltown. HT starts off with MJ beatboxing prior to delivering the first verse- `Lipstick in hand, Tahitian tanned, in her painted on jeans. She dreams of fame, She changed her name, To one that fits the movie screen - She's headed for the big time, that means...' then it's straight into a huge chorus that upon first listen becomes ingrained in your head. It all sounds great but in the absence of a bridge after the second chorus the song loses momentum and to fill the gap we get a spoken bridge by Riley that comes off slightly camp and ultimately detracts from the songs impact. Instead of the spoken bridge HT would have worked much better with a rap section. Clearly an unfinished track that shouldn't be on here, despite this it's still quite good and contains some of the old magic. 7/10

Keep Your Head Up (4:52)
Allegedly Written by Michael Jackson, Eddie Cascio, James Porte
Produced by C "Tricky" Stewart, Angelikson, and allegedly Michael Jackson

In the 1980's Dominic Cascio worked at regular Michael Jackson haunt the New York Palace Hotel managing apartment suites. Upon meeting Dominic, MJ enquired if he was married, if he had any kids and that he would love to meet them. This encounter created a secret 25 year friendship between MJ and the Cascio family where MJ would often visit the Cascios whenever near their home in New Jersey, referring to them as his second family. In 2007 MJ stayed over at the Cascio home as he often did, and it was reported he was recording at their home studio. Fast fwd to the days following the 25/6/09 and the Cascios registered a number of songs as the work of Michael Jackson. Let's get straight to the point here- THE LEAD VOCALS ON THIS SONG AND THE TWO OTHER CASCIO SONGS ARE NOT MICHAEL JACKSON. Instead the Cascios, the estate or Sony hired an imitator to sing on these songs as at the time of his passing, as one can only assume most, if not all of these songs he allegedly recorded with the Cascio's in 2007 did not feature vocals. Obviously done so the Cascios can profit & the estate / Sony can release as many `Michael Jackson albums' as possible by mixing genuine tracks with fakes. Here's an entry from Taryll Jackson's (MJ's nephew) Twitter page on Tuesday 7th December 2010--- "I remember when Teddy and I were at Encore listening to KYHU. We both knew it wasn't my Uncle. He stopped working on it because (and I quote) "it didn't sound enough like Michael. Michael doesn't swing like that." He also said he was only working on the Cascio records in hopes that he would eventually be given a "real Michael Jackson song." As he knows, I never agreed with that logic. I'll never forget when Teddy called me telling me, "I'm so excited, I finally got a 'Michael record.' It's called Hollywood Tonight and it's him." ---There's nothing you can really say about this situation except that it's a travesty that those in control of MJ's estate only care about money. Some fans will choose to believe that the Cascio tracks are in fact MJ, but they obviously don't know his voice well enough. Even the best MJ impersonator and likely guilty party here- Jason Malachi cannot fool the real fans. No one can sing exactly like MJ except the man himself. What is it the kids say these days... EPIC FAIL. 0/10

(I Like) The Way You Love Me (4:35)
Written by Michael Jackson
Produced by Theron "Neff-U" Feemster, Michael Jackson

Originally appearing on 2004's The Ultimate Collection in demo form, this version of the TWYLM sounds complete and features more instrumentation inc piano & flute and beefed up backing vocals. The demo was great but this new finished version is sublime and sounds finished. As such this is perhaps one of the rare occasions on `Michael' were the studio effects and wizardry of the producer, in this case- Neff-U, have made a considerable difference for the better and transformed a demo into a fully realized song without losing the demos original impact and flavour. A lot of this is probably due to the demo vocals being mostly complete. One of the albums standout tracks- a sweet, understated, romantic masterpiece. 10/10

Monster (Ft. 50 Cent & Orianthi) (5:06)
Allegedly written by Michael Jackson, Eddie Cascio, James Porte/Rap Lyrics Written by Curtis Jackson
Produced by Teddy Riley, Angelikson, and Michael Jackson, allegedly

Another Cascio penned abomination ft. the vocals of an impersonator Sony would have you believe is Michael Jackson. It sounds like a Lady Gaga cast off and the whole thing is a mess. The vocal impersonation is not even close this time- it's clearly not MJ and sounds EXACTLY like Jason Malachi- see youtube. 50 Cent is crap here and as `MJ' returns he sings `Why did you take it, why did you fake it' why indeed. Finally fans... Read more ›