Michael Jackson - The Essential Michael Jackson
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Michael JacksonEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-07-19
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- I Want You Back
- ABC
- The Love You Save
- Got To Be There (Single Version)
- 5. Rockin' Robin
- Ben (Single Version)
- Enjoy Yourself
- Blame It On The Boogie
- Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) (Single Edit)
- Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Single Version)
- Rock With You (Single Version)
- Off The Wall3:45
- She's Out Of My Life
- Can You Feel It (Single Version)
- The Girl Is Mine
- Billie Jean (Single Version)
- Beat It (Single Version)
- Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Single Version)
- Human Nature
- P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
- Thriller (Single Version)
- Bad
- I Just Can't Stop Loving You
- Leave Me Alone
- The Way You Make Me Feel (Single Version)
- Man In The Mirror
- Dirty Diana
- Another Part Of Me (Single Version)
- Smooth Criminal (Radio Edit)
- Black Or White (Single Version)
- Heal The World
- Remember The Time
- In The Closet (Single Version)
- Who Is It (7" Edit)
- Will You Be There (Single Version)
- Dangerous
- You Are Not Alone (Single Version)
- You Rock My World (with intro)
Free Music Notes for The Essential Michael Jackson
Free Music Review: Excellent Compilation!
Hit: 5 Stars
Greatest Hits albums are always difficult to rate. Realistically, no compilation will ever be able to gather every last "hit" from a particular artist, and "The Essential Michael Jackson" is no exception. And despite its (very few) limitations, "Essential" does an A+ job.
For starters, the amount of material in this package is quite staggering; it extends from the early #1's of the J5 under Motown up to Michael's latest solo work for a total of 38 songs. Ordered chronologically by single release date, "Essential" shows the impressive transformation of a child star into one of the most impressive musical forces in pop-music today. But despite the stylistic evolution and technological adaptions made along the way, the energy and emotion (neither insufficient nor overpowering) remain at the core of each and every song.
The first disc begins with the Jackson 5ive's first three number ones, as well as some of Michael's early solo work. Then, the J5 become The Jacksons, switching labels and becoming disco icons with hits like "Shake Your Body" and "Blame It On The Boogie". Of course, Michael finds the biggest success behind solo albums "Off the Wall" and "Thriller", which dominate the last half of this CD.
By disc number two, Michael is no longer splitting duty with his siblings and is 100% solo. "Bad" and "Dangerous" take up all but two tracks on this disc, which makes sense because those two LPs are both studio albums and greatest hits packages, considering the majority of the songs from those albums turned platinum. Lastly, the biggest hit of "HIStory" and "Invincible" round out the last two tracks.
Naturally, I didn't take the time to write out all of the tracks from "Essential", but just by the few I mentioned you can already grasp at the notion that this collection is pure platinum. If you're a casual Michael Jackson fan, this is a must buy. In a couple hours of listening, you'll understand why this man was the juggernaut he was.
"Essential" isn't perfect, however. If you own one or more of the "Big Four", then you're most likely better off skipping this. As those albums make up 90% of anything with "Michael Jackson" and "Greatest Hits" in the same title, you'd be better to just grab all four of those albums if you haven't done so already. There are a number of "Misses" that you'll be glad you shelled out extra for.
Also, the balance in "Essential" is great. Solo to group, ballad to dance hit, this is a very well constructed compilation. Where it fumbles the ball is in the source material. As said before, Michael's first four Epic solo albums have the lion's share of representation, which means that you now have another CD with "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Thriller". Meanwhile, the under-appreciated "HIStory" gets only 1 track, as does "Invincible". Granted, they didn't have quite the effect that the "Big Four" had on the music industry, but after doing such a great job of chronicling Michael's discography, the last decade of his career is basically glossed over.
Perhaps an additional disc was needed, which would allot more space not only for more recent songs, but also allow for additional songs in that didn't make the cut. Just a thought.
Regardless of the complaints, however, "Essential" does its job of presenting both 38 great tracks and providing a timeline of the most successful artist to date. And in focusing on the biggest hits, its only reasonable that some great undervalued songs aren't included. It's a shame, but can't diminish the value of this collection. If you're out for the ultimate Michael Jackson hits compilation, this is it.
Happy listening.
The Essential Michael Jackson Poster
The 2CD The Essential Michael Jackson takes you on a journey from budding star, to iconic legend and allows you to immerse yourself in the musical and emotional development of each track defining the story of a global superstar.Michael Jackson needs no introduction, as part of the Jackson 5 he helped make up a remarkable musical family and one of the biggest pop phenomenons of the early 70s. The Jacksons' infectious brand of funky soul and now iconic stage presence reached out globally and made them and Michael international stars.
As the success of the band grew, Michael branched out with his own solo career first launching with "Got to be There" and then "Rockin' Robin". The momentum started to grow with the release of more successful singles and, as the hype surrounding the Jackson 5 slowed down towards the late 70s, Michael continued to develop and grow as an artist. With the release of Off the Wall, an immaculately crafted set of funky disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush, sentimental pop ballads, Michael cemented his place as a global star. The 1980s were a career-defining period with his instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power Michael Jackson was unstoppable. The 1982 album Thriller became the biggest selling album of all time and combined his musical genius with an exceptional and ahead of its time music video epic. Bad (1987) was released with enormous public anticipation and spawned another succession of hit singles with "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."
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