I havent listened to a MJ album from start to finish in years.

I randomly happened upon this album because of the song 'Butterflies'


Track one- Unbreakable feat. Biggie. I nearly fell out when I heard the biggie verse dropped in the middle of the track. Its a great way to open the album.


Track two-Heartbreaker. This shit is so Justin Timberlake its not even funny. I see where JT gets it. I can see how this track would sound bad in 2001 because it totally works right now.


Track three- Invincible. again, sounds ahead of its time. really dig the way they built up a groover over a simple repeat musical phrase. not really hooking me but I can see it being a track that ends up being one of my favorite tracks after repeat listens. One thing I really dig is the play between the rigid lockstep groove and the looser sections. The song could have totally scrapped the rap in the middle but it still works.



Track four- Break of dawn. Ballad. I felt something, and then I realized it was just the tea I was sipping. Really into the layered vocal section that really opens the track up. Definitely reminds me of classic MJ moments. Love that cracking snare driving the chorus, this is the song that needed a remix of sorts.


Track Five- Heaven Can Wait. the song for the whip. This shit is smooth. That bassline is hitting like shit. Its strange to hear MJ use support vocals (layered?). Its more RnB than rock/funk. Its a bit strange to hear MJ play a song so straight.

Track Six-You Rock my world. Fuck I'm going to hell, I cant stop laughing at intro. Mike-"i can get the girl...." . know the track well. no need to review. although I would like to add that the snare/snap is really hitting. i think there is a kick underneath it.
this was around the same time as Mary J. Bliges 'Family afair' and Big Pun's "still not a player". I can hear a similar musical style with the fake strings driving parts of the track


Track seven-butterflies-nothing to see here, great track. really good track. pay attention to the building and swirling synths in the background. its a deceptively simple track but there is a LOT going on in the background. its a perfect track.


Track eight-Speechless. Skip.

Track nine-2000 watts-skip. way too much going on, very distracting. the repeating "200 watts" vocal coupled with MJ singing in a low register made for a mess

Track ten-you are my life..............shit.....skip. Its a good track actually, it doesnt fit the album.

Track eleven-Piracy-feels like the A-side or better version of 2000 watts. Its not a bad track, its just needs a different mix. It feels thin sonically and the camera/polaroid sample is way too high in the mix. Conceptually I understand why the sample is high in the mix but its ultimately distracting (which is a part of the concept)

Track twelve-Dont Walk Away-didnt skip but uh.....not my style.

Track thirteen-cry-what is this shit? skip.

Track fourteen-The Lost Children- what the shit is this fuck? skip.

Track fifteen-Whatever Happens-solid groove. after the last few tracks I was losing faith in the album. i cant really tell whats going on stylistically with this song. on one hand its a RnB jam but then there is a spanish guitar line laced throughout and then out of nowhere theres the ever present MJ electric guitar dropped into the track amongst the sea of strings and vocals. Its a good track because its something you can play for someone and they will say "i really really like this...what is this?!" and then when you say "Michael Jackson" they will shout back "GET OUT!".

Track Sixteen-threatened. first thought; why hasnt this track been sampled to shit and back? it starts out like a bugged out west coast snap n' clap track a la Kurupt, Mac 10, Dre,Volume 10. there were a few moments on the album that reminded me of Janet Jacksons music, this is definitely one of those tracks that carries that rock/rnb thing well.



so in a nutshell, its a really good album.

were it my world the album would be a solid 10 tracks not a bloated 16.

there is a very good collection of tracks among the throw away stuff.

it was ahead of its time in some ways and very behind in others.

Would recommend to folks.

to me alot of music died when MJ dead. he set the bar higher than anyone else IMO.

now having said that "invincible" was ok then and still only ok.

the slow cuts save it IMO. the uptempo stuff is played out and sluggish. onlt the cut "threaten" had some groove there.

i like the biggie hook in "unbreakable" though they got that from Shaq because Biggie did that one for Shaq. but anyway that song was aight.

but for slow jams this was a good look for mj.

but the uptempo and sappy cuts? naw not so much replay value.

glad to always see some talking about the king of music. peace

yep yep.

-------------------------
“The other dude after me didn’t help my case. It was just like…crazy nigga factory going on.”
Dre makes no apologies for his own eccentricities. “I was young, and searching, trying to find myself,” he says. “Never did.”-- Andre B

and just as a Songwriter alone and it ain't even close and i dug what teddy did but naw and his work with MJ post dangerous was 3rd tier level imo.

That's classic M.J. "Off The Wall" vocals there...it's not vocal tick city like so much of his post OTW albums.

But some of the tracks on there just sound like they were purposefully use every track in the studio...and I do not like that schitt.

But if not for the tracks on this album, I would've NEVER listened to HISTORY, and that m.f. right there got some serious heatrocks on it.

s.blak
*points and does the goose neck*

that was a blackstreet outtake and it sounded very much to what was happening in R&B radio at the time and had a throwback feel

What is wrong with you. That song is fucking beautiful. Just don't ever read his inspiration for it....

"Michael Jackson wrote "Speechless" after a water balloon fight with children in Germany." - Wikipedia
*thug nigga tears*
love you, mike.

It was a definite "MIKE, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" moment.

A lot of the music seemed to call for it. And at that time, an Unplugged would have been (to me) a logical step for a nice image change.

i agree with that sho nuff.

And you typically say that MJ is pop...but that album worked as a R&B album...very slept on...

It's not better than the big 4 (OTW, Thriller, Bad, or Dangerous)...History and Invisible are close though in my preference line...

that is classic Mike. a real interesting story about that song, which i'll speak of in a in box. mike was shrewed about that track.

i'm interested in this story.

yeah

im bout to revisit it

i clowned 2000 Watts HARD for years wen this shit dropped lol. was too clownable. him singn "Dolbyyyyyyy" was just...nah. but on the flipside, its got "Butterflies" on it, one of his best cuts.

V.

they did little things to sabatoge that album, michael jackson didn't even want "you rock my world" to be the lead single. they purposely butted heads with him on that project, they purposely underfunded the marketing, gave it one music video. they needed mike to go under in order to get him to sell that catalog.

they also left the most epic song off the album "We've Had Enough", this song is up there with man in the mirror and earth song. sony pulled it at the last minute on mike to piss him off.

that was the sabotage in addition to him getting his masters back the Mob head Tommy Mottola hated and he tried to scare MJ.

he talked to MJ like he was a field hand.

I loved it when it first came out but then grew to be more than critical (it had to do with Rodney Jerkin's production and the BS that was going on in 2001-2003), but as time passed, I began to appreciate

The outtakes though?
I Am A Loser
A Place With No Name
Blue Gangster
Hollywood Tonight
Fall Again
Beautiful Girl
We've Had Enough
Another Day
One More Chance

some of those songs make me want to ask "How in the hell did Heartbreaker, 2000 Watts, The Lost Children, and Cry make the cut but these didn't?!"

Shave it down to

Unbreakable
Invincible
Break Of Dawn
Heaven Can Wait
You Rock My World
Butterflies
Speechless
You Are My Life
Don't Walk Away
Whatever Happens

add I Am A Loser, Hollywood Tonight, and We've Had Enough or Another Day and IMO, it would've been a better tracklisting

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