61/2 hours of mike:B2B

[MJJA]

I spent this weekend playing all of Mikes six studio albums B2B without a break.
From OTW through to Invincible in order.
I know others on here have probably done so as well but I wanted to give my thoughts on it.
Firstly I had a pretty good idea of how I thought I would feel album to album. The natural evolution and such but still there were a few things that surprised me.
Obviously starting with OTW. It is my least favorite album of MJ's. I can't even say it as an album I know that well as I have rarely played it. Yes I know the hits and there is no doubting the albums influential sound as we ahve heard recently through the work of JT and Pharrell. There is no doubting that it is a smooth funky ride however my overall opinion of the album hasn't changed. Overall it wasn't on the level of what followed. Well that is my opinion as obviously for some it is their favorite album but it would still be last on my list.
Thriller was a clear leap forward. From the time that WBSS hits it is an obvious evolution for Mike. And the classics still hold up relatively well even after hearing everything B2B. No this album can't touch what he would produce during his artistic peak in the 90's but consider we are talking about an album from 30y ago both MJ and Q deserve credit for the quality of the music. At least the hits. The less well known songs do seem like they are more of their time and I personally think are weaker then the weaker songs on BAD.
Speaking of which. This was my first surprise.
I had always though of BAD as being another significant step in MJ's musical evolution but in actuality the step might not have been as great as I thought. When listening to it directly after Thriller, BAD as a song did not feel like something all that much more advanced then what I had just heard on Thriller unlike with WBNSS when compared to what was on OTW.
There is no doubt that it is a more complete work from MJ and certainly the best song in MITM was superior to anything MJ had ever done and even his own work from the title track through TWYMMF, SC, DD and LG were as good as anything MJ had written prior and overall in fact musically and lyrically superior and I do enjoy the album more then Thriller but it still wasn't as far beyond Thriller as I had always though. Dangerous is a different story.
Dangerous is a masterpiece. I knew that going in as it is my favorite album but to listen to it immediately after his 80's stuff was mind-boggling.
Dangerous was another lever or 2 or 3 above what he had ever done.
Sonically the album is from a different planet. His music ahd never been anywhere near as atmospheric of complex and obviously lyrically he was writing on a different level. It can not be overstated what TR brought to the table.
They were an amazing combination. Also Bill Bottrell and Bruce.
What sets this album apart however is the second half, well actually from HTW on. It is just incredible. Take nothing away from JAM or ITC or RTT but the last 8 songs a just awesome. Musical genius.
From the beautifully written and deeply heartfelt lyrics and music of HTW and the absolutely incredible WYBT.The funkiness of B&W, The guitar driven slickness of GITM. The gospel brilliance of KTF, The incredible vocal performance on GTS, the awesomely well produced title track and of course the insanely brilliant and atmospheric WII.
It is a remarkable accomplishment and it remains so over twenty years later.
What next surprised me however was just how close in quality I ended up thinking that HIStory was.
I had always thought of it as my number 2 album and it still is but the gap between them was not as great as I had thought.
Let's face it there are four incredible pieces of work. Earth Song is ironically named because that song is from another planet. TDCA, Susie and SIM are nothing short of exceptional. Each individually special in their own right. Honestly when you combine those fours songs with WII, HTW and WYBT it boggles the mind why MJ ever bothered with co-writers. His best work was as good as anyone who has ever done it.
The surprise though was how ell the rest of the album held up by comparison to Dangerous.
No I don't think from beginning to end it is as good but damn if it isn't pretty great and blows away anything the 80's. It is also his most intense album in every way which gives it a uniqueness that makes it standout amongst the rest.
Invincible isn't on that level. In truth I thought it was lacking the specialness or constant musical brilliance of what MJ had given us in the nineties. In saying that though Speechless is certainly a moment of magic but there is one thing about this album which makes it different. MJ's vocals shine. This is MJ's vocal album.
True he is one of the great singers of all time but the ballads on Invincible really allow him to shine and it is a thing of beauty.
I would still put it above his 80's work however.
My ultimate lesson out of all of this. MJ's work in the nineties really does stand out compered to the 80's. It isn't even close.

 

[HIStory]

Yes, it's interesting to follow Michael's artistic evolution through the years. I never got the notion in the media that after Thriller for the rest of his career he was trying to emulate Thriller. Just because he had the commercial aim to surpass Thriller it did not mean he was trying to emulate Thriller artistically in any way. In fact, what I find impressive about Michael is that all of his albums sound different from one another. None of them is a repeat of some other album. He constantly evolved and tried new directions, he actually never tried to repeat some other album musically, artistically.

I agree with you that his 90s work gets unfairly overlooked by the general public in favor of the 80s albums - especially Thriller. But I also noticed that sometimes makes fans go in deliberate opposition and they try to play down albums like OTW or Thriller more than it's justified IMO. I can honestly say I like all of MJ's albums - all for different reasons and depending on my mood, sometimes I feel OTW is the best, sometimes I feel HIStory is the best. And very often I feel Dangerous is the best. And Thriller is Thriller, of course - iconic.

What I agree with is that mybe Invincible is a bit below the other albums - especially because to me that is the only MJ album that does not seem to have that special MJ flavor. Probably has to do with the fact that he worked with too many co-writers and co-producers on that one and his signature sound somehow got lost. But like you said, even that album has something to offer - it's vocally very strong.

Besides Invincible which I place a bit below the other albums, and Dangerous which I place a bit above all the others, I'd place all of his albums on about the same level, but for different reasons. OTW is the highly influential, ecstatic dance album. If I'm in that mode - that is the best. Thriller is Thriller. No need to justify why it's iconic. It is. Period. I can feel you on Bad. That was the first MJ album I ever bought, the album that introduced me to and got me hooked on Michael, so on an emotional level it's always going to be special to me, but looking back now, production-wise, I think it started to show signs of why Michael had to leave Quincy to not get stuck in the 80s. The songs themeselves are killer though. Hit after hit after hit. I do not agree though that MITM was superior to than anything MJ ever done. It's a great anthem but very much generic compared to the genius of songs such as Billie Jean, WBSS, Working Day and Night, Heartbreak Hotel etc. And MITM wasn't even written by Michael.

Dangerous is a fan favourite and I'm one of those fans who, if pressed, would probably pick this album as my fave ever. It's too bad it's so overlooked by the general public along with everything MJ did in the 90s. But that's just prejudice. I definitely agree, that if you listen to Dangerous, HIStory, and even the 5 new songs on Blood on the Dance Floor, that was perhaps the most impressive period of Michael creatively. So many great songs! But many of those songs are not exactly radio friendly and that's probably another reason why those albums tend to get overlooked even if they are in many ways better than the 80s albums which are considered his classics. But when the general public wants to listen to MJ they want light hearted fun dance music, not something as deep, serious, angry, sad, socially conscious etc. as what you have on HIStory or BOTDF. That's the problem IMO why that material never gets the recognition it deserves.

I have made a playlist on Spotify just for fun with Michael and Prince's music (two of my favorites) through the years. One song from Michael, one song from Prince, one song from Michael, one song from Prince and so on. And mostly in chronological order as their careers progressed. And that brings it out even more how impressive actually Michael was in the 90s. IMO Prince kind of fell off by the 90s. Only repeating himself thematically, musically and very rarely having an impressive song by the time. While Michael at the time created songs like Stranger in Moscow, They Don't Care About Us, Earth Song, Morphine etc. etc. I did this playlist for fun and because I love them both, but it showed to me even more how criminally underrated Michael's 90s work is. Still going strong after all the hits in the 80s and in many ways actually stepping up compared to the 80s - lyrics becoming deeper, more substantial, musically even stronger songs etc. While Prince by that time kind of struggled IMO.