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Jackson is alive, but not 'Invisible'
There was a time when Michael Jackson sold more records than God, crushed pool balls in his hand, threw a quarter into a jukebox from 50 feet away, and even transformed himself into a giant robot just to save the children. Of course, most of that happened in Moonwalker, and in light of the events that dethroned him from his post as King of Pop, the presence of children in that film is disturbing. His last new album, 1995's HIStory, was a vicious, disturbing, and disturbed (not to mention, not very good) record best remembered for the line, "kick me, kike me." Two failed marriages, one forgotten and forgettable remix album (Blood on the Dance Floor), and six years later, Michael has a new album, Invincible, and though he is King of Pop no more, it is better than expected. If you still had expectations.
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"Unbreakable" gets Invincible off to a good start, with a thumping keyboard loop backing Michael Jackson's voice in classic anger mode: think of "Bad" crossed with "Bad Boy For Life." Basically, Michael's pulling a P.Diddy and telling you he won't stop, with help from the Notorious B.I.G., no less. Sure, Biggie's verse, taken from his 1995 sessions with Jackson, is a typical Biggie list of name brands having nothing to do with the song, but nevertheless, "Unbreakable" is a legitimate dance-floor jam, more than can be said for failed funk like "Heartbreaker" and the bizarre "2000 Watts." The latter song actually begins by telling us to put on 3-D glasses. What is this, Captain EO?
But every Michael Jackson album consists of two basic song types—jams and non-jams—and in the ballads/standard R&B categories, Invincible is rather mortal. Even taking "Man in the Mirror" into consideration, ballads were never Michael's strongest suit; thus, "Billie Jean" is remembered, "Dirty Diana" is not. Unfortunately, nine of Invincible's 16 songs are slow, most of them forgettable. "Break of Dawn" would be a substandard song on a D'Angelo album, and when it comes to talking about "making sweet love," Michael is no D'Angelo. "Cry" is a poor man's "Man In The Mirror." There's nothing to say about "Speechless." In fact, of these nine songs, only two are worth a second listen: "Butterflies," an excellent, anxious love song, and "Whatever Happens," an eerie, Spanish-tinged song well-crafted for guest Carlos Santana, who riffs along to Michael's voice like it was his own.
Michael Jackson has reached a status where no one tells him what to do anymore: there's a reason Quincy Jones hasn't produced a song for Michael since 1987. Unfortunately, Michael needs someone to tell him what not to do, with "Privacy" and "The Lost Children" prime examples of songs not worth recording. "Privacy" loops the sound of flashbulbs going off into the track and nearly manages to ruin Invincible the same way this subject matter ruined HIStory: yes, Michael, it's tough to be you, but no, no one wants to hear songs about it. Anyway, that was 14 years ago. "The Lost Children," on the other hand, is "Heal The World" redux, with the one sound no one wants to hear on a Michael Jackson album: children crying. Please, Michael, leave us alone.
There's a lot to like about Invincible, and a lot to dislike as well. The sad thing is, somewhere within this overlong CD is a pretty good LP with just a few problem tracks, and if it's no Thriller or Off The Wall, it's almost nearly Bad. As it is, Invincible at least shows Michael still has a pulse, just as the "You Rock My World" video shows he can still do the dance moves from "Smooth Criminal." If we see those same moves six years from now, though, we might not care. (Epic)
—Josh Drimmer
All materials © 2001 The Yale Herald, Inc., and its staff.
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