Michael

 

 

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In October of last year, Michael Jackson's This Is It was released a few months after the King of Pop's death. It was controversial among some fans because it was speculated that body doubles were used and that Michael himself may have not intend fans to view the results of hours of film recording. It turned out to be an excellent film and many fans were happy to see it. Over a year later Sony releases a posthumous Michael Jackson album featuring previously unreleased material (even if some of these found their way to the internet sooner or were already known by some MJ experts) that has some fans doubting. Fans know just how much of a perfectionist Michael Jackson was and this being a posthumous release it is understandable that fans may hate what Sony is doing. Maybe Michael would not have liked that Sony did this and maybe he never intended for the songs on "Michael" to be released to the buying public. Sony has an agreement that allows them to not only own and distribute Michael's music but also release new albums of previously unreleased content until 2017. You can bet that there will be more albums of unreleased content to come. Whether or not you approve of Sony's decision you have to give it to Sony though, "Michael" has some very good songs on it. There are those fans who say that it's not Michael singing on the album and those way say it is him. I'm in between; I think they're both right. Michael definitely sings on most of the songs here but there are some that while similar in voice that may not be him, I don't think I'm the most qualified person to make such a judgment and I'm not trying to ruin your enjoyment of the album with some proofs or anything.

There are 10 songs on Michael, my guess is that Sony wants to keep material for future releases as well so they aren't putting as much song on "Michael" as they could have (which is fine really as long as the songs are good, sure more songs would've been better I suppose but I'm happy with what I've got). It's interesting that here are three collaborations on "Michael", the lead single Hold My Hand with Akon, Monster with 50 Cents (and Orianthi) and (I can't make it) Another Day with Lenny Kravitz. It's interesting to hear the king accompanied by some of these artists and the overall sound of "Michael" is very pleasing. I'm not the biggest fan of Hold My Hand but the song has it all: it's catchy, easy to listen to and has a secure/positive feeling about it. I like Hollywood Tonight, it was an unfinished song but they did a good song out of it and it has some of the classic Michael .The Way You Love Me was originally released on the 2004 Michael Jackson Ultimate Collection box set and I believe it sounded much better on the box set than it does here on "Michael". Best of Joy is a terrific one; this is one of the most enjoyable songs here. I don't like 50 Cents but Monster remains an excellent song! (I can't make it) Another Day featuring Lenny Kravitz is one of my favorite songs of the whole album, Michael sounds amazing here and the song delivers. According to some internet bloggers and Amazon reviewers, there are three "fake" songs on "Michael" sang by Jason Malachi which would be Break of Dawn, Keep Your Head Up. I don't know how true this is, it might be it might not, buy the album and decide for yourself I guess right? If they're fakes then they just sound really close to Michael's voice.

I don't think the King of Pop himself would have been totally pleased with this release because he didn't get to give his blessing and some of this was unfinished material but for fans this is a treat. It does have some good songs that fans will definitely want to hear. The album is worth buying, I don't think it tarnishes Michael's legacy and it's a good album but I wouldn't compare it to his past work. As far as I'm concerned his technically "last" album was 2001's Invincible, this would be best viewed as a good collection of unreleased material. There are fans that obviously won't be happy about this release and some who will not like the material here as much as Michael's classic works. For a collection of posthumous songs this is nice and fans who want to hear the songs should hear them but they probably shouldn't expect the material here to be as good as Michael's past albums. Like I said, skeptics can hate and make various speeches but in the end it's still Michael Jackson and my guess is a lot of people will buy it. To me "Michael" serves to make me remember how great he really was and how much he really is missed. For unreleased material, this is very good and satisfying: 4/5 stars.

I had to buy this one but I have to say a bit disappointed only because I do have a lot of Michaels CDs and this did not do him justice oh well still love Michael

"Michael" is a beautifully produced album which will definitely please Michael's fans and possibly impress others who might not have been previous supporters of MJ and/or his music...

I am a memeber of the former category and absolutely love this album - though to be fair, he could've sang the alphabet song or sang the phone book listings and I'd have thought it was awesome! *LOL* The man had a gorgeous voice and a way of singing that made every song a success (in my humble opinion!)

Although all of the tracks are great, the ones that truly stand out for me are "Hold My Hand", "Behind the Mask", "Best of Joy", and the final track "Much Too Soon". Michael's voice still sounds as good as it did when the world fell in love with him during the "Thriller" era. I realize that there has been some negative publicity surrounding the release of these songs and the authenticity of Michael's voice on the album, but I believe it is him singing and I also believe that he would be happy with the release of this material because it makes his fans happy and it was well known that Michael loved his fans and wanted to make them happy.

The only improvement I could reccomend for this album would be that Michael was here to see it's release...I hate that he is gone. I am grateful for the music and memories he left with us - and hope that he has found the peace in death that he was so cruelly denied in life.

Long live the greatest entertainer of all time - MICHAEL JACKSON!!!

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5.0 out of 5 stars I love it
I think this is a wonderful cd. How could it not be? It's Michael singing (and yes, I do believe it is him singing despite all the controversy). Read more

Published 15 months ago by Cristina

1.0 out of 5 stars Supercherie :-P
Ce n'est pas du tout Michael Jackson qui chante sur cette album, c'est Jason Malachi (un sosie vocal du chanteur) qui chante à la place de Michael et sa famille ont put le... Read more

Published 16 months ago by C. Lafontaine

4.0 out of 5 stars new Michael Jackson CD
Michael is a wonderful album and it's terrific to hear Michael's lovely melodic voice again on some new material. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Breezehill

5.0 out of 5 stars This CD is so great that I can't help listening to all the 10 songs more than once a day
All the 10 songs of "Michael' are great with very meaningful lyrics. I am very greatly with the release of this CD. I can tell which MJ's albums or songs are my favorites. Read more

Published 17 months ago by S M Chan

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Glad I purchased this cd, I was going back and forth on it, because I know he was a perfectionist and would have wanted to hear the final cuts for a album, but the people who... Read more

Published 17 months ago by 1mjdj

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Album of 2010
Even if Michael wasnt here with us to put his final touch, this album is still the best of 2010 without any doubts. How a song can sound bad with MJ singing ? Read more

Published 17 months ago by Jean-philippe Mathieu

5.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly consistent album, Better than Invincible...
"Michael" is a suprisingly consistent album, and certainly more entertaining than 2001's overlong "Invincible". Read more

Published 17 months ago by Nathan80

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