Midtempo jam with an ungainly, outdated backing track from 1984. Jackson’s emotive vocal performance shines here despite not making the final cut for Thriller.
Now, this light Motown ballad featuring singers of various races pledging their love is considered an established lounge standard, yet at its release was considered extremely daring for a white pop star to sing about interracial romance.
Thriller
Michael Jackson’s greatest hit and one of the most significant pop works from the 80s, Thriller was groundbreaking in several ways: as a long-form music video that modernized format; pushing race and sexuality boundaries (the song features women singing sign language); being led by Quincy Jones who pioneered mainstream jazz; as well as becoming one of the first horror films targeting youths directly.
At its release, Thriller was an unprecedented success that continues to resonate today. As one of the greatest albums ever created by Michael Jackson, it sold more than 100 million copies in America alone and produced six top-10 singles such as “Bad,” “Murder,” and “Will You Be There?’ (it held this distinction until being eclipsed by Adele’s 21 in 2008). Thriller also holds onto its crown as most successful catalog release until outshone by Adele’s 21 release in 2008.
Even though Thriller is a funk song at heart, its lyrics contain many references to horror films. Rod Temperton wrote its lyrics while John Landis directed its music video as well as being known for serious film work before.
Jackson stood out among Motown acts of his time because his songs rarely featured lounge ballads. This track on Dangerous may not be Jackson’s strongest offering, yet has an impressive production that forebears the New Jack Swing style of lite ’90s productions. Additionally, Jackson often used sound effects and drum beats that rivaled what money could buy at that time.
It doesn’t really connect, except for Jackson’s lugubrious ululations at the end. His vocals sound like he’s picking at something, giving the song an unconvincing bathetic quality; probably why Thriller didn’t include this song; rather, its inclusion was limited to its deluxe edition that’s become a holiday chart classic in the UK.
Bad
Bad, Michael Jackson’s third album of the 1980s, was both commercially and critically unsuccessful; more importantly it demonstrated how dismal his public persona had become. At this point tabloids began reporting sexual misconduct allegations against Joseph. One such tabloid, Be Careful Who You Love, even reported that Rebbie Jackson (one of Joseph’s other children) had filed an abuse claim against her father at age 16. Needless to say this never happened – not only were Joseph’s alienating personality and paranoid tendencies at fault but Joseph hired scorched earth private investigators to pursue those claiming allegations against him – as they did his accusers in order to silence them and silence them all.
Jackson found a couple of memorable singles even within its mournful soundscape and lyrics, however. “Pretty Young Thing,” an upbeat soul number with James Ingram providing backing vocals, serves as an opener. Meanwhile, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” boasts sophisticated Jones production with some lively backing vocals from James Ingram that really set this song off nicely.
“It’s Just a Bit of Fun” was another good song that could have become a hit for the Supremes, featuring Jackson’s high pitched voice which at times can seem off-putting; nevertheless he still manages to pull off this piece that failed in America but made top ten lists elsewhere. Unfortunately it never reached those heights of popularity!
Not many of Jackson’s other songs here, such as the title track and “Black or White,” are particularly impressive; neither are offensive or in poor taste – their listeners were simply growing tired of him exposing himself in various states of undress onstage.
Invincible
Jackson took great pains with the follow-up album to his double platinum-selling eponymous double-platinum hit, “Empire State of Mind”, in order to ensure its relevance with contemporary musical trends and ensure it was musically current and relevant; hiring Rodney Jerkins from Destiny’s Child as producer alongside LaShawn Daniels as co-producer in order to keep things current musically; however, its resultant material may have been considered one of his weaker efforts at that point in time.
Songwriting wasn’t as strong on this album compared to others by Jackson at this time. However, production quality is excellent – even precursory of New Jack Swing from later decades! And Jackson’s incredible ability to glide effortlessly over any beat was unparalleled among his contemporaries at that time.
“Invincible” features an impressively effective backing track and catchy melodies, yet ultimately succumbs to the same problem as many of Michael Jackson’s later-period songs: its lyrics are far too inane. Its chorus is made up of unintelligible, indecipherable syllables; what few fragments you can decipher suggest that “Invincible” could be about some vague romantic relationship based on some tenuous justification.
On the flipside of that coin are gems like “Butterflies,” an emotive ballad in which Jackson sings of being attracted to someone but feeling helpless to express it verbally. One of Jackson’s finest slow jams from her career and would have made an awesome video.
“Privacy”, featuring Biggie Smalls as guest MC, is another outstanding track on this album. The beat is catchy and transitioning seamlessly into Biggie’s verse is seamless; unfortunately however, its dramatic introduction seems out of place with its subject matter; overall this track could have been much stronger with more thoughtful writing and production techniques employed.
This Is It
From Jackson Estate’s debut album of reworked oldies (which also includes an embarrassing duet with Paul Anka), this track about paparazzi who follow Michael is rather forgettable; its lyrics and vocal performance lack depth, with Slash contributing some tasteful guitar solos. Overall it remains one of the more unintentionally saccharine tracks across three classic albums.
More subpar tracks from This Is It are included here, with much riding on their debut posthumous release of Michael Jackson recordings and their remix by some high-profile producers; but unfortunately many remain an uneven and disappointing listen.
Timbaland and Jackson’s estate released this song shortly after credible child-sexual-abuse allegations surfaced against Jackson. It depicts a young girl leaving home and ending up on city streets, something which is truly disturbing and grotesque; its melody stands out, yet Jackson’s vocal performance wasn’t exactly impressive either – its overall effect being nothing short of horrifying.
At this point, Jackson seems too sweet and easy, and its production marred its charm. Holland-Dozier-Holland did well here with their horn section being particularly good.
Jackson’s early Motown period produced several songs that showcased both the depth of his voice and style that would later fade. This one, in particular, highlights that maturity; its catchy melody perfectly suits Jackson’s sweet, appealing vocals while being supported by an upbeat bassline; however, the ending wasn’t as exciting as intended. The song peaked at 18 on Adult Contemporary and R&B/Hip-Hop charts respectively while also topping charts in Spain and Japan courtesy of band Heatwave which included singer Rod Temperton who provided production work as well as production work to many other dance hits from Jackson; additionally it covers original lyrics from British pop group Free who had success with it during early 1970s performances by Heatwave which also featured in film Free Willy as part of their production work on dance hits from earlier albums like Free Willy (free willy).