Essential Michael Jackson Songs
I grew up with artists like Michael Jackson and Phil Collins, who seemed to rule the world in the 1980's, as far as pop songs go. I had dance music in my DNA before discovering rock n roll, so I'm not ashamed if certain things hurt my rock cred. What cred? If you hate Michael Jackson's music, I think you're only fooling yourself.
During this past summer I was getting into a rental car and the radio was set on a satellite radio station. The song that was playing caught me off guard, as it sounded like Michael Jackson, yet Justin Timberlake was singing, yet it wasn't the least bit familiar. Turns out it was a posthumous album of Michael Jackson demos that were "polished up", over-produced best describes several of them, but "Love Never Felt So Good" is the one which stands above them all. There are actually three different versions- the demo with Michael on vocals backed with piano; the polished up one that adds percussion, claps, and beats; then a final version that's more of a dance track with Justin Timberlake adding vocals. All have their own flavor, though it's clear it is a demo due to it's very basic vocal track.
9. "Beat It" (Thriller)
Thriller is a huge album, the best selling album even, although after recently revisiting it I think it doesn't hold up nearly as well as those millions or even billion selling figures. While nearly every song was a single, I feel like the first half doesn't hold up as well 30 some odd years later. Maybe that's just my skewed perspective talking, but it almost seems to heavy on disco. It's the second half that is where the album shines. The video (although I can't link it here) looks like some disco West Side Story and I think I spotted the guy from that tv show New York Undercover, too.
I went back and forth over "Billie Jean" vs the title track, "Thriller" in this spot. "Thriller" is much more of a visual song, you almost need the video and the zombie dancers to get the full effect. But then after giving it a few more listens, I think the presence of Vincent Price is what pushed it over the top for me. You can't "beat" Vincent Price.
7. "Remember The Time" (Dangerous)
Michael always had strong videos in the 80's, with elaborate dance choreography and later turning them into mini movies. Then he added celebrities into the mix for this video taken from "Dangerous", such as actor Eddie Murphy and basketball player Magic Johnson. I always thought this was a weaker album among Michael's catalog, perhaps overlong with too many songs, but now I was actually fighting to keep several songs or replace them with more from Dangerous. It seemed like Michael tried to get an edge on Bad and updated his look, however this is the album where the songs matched the "look." "She's Got The Look" almost made the cut, but I went with "Remember the Time" because I remember the time I saw this in the morning on MTV when that was still a big deal to see videos.
6. "Dirty Diana" (Bad)
I noticed that every song on Bad has a brief introduction noise; "Speed Demon" has an engine revving, "Smooth Criminal" has what sounds like a heart beat, and "Dirty Diana" almost sounds like a space ship ("Open the pod bay doors, Hal.") Some may argue against not including "Billie Jean", but I'll argue that "Dirty Diana" is his best song with a female name in the title.
5. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (Bad)
While Thriller is his biggest seller, I think Bad is the strongest album he ever released. The disco sound was dropped, dead and buried, actually. Bad pushed the boundaries of pop at the time, and featured more of a guitar-driven sound, like "Beat It" was the sign of things to come for Michael. Yet Bad is also filled with a few ballads too.
4. "Man In The Mirror" (Bad)
A former professor I know actually referenced this song when encouraging me to pursue a job opportunity. That job didn't work out but the reference still stands out in my head. I recall liking this song the most when I'd play it on cassette back in the day. In fact, it wasn't until I bought it off iTunes as an adult that I realized this album had BOTH "Dirty Diana" and "Smooth Criminal". Just a stacked album without a skippable song.
3. "Give In To Me" (Dangerous)
I was a huge Michael Jackson fan in my youth, then drifted away into rock n roll during my teen years, but eventually found my way back to Michael through rock n roll as an adult. Three Days Grace covered this song on their 2012 album Transit of Venus and it brought me back to Michael Jackson. I couldn't even recall this being a song of his, so I looked up several of his songs on Youtube, later buying both Bad and Dangerous. I think it helps that Slash provides the guitar work for this song, following Michael's use of Eddie Van Halen in the 80's for "Beat It." I think that's why he was definitely an innovator, with the blending of dance music and rock n roll. I can't say this about too many songs, but to me, "Give In To Me" is a sexy song.
2. "Smooth Criminal" (Bad)
Bad was my first cassette- I won it in a coloring contest when I was 3 or 4. I don't think it was due to any "talent", I think they just had kids color a picture and then drew a name out of a hat. Regardless of the process for selecting a winner, part of the prize was Bad and I loved it. I also recall borrowing Thriller many times from the library a few years later, but Bad was always the cooler one. It seems even more so now as an adult- there's more of an edge, especially with "Smooth Criminal" and "Dirty Diana" on the latter half.
1. "Human Nature" (Thriller)
I recently revisited Thriller after signing up for Apple Music on my phone this fall. It gives me access to every album that iTunes has to offer, so I was nearly salivating at the prospect of listening to the entire catalog of the Rolling Stones as well as all of these recently issued special editions with bonus tracks out the wazoo from bands like Pink Floyd and Smashing Pumpkins. Yet the first artist I went to was actually Michael Jackson! "Human Nature" might not have the fame of the title track, and also "Billie Jean", could it be a forgotten gem among his many hits? I think it deserves every bit of the praise.
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