Whatever creative evolution Michael Jackson intended for himself inmiddle age, we will never actually know; his legacy now falls to theexecutors who hold his vast musical estate. One can understand,though, why the wizard went quiet after releasing his live album ofnew material, 2001`s respectable if ultimately underwhelming Invincible. A famously relentless perfectionist in the studio, he kept his post-Invincible recording sessions under wraps while peers like Prince and Mary remained relatively prolific.
ut death, as late icons from Johnny Cash to Tupac Shakur have shown us,can be a big motivator - at least for the beneficiaries left behind.Even before Jackson went on to get by far the best-selling artist oflast year, the posthumous product rush seemed inevitable. Now, inaddition to the MJ-themed videogame, docu-film, and Cirque du Soleilextravaganza, his land has promised seven more releases over thenext seven years.The material on Michael is not by any way a deep plunge into theJackson archives; nearly all the songs are culled from the last fiveyears of his life. Opener and first single ''Hold My Hand'' supplies thebroad, pleasing fervor of an official theme song for a World Cup orSummer Olympics - an ideal repository for soaring choruses and genericlyrical uplift. ''Hollywood Tonight,'' from 2007, feels leaner and moreurgent, crackling with Jackson`s trademark percussive shuffle and pop.The gospel-tinged bromide ''Keep Your Mind Up'' offers awell-intentioned but somewhat soggy lead-in to the feathery, sweet-tonedswoon of ""(I Like) The Way You Know Me.'' Window-smashing theatricsjuxtapose with airy, danceable coos and a rat-a-tat 50 Cent guest spoton ''Monster'' (the beast in question, it turns out, is fame).''Breaking News'' delivers Jackson`s now-requisite anti-tabloid screed,albeit with satisfyingly melodic gall, while ''(I Can`t Take It) AnotherDay,'' featuring Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl, galvanizes him further,yielding the album`s most genuinely fierce moment. The propulsive synthsand vocodered trills on the otherwise intriguing ''Behind the Mask''seem oddly dated by sax flourishes - though perhaps that makes it a goodcompanion to the lilting closer ''Much Too Soon,'' an actual relic ofthe early `80s (the cross dates back to his Thriller days).As musical epitaphs go, Michael is a whole album, arguably stronger than Invincibleand certainly no great insult to his name. But it can be hard tolisten and not inquire what he would get done differently - or if hewould have wanted us to see it at all.Source
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