Invincible - Jackson, Michael (CD 2001)

As a lifelong MJ fan, "Invincible"'s release date was as anticipated by me as a bonus paycheck or a week's vacation. The hardest part of listening to any MJ album is being subjective. Not only is the man competing against his past triumphs, but he is also dealing with all the bad press, rumor and scandal that has plagued him. "Invincible" is not quite a return to form, nor is it a total letdown. It is frustratingly spotty, however. Here's a track-by-track analysis.

Whoa...hold up a second...remember back in the days when I was doing track-by-track reviews? How lame. With three years perspective, here's what I now have to say about "Invincible".

If you bought into the hype spewed by the mainstream press and Michael's detractors (including Sony Music, his label), this album was a flop of colossal proportions. Of course it was no "Thriller" or "Off The Wall", but it stands as a fairly contemporary, often good, and occasionally aswesome album from Michael. Was it a sales bust? Considering only about 25 or so albums a year sell over 2 million copies, and this one broke that barrier, I would say no. Yeah, it pales in comparison with sales of albums recorded in his heyday, but how many artists that charted in 1983 are still even making records today, much less selling millions of them?

After the debacle that was "HIStory", Michael retreated back to the lab to create an album that would focus less on his personal problems and more on just making good music. In the six years between the two albums, he had also seen the entire teen-pop industry build back up on a sound he created. From Sisqo to Usher to Beyonce to Britney to Backstreet & *Nsync...damn near every pop or soul artist coming up owed a big debt to Mike.

"Invincible" is Michael's attempt to prove that he's still relevant in today's music scene. Occasionally, the man passes with flying colors. Occasionally, he stops a few feet short of clearing the hurdle. This occurs when he falls into some of his familiar traps. The maudlin ballads, the "social conscience" songs. Overall, though, "Invincible" is a solid, but unspectacular album.

The first thing you notice is that Michael the balladeer is back. The man hadn't whipped out a slow jam since "Bad"'s "Liberian Girl" in '87, yet several songs found Mike playing Mack Daddy. "Break Of Dawn" is a summery, strolling song that finds The King Of Lotharios promising to "make sweet love till the break of dawn". Get the visual out of your head and concentrate on the song's sweet melody, the calming background arrangement and the effervescent chorus. "Butterflies" is more of the same. Over a thumping groove from neo-soul producers Dre & Vidal, Mike breaks it down about a girl who makes him ridiculously nervous. This song wouldn't sound out of place on "Off The Wall", with it's deep bottom, airy harmonies, and Michael singing in a cadence that finds him ever-so-slightly behind the beat. It's easily Michael's best performance in years, although you can tell that time and plastic surgery has taken some of the sweetness out of his voice. Nevertheless, his vocal is exquisite, especially when he slips into a mind-melting falsetto in the second verse.

"2000 Watts" finds Michael jumping straight into the space age with this energetically jumpy production. The lyrics make no sense, but the high-energy arrangement makes you dance, and Michael digs deep and brings out his deepest vocal tones for this song. First single "You Rock My World" is sunny and pleasant enough, although it just sounds like a watered down version of "Remember The Time" (which, in itself was a watered down "Rock With You"). Nevertheless, the song's got an addictive chorusand generally uncluttered production, not something you'd necessarily associate with the track's producer, Rodney Jerkins.

Amidst Jerkins' messy, loud production, Jackson occasionally finds himself lost. The opening track, "Unbreakable" is a mission statement that favors 1991's "Jam", but Michael's overwhelmed by the bloops and bleeps that come crashing through. It also features a post-mortem verse from the Notorious B.I.G.-one that was lifted from a Shaquille O'Neal album released about 6 months before the rapper's death. Biggie verses? Generally cool. Exploiting the dead? Not really cool.

The album's title track is a similar jaunt, only picking up steam towards the end when the army of Mikes commanding the vocals break it down over a menacing-sounding piano loop and finger snaps. However, the album's crowning achievement is "Whatever Happens". For once, Michael stops singing about being persecuted and concentrates on the story of a man and woman's unconditional love in the face of great odds. This song would have been an inspired choice for a single and would've made an awesome video. Its got a slow motion, cinematic feel, Mike's vocal performance is top-notch, and Carlos Santana pops aboard to add a blistering guitar solo. Classic stuff here.

On the poppier side of things, "Don't Walk Away" is a stunningly heartbreaking ballad that The Backstreet Boys would still salivate in their sleep for. You can almost picture Michael strolling thoughfully in the rain, lamenting his lost love as this song plays in the background. It's the best of the easy-listening type things on the album. "You Are My Life" is a goopy ballad which put the final nail in the coffin of the songwriting career of the once-reliable Babyface. R. Kelly pops in for the world-peace anthem "Cry", which just sounds like an inferior version of the not-that-good-to-begin-wit "I Believe I Can Fly".

"The Lost Children" is unlistenable. Even before the trial, this song was unlistenable. It's like Michael got kidnapped by Raffi and decided to make a song either about runaway kids or a loosely metaphorical song about folks who have had lost childhoods. Either way, the song is hot mess and easily one of the 5 worst things he has recorded in his adult life.

The album generally fails when MJ tries to go contemporary. The Timbaland-esque "Heartbreaker" is nice, but the rest of the Jerkins productions just sound like someone trying to modernize a classic car with some garish paint. Michael doesn't need all the bells and whistles to make great music. Another problem is that, ever since "Dangerous", Michael has felt the need to fill every last second of a CD's 79 minute running time with music. It's not necessary. Give us 10 songs of great music, not 16 songs where we have to skip around to find the 10 good ones!

That said, "Invincible" is not the P.O.S. everyone claims it to be. There are many good songs on here, which jsut get lost in the production scheme and the album's interminably long running time. A leaner, slightly more choesive structure to the album would have resulted in a classic. As it stands, even a mediocre album from Michael is slightly above average.



"Invincible" by Michael Jackson


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars


Repeat: "Whatever Happens", "Butterflies", "Don't Walk Away"


Skip: "You Are My Life", "The Lost Children", "Cry"


Great Music to Play While: Hoping that the MJ/R. Kelly alliance has finally reached it's end.