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.
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