Track Listing
DISC 1:
1. I Want You Back
2. ABC
3. Love You Save, The
4. Got to Be There
5. Rockin' Robin
6. Ben
7. Enjoy Yourself
8. Blame It on the Boogie
9. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)
10. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
11. Rock With You
12. Off the Wall
13. She's Out of My Life
14. Can You Feel It
15. Girl Is Mine, The
16. Billie Jean
17. Beat It
18. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
19. Human Nature
20. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
21. Thriller
DISC 2:
1. Bad
2. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
3. Leave Me Alone
4. Way You Make Me Feel, The
5. Man in the Mirror
6. Dirty Diana
7. Another Part of Me
8. Smooth Criminal
9. Black or White
10. Heal the World
11. Remember the Time
12. In the Closet
13. Who Is It
14. Will You Be There
15. Dangerous
16. You Are Not Alone
17. You Rock My World
| Details | | Producer: | Bill Bottrell, Hal Davis, Jerry Marcellino, Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, Mel Larson, Quincy Jones, The Corporation | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel: Michael Jackson (vocals); Linda Harmon, Andrae Crouch, Paul McCartney, Siedah Garrett, Mystery Girl (vocals); Vincent Price (spoken vocals); Mike Sembello, Roland Bautista, Tito Jackson, David Williams , Marlo Henderson (guitar); David "Hawk" Wolinski (piano); Michael Boddicker (keyboards, synthesizer); Greg Phillinganes (keyboards); Glen Ballard (synthesizer); Gary King, Louis Johnson, Nathan Watts , Bobby Watson (bass guitar); Claudio Slon, Laudir De Oliveira (drums, congas, percussion); Ed Green, John Robinson (drums); Paulinho Da Costa, Randy Jackson , Richard Heath (percussion); James Ingram, Jim Gilstrap, Paulette McWilliams, Mortinette Jenkins, Augie Johnson (background vocals); David Paich, Jerry Hey, Jimmy Smith , Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Carlton, Larry Williams, Steve Porcaro, Teddy Riley.
Recording information: 1969 - 1999.
Ensemble: The Seawind Horns.
The title might sound like hyperbole, but this two-disc collection is, in fact, a pretty fair summation of Michael Jackson's career up to 2005. Of course, it's impossible for two discs to hold every hit single Michael Jackson has ever had, but THE ESSENTIAL MICHAEL JACKSON starts with the Jackson Five's debut single, "I Want You Back," and ends 38 tracks later with the 2001 comeback attempt "You Rock My World." In between is a chronological overview of some of the most significant pop music in the last three decades of the 20th century, climaxing with about two-thirds of THRILLER and half of OFF THE WALL, the album that in retrospect sounds even fresher and more exciting than its blockbuster follow-up. Disc Two starts in 1987 with eight tracks from the underrated BAD, and its second half does the listener the handy service of compressing the second act of Michael Jackson's life story (a time when the tabloid headlines were overshadowing his increasingly formulaic music) into nine entirely respectable, if not earth-shattering, singles.
Editorial Reviews
4 stars out of 5 - [T]his is magical pop.
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