Album Review: Michael Jackson - This Is It
This Is It, both as a soundtrack and a documentary, exists for a number of reasons. On one level, it’s an attempt to focus and draw attention to what Michael Jackson lived for (music), and not what he did (scandal). On a more superficial level, this is Sony milking his legacy. Any true MJ fan will already own 90% of the songs that make up this two-disc set. It is, however, that 10% which justifies this album’s existence.
Early estimates suggest hundreds of original songs lie dormant on a number of hard drives. On this release, one new track, three demos, and a poem are offered up. Barring these exceptions, the tracklist is primarily made up of his hits, presented sequentially as they appear in the accompanying documentary.
It begins with “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”, the steadfast opener which served him well for the majority of his tours. A pulsating floor filler, the hand claps and tightly strung guitar have become trademark MJ: the small additions which take this beyond pop music. “Smooth Criminal”, arguably Bad’s strongest track, was a catalyst in the move to the frenzied new jack swing of the 80’s. The staccato beats and breathy vocals were immortalized once MJ dropped the anti-gravity lean. Like much of his music, it “clicks”. Devoid of the moonwalk, “Billie Jean” was not as essential. Without the zombie routine, “Thriller” wouldn’t be as iconic. He planned it all, keeping the aces in his sleeve, and crucially, keeping us entertained.
“Jam” builds on this concept, revolving around Jackson’s dancing. It came into its own when the video — featuring a fun “duel” between the two Michaels, Jackson and Jordan — was released. Two titans of an era (with the same initials, no less) sharing the same screen. Entertainment gold.
“Earth Song” offers Jackson at his most fragile. The environmentalist is brought to the fore, and from a musical perspective, this is a very affecting track, with some of Jackson’s best vocal work. “Human Nature” is another heartfelt ballad, showcasing the softer tones of his voice. Devoid of the overblown backing, Jackson can focus on the emotion of the song. It is during these introspective moments that we get a clear look of what he was all about; a stalwart humanitarian with a profound obsession of children, his feelings were often misconstrued. Ballads were prevalent in his career, but Jackson was always at his best when he had something to fight for. Give him an ideal, a concept of wrongdoing, and he would take to it. With the bit between his teeth, brilliance ensued: “They Don’t Really Care About Us” is a prime example, issuing a strong message but allowing MJ to do his thing. He popped, and he locked.
“You Shake My Body Down To The Ground” is an unexpected inclusion, the only Jackson 5 number included on This Is It. It holds some interest as the last song they ever performed live as a group, in 2001. “Thriller” resets the focus as the ultimate Halloween song, and one which inspired one of the best videos of all time. The hits stack up, with “Beat It” taking over the reins. Jackson penned this number one and really pushed the boundaries of pop music, featuring a guitar solo from one Eddie Van Halen. It netted a new audience for him, as a guilty pleasure for rock fans.
“This Is It”, MJ’s “latest” single, is a strange beast. Two versions are included on the disc — the original studio cut and an expansive orchestral take. The song itself is not exceptional, and draws too closely on the messianic imagery that Jackson was partial to: “I’m the light of the world”. The “Jackson Brothers” vocals are clearly recent, as is the orchestral treatment (tacked on). The original song (a 1983 duet with Anka) was titled “I Never Heard”; the Jackson estate have simply scoured his back catalogue to find a song containing the 3 words “this is it”:”The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour.”
The second disc is the main selling point. The demos are the most interesting thing about this release, as they offer a real insight into Jackson’s creative process, generally kept behind closed doors. An acoustic interpretation of “She’s Out Of My Life” is extremely emotional. It must be one of the only tapes in existence where his voice is accompanied by a sole instrument. As with the recently unearthed “Billie Jean” demo, Jackson focuses on the general rhythm and feeling of each track rather than nailing the lyrics, emitting his “hee-hees” or screaming “woah” to get out of tight spots, and gloss over forgotten lyrics. A rough cut of “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” lays down the rhythmic foundation, the bass amplified and with less of a disco-vibe. During album standout “Beat It”, we hear Jackson laying down the vocal harmonies on the chorus. These moments allow us a peek at his prodigious talent.” This is the harmonies… the vocal harmonies on the chorus of.. uh… “Beat It”. I’ll do the verses and then I’ll do the choruses.”. Easy.
“Planet Earth” was originally printed in the sleeve notes of Dangerous, but the poem penned by Jackson is now on record. It’s three minutes of child-like filler, but the ending is a neat trick. The album closes with a quintessential Michael Jackson one-liner: “With all my heart, I love you.” The world has unrequited love for Michael Jackson. One that will never fade.
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This Is It
Thriller is the best music video of all time, people need to just say it because it’s true and start giving Michael all the credit he deserves what’s better than Thriller, nothing! This Is It is awesome I’ve already bought it! can’t wait for the DVD!
I love the new single This is it by Michael Jackson. His music is forever is our hearts and thoughts
gh
I watched this movie with a heavy heart. MJ’s passion comes through even in his restrain and his crafts quality is never vacant
http://www.yeahoyeah.com/mjvideo.aspx?id=2348&comm=track1
Goatlips, the following is directed at you. As a measured person, I’ll give you the respect that you didn’t afford me… I’ll justify each of the points I made:
“Early estimates suggest hundreds of original songs lie dormant on a number of hard drives” - There’s no way it’s “hundreds”, Will Hines has just made this up!
This is a fact. See here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2351327,00.asp
“Any true MJ fan will already own 90% of the songs that make up this two-disc set. It is, however, that 10% which justifies this album’s existence.” - Erm, no, 1 song = a CD single, if that.
If you had fully read the tracklisting, you would understand that there are 5 new tracks on this album (3 unreleased demos, two versions of “This Is It”). Going on the premise that people had already bought “This Is It” the single, that would mean 3 new tracks out of 20. 4/20= 15%. Near enough, right?
““Smooth Criminal”, arguably Bad’s strongest track, was a catalyst in the move to the frenzied new jack swing of the 80’s.”…It was one of the worst tracks on the album, although much better than ‘Speed Demon’…And stop using quotes where you’re meant to use apostrophes, Mong!
Speech marks (or “quotes”, as you mistakenly called them) are standard practice on Consequence Of Sound. Your suggestion of apostrophes is also incorrect- standard journalistic practice is to italicize all songs titles. Do your research. As for “Smooth Criminal” being “one of the worst tracks on the album”, that’s entirely your opinion. It just so happens that my opinion falls in with the rest of the world, as the song charted at number 1 in a number of countries. Please also see here: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/smooth-criminal-was-the-best-jacko-song/
“anti-gravity lean”, What?
The anti-gravity lean is an extremely famous dance move that Michael Jackson performed in the smooth criminal video. It involved patented shoes that allowed the wearer to move beyond their center of gravity. I thought you were meant to be an MJ fan!?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_Criminal#Anti-gravity_lean
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Smooth_criminal_patent.png
“the orchestral treatment (tacked on)” - It’s a studio album, not live, everything is “tacked on” in a studio!
With this statement I was addressing the fact that the original version of “This Is It” was recorded during the Dangerous era without an orchestra, and the orchestral treatment was a recent addition…
“The original song (a 1983 duet with Anka) was titled “I Never Heard”; the Jackson estate have simply scoured his back catalogue to find a song containing the 3 words “this is it”:”The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour.”” Whose quotes are these? Is this ‘critic’ making stuff up again?
If every journalist had to reference every single fact in their articles, the world would be a very boring place. For your benefit, however, please see google results for the quote. The quote came from a recent statement by the Jackson estate.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=The+song+was+picked+because+the+lyrics+were+appropriate+because+of+the+name+Michael+gave+his+tour.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
” This is the harmonies… the vocal harmonies on the chorus of.. uh… “Beat It”. I’ll do the verses and then I’ll do the choruses.”. - Nice punctuation! *Sarcasm*
For this one, listen to the song. You should see what I mean!
LOL at self-righteous, self-important critics. Die.
So I feel that the above is a very good justification of all your points. We appreciate your comments, but perhaps you should do a little more research next time before calling me out. We don’t however, appreciate your aggression… direct it elsewhere.
well looking at the respones the accusations that were made about michael jackson I think were fake like when they said that he did somthing in with that little boy, I totally think that they were onky after his money.
“Early estimates suggest hundreds of original songs lie dormant on a number of hard drives” - There’s no way it’s “hundreds”, Will Hines has just made this up!
“Any true MJ fan will already own 90% of the songs that make up this two-disc set. It is, however, that 10% which justifies this album’s existence.” - Erm, no, 1 song = a CD single, if that.
““Smooth Criminal”, arguably Bad’s strongest track, was a catalyst in the move to the frenzied new jack swing of the 80’s.”…It was one of the worst tracks on the album, although much better than ‘Speed Demon’…And stop using quotes where you’re meant to use apostrophes, Mong!
“anti-gravity lean”, What?
“the orchestral treatment (tacked on)” - It’s a studio album, not live, everything is “tacked on” in a studio!
“The original song (a 1983 duet with Anka) was titled “I Never Heard”; the Jackson estate have simply scoured his back catalogue to find a song containing the 3 words “this is it”:”The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour.”” Whose quotes are these? Is this ‘critic’ making stuff up again?
” This is the harmonies… the vocal harmonies on the chorus of.. uh… “Beat It”. I’ll do the verses and then I’ll do the choruses.”. - Nice punctuation! *Sarcasm*
LOL at self-righteous, self-important critics. Die.
This is THE Michael Jackson compilation. It’s coherent yet sufficiently compressed and overall the tracklist is quintessential. Also, the demos are not just interesting but essential and well worthy a listen for anyone being remotely a fan of MJ.
Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT is an incredible and brilliant movie. You just cannot deny his talent. Forget the hype, forget the scandal, Michael Jackson at his core was special and out of this world. Everything he does/did turns to gold at one point or another. Just look at the collectibles market now too. Some rare and hard to find Michael Jackson collectibles have taken quite a jump
http://www.jlaenterprises.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=60_202_203_204&sort=20a&page=1
hay i mess michael jackson so mcuh .
So, why would you write about those false accusations in your article.>>>
He hardly wrote anything about the accusations, Rodney! He alluded to them with one word, “scandal”, which in actuality is a pretty integral aspect of the late singer’s career. Your hostility is a bit unnecessary.
Will Hines, get a live. His fans don’t care about the accusations made against him. He has been cleared of those accusations. So, why would you write about those false accusations in your article.
Well, in some ways “it” is.
this is not it