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HIStory: How good is it?

Chanya

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We've been talking a lot about Invincible on here lately (which is great), so I thought it was time to shift the focus a little bit over to another (to a degree) underappreciated album of MJ's, HIStory. I've created a couple of polls, but I'd also love to discuss the album itself. Give your opinions on it. How does it compare to other MJ albums? How would you rank it? Personally I think it's a great album. I'm going to give it a listen from beginning to end just so I can have the whole experience of it fresh in my mind when I make a final judgement. :) So what's your opinion on it? Let's discuss HIStory!
 
It's a good album....a bit underrated by the media. I personally rank it 3rd in my favorite MJ albums behind Dangerous and Bad respectfully.
 
HIStory is my all time fav album
There are no fillers on it

100% full of classics
STRANGER IN MOSCOW
TDCAU
SMILE
SCREAM
2 BAD
need i say more ?
 
I love History.
I feel like it is a work which he created that ultimately lashed out in return at the negativity that has been hurled towards him previously.
Like 2bad, scream, They dont' care about us. I enjoy his angsty and aggressive touches in his voice and lyrical work so i really dig this kind of feel.
I enjoy it when he gets angry and passionate.
 
I love history, I don't know why it's so underrated, same with invincible.
History is a really great album from start to finish.
 
Dangerous is my favourite album, and HIStory is juuust behind there.

This album is like "real talk" album #1.
Michael having profanity on the record only spices it up even more.

Tracks like "This Time Around", "2 Bad" & "D.S." [size=-3](THOMAS SNEDDON IS A COLD MAN!)[/size] really gets me in "Terminator mode" :D

"They Don't Care About Us" & "HIStory", again 2 of Michael's most important songs.

"You Are Not Alone", probably Michael's most beautiful love song. (Thank you R. Kelly)

"Scream", that song sounds like something from year 3000 and is has quite possibly Michael's most extra ordinary music video ever. (They will never make a video like that again, how could there be when it costed $7 million to make!)
Today's music video's looks like a fakking power point presentation.
And if you're not impressed by any of that then maybe Janet Jackson grabbing her "chest" (no disrespect) and flipping the bird did it for you :D

The only reason I prefer Dangerous over this album is because:
1. I'm a huuuge fan of new jack swing, and Teddy Riley went all in on Dangrous.
2. This album don't have the song "Will You Be There", which I think is just... you know... the complexity of that song is just... I can't describe it. Any album containing that song would've been my favourite album I guess.
 
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It shouldn't have come with the hits disc. History is perceived as less of a proper album because of it. Sony didn't include it in The Collection box set, which was unfortunate and rather ridiculous to me as I think it's far and away his best post-80s album.

I didn't always like his vocal choices (not a massive fan of angry Michael) and I'm not overly keen on the production values of Smile, which make it sound like a demo to me, but apart from that the album is made of win.
 
Actually I agree, I think HIStory would have been ever bigger if it had not have had the Hits disc on it. But then, it couldn't really have been called HIStory..

Either way, I LOVE the 2nd disc, I too, love his aggressive songs, fighting back! Either HIStory or Dangerous is my favourite album :)
 
HIStory is an album that has grown on me over the years. When the album first came out, for a long time actually, I used to skip over Tabloid Junkie, 2Bad, Little Susie, & History because of the overall sound of the music or because it was too painful to listen to: Little Susie. As with Dangerous, I find I really appreciate this album now. But HIStory is very autobiographical, so I would recommend it to everyone who wants to learn more about Michael as a person. Every song on disk two meant something to him, had a personal message, expressed his beliefs or concerns & disk one helps balance out some of the anger by bringing back some memories of the good old days. I think it's the best greatest hits MJ album to have and is a masterpiece. Number Ones is good to have mainly for One More Chance if you didn't get the single.
 
Does anyone know what Little Susie means? As in the symbolical meaning behind it? Also, has anyone realized that he's used the name Susie in numerous 2 of his songs?
Blood on the dancefloor, Superfly sister.
 
HIStory was the first mj album i listened too.. cuz no one in my family was a fan but mum had HIStory so she gave it to me and I listened to i non stop and then i got the others! So i love it!!!
 
HIStory wasn't really a fav of mine, but I think that was because there were some songs that made me a little uncomfortable. There were songs about Susie and Lost Children and I was just so afraid that they would be misconstrued after his trail. In any case I do remember LOVING Stranger in Moscow, which if you ask me isn't really about Moscow, it's about MJ's loneliness and isolation. I loved it on first listen back then and still love it today... it's one of the ones in my M playlist that I listen to frequently.
 
History is an outstanding,but bit expensive in cost I guess due to two disc factor.
 
HeartbreakHotelMJJ said:
HIStory wasn't really a fav of mine, but I think that was because there were some songs that made me a little uncomfortable. There were songs about Susie and Lost Children and I was just so afraid that they would be misconstrued after his trail. In any case I do remember LOVING Stranger in Moscow, which if you ask me isn't really about Moscow, it's about MJ's loneliness and isolation. I loved it on first listen back then and still love it today... it's one of the ones in my M playlist that I listen to frequently.
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I don't understand how the filthy minds of people work sometimes how they can think of something like that when they hear songs about children. It's a sick world and Michael was so pure and innocent. Btw, Lost Children was on Invincible.

I never really got into Stranger In Moscow (I should give it a few more listens, I haven't listened to it in a while), but I love the message of it as it deals with loneliness and isolation, which is something I can relate very much to.
 
Sorry hun, I didnt mean Lost Children, I meant Childhood. I just had a feeling those songs would be misunderstood and I was right about that.

And I wasn't saying I thought those things. I personally thought he was innocent in both trials and never thought otherwise, not even for a second, but I would always overhear folks talking about him and how they thought he was guilty and weird and all this other BS and I KNEW that if they heard those songs with kids laughing and playing in the background they'd shake their heads and be all "see? Told you."

That is the very reason I love Stranger in Moscow. I deal with my loneliness pretty much daily. That song really describes how I feel sometimes... give it another listen...
 
I cannot describe how much I love the album HIStory because it was a very effective and a strong response to all media attacks, every song came with a strong message, it will take me forever to talk about each song… Overall it was a great defense strategy and very smart also he bundled the album with his greatest hits to remind people of who he is, the KING OF MUSIC! HIStory album represents many things in his life and at that time during the height of media frenzy no one could expect the album to succeed, but it did despite those bad times, and I agree that it is an underappreciated album, the allegations deprived Michael from a greater success with HIStory, he was supposed to get much more credit and awards… speaking of awards… I recall a paparazzi incident cost Russell Crowe an Oscar… My point Michael didn’t give-up or go down he was fighting back he never gave up and that’s what ‘HIStory’ is all about!
 
HeartbreakHotelMJJ said:
Sorry hun, I didnt mean Lost Children, I meant Childhood. I just had a feeling those songs would be misunderstood and I was right about that.

And I wasn't saying I thought those things. I personally thought he was innocent in both trials and never thought otherwise, not even for a second, but I would always overhear folks talking about him and how they thought he was guilty and weird and all this other BS and I KNEW that if they heard those songs with kids laughing and playing in the background they'd shake their heads and be all "see? Told you."

That is the very reason I love Stranger in Moscow. I deal with my loneliness pretty much daily. That song really describes how I feel sometimes... give it another listen...
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I will. And I know you didn't think those things, I was talking about people in general. Sorry about the misunderstanding.

*hugs* :)
 
I'm a big fan of this album. I think it's his most autobiographical album, and strongest 'concept album,' basically telling his story (ie HIStory), from the rage in the opening track to closing it on optimism, with hope, anger, frustration, love, perseverance, and alienation all in between. And similarly, the song composition reflects that range of emotions, though overall the dominant sound on the album to me anyway seems to be more aggressive beats, which I like. I also like the slower ones too, w/ Stranger in Moscow and Smile being among two of my favorite MJ tracks recorded.
 
JoeyMJFan said:
I'm a big fan of this album. I think it's his most autobiographical album, and strongest 'concept album,' basically telling his story (ie HIStory), from the rage in the opening track to closing it on optimism, with hope, anger, frustration, love, perseverance, and alienation all in between. And similarly, the song composition reflects that range of emotions, though overall the dominant sound on the album to me anyway seems to be more aggressive beats, which I like. I also like the slower ones too, w/ Stranger in Moscow and Smile being among two of my favorite MJ tracks recorded.
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*puts fist up in the air* YES!! I love this album. Agree with everything you said. HIStory is probably my second favourite, closely trailing Dangerous, it may change...i'm feeling a change and HIStory is rising to my favourite I think!

I think the reason why is songs like "Money" I can understand now more than ever, given what happened to Michael. It's ironic - and I find I can relate to it better than ever. I feel connected to it. I understand MJ's vibe.
 
HIStory is amazing, the 2nd disc seems soo personal to mike with Smile on there his fav song then tabloid junkie, Money etc all very personal to him and his life

I also agree it would of been much better recieved if they had released the 2nd disc on its own as an album would of got much better reviews then people thinking its mainly old songs
but couldnt have been called history then i guess and then we wouldnt have got that amazing booklet either
 
I'm gonna have to give this CD a new listen... I was younger when it came out and with age comes wisdom. Sometimes I'll reread a book I haven't picked up in years and get something that I missed the first time around. It looks like HIStory needs another go round in the iPod.
 
*sigh* I had this elaborate post all typed up when my computer crashed and I didn't feel like starting over, but maybe now I'm ready again. :sleep:

So BASICALLY, I was saying that HIStory is my fave at the moment and I've only just started to really appreciate it. I think it's Michael's most personal album, so the title His Story is well earned. Also, there are no songs on it that I don't like at all. I was comparing it to Invicible a bit, because that's the album I was obsessed with before I rediscovered HIStory, but Invincible doesn't feel as personal nor as memorable.
So on HIStory there are songs like Scream-D.S.-Money-Tabloid Junkie-They Don't Care About Us which all feature angry Michael and could very easily blend together (as Invincible-Unbreakable-Privacy-Threatened on Vince do a little bit..), but they don't! Each of these songs is very personal and stands on its own and has a unique sound and a very clear subject (media/system-Tom Sneddon-leeches-tabloids-racism/prejudice, respectively). Also, there isn't an excess of love songs on HIStory which is a good thing. The only one is You Are Not Alone -- one of my least favourite songs, I must admit (I don't feel too guilty about that because Michael didn't write it), although the incredible adlibs almost redeem it. The rest of the songs on the album are personal, too. Childhood - very personal, Stranger In Moscow - INCREDIBLE and personal about his loneliness, Smile - one of Michael's favourite songs, Earth Song - a beautiful green song that's beautiful and a big hit even without the message!
There are a few songs that I didn't mention, but I feel I've already proven my point -- HIStory is Michael's most personal, autobiographical album and just plain AWESOME! :cool:
 
HIStory it is.
I like all tracks but I'll admit I would always skip Childhood and Little Susie

Childhood - Michael's burden is too much for me
Little Susie - the 'pic' disturbed me, it's not a bad thing, just on an emotional level

added note: I would always mention beats because I was young when I became an MJ fan, and most of the time I don't have a clue what's he's singing lol So I would always find connection in his beats -- Michael gave me a bass/beat fetish lol hahah
 
History is my favorite album of all time. I think his best songwriting is in this album.
 
the track that REALLY stood out to me from HIStory is Earth Song...SO FU*KING EPIC!!
 
dabuzz4o8 said:
the track that REALLY stood out to me from HIStory is Earth Song...SO FU*KING EPIC!!
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I agree. Earth Song and They Don't Care About Us are two of Michael's most brilliant songs ever.
 
"This Time Around" is the track I like least on HIStory and I never cared too much for it...but everything else has totally grown on me. :D It really has become an album full of classics.
 
I'll start with the good. I like HIStory as a Michael Jackson fan and I recommend it to non-fans if they were into music in general or wanted to hear another side of Michael as an artist. Most of the songs on the album are personal in an angry or very emotional kind of way.

Scream, TDCAU, Stranger In Moscow and YANA are all great epic MJ tracks, but I think the album lacked that all important club banger or party song, which every other album included. The overall tone of the album is a bit negative, and I think thats why it's not very popular in the eyes of non-fans.

If you compare it to Dangerous, or even Invincible, they both had a share of personal or the "Heal The World" Michael, as well as the "party time" songs. You could flip through Dangerous and dance, think deep thoughts about what was on Michael's mind, cry, sing and overall ENJOY the album. With HIStory it's pretty much set on sombre the entire way through.

I believe the album may be 3 or 4 songs too long, but that may be also due to the length of some of the latter songs on the album being very long (see Little Susie). I think if you took out D.S, Little Susie, Come Together or This Time Around and replaced it with 2 genuine, old fashioned MJ hits in the line of Remember The Time, You Rock My World or The Way You Make Me Feel, the album would be FAR more appreciated.

That being said, I can only repeat what I said earlier; the album is a great look into a different side of Michael. It's by far his most personal album and something you would study if you were truly after understanding of Michael Jackson as an artist. It deserves much more credit than it gets, that's for sure.
 
I haven't listened to it for ages, but HIStory is my favourite MJ album and I always tell people to check it out.
My first MJ album was 'BAD' and I bought Dangerous when I was a kid, but HIStory was the one I really waited for. The one I couldn't wait to buy and it's the first era that I can remember properly - I was 15 when it was released and really getting into music in a big way. I can remember showing my parents the Scream music video when it premiered on TV. I can remember seeing the MJ statue floating down the Thames. I can remember being amazed at the quality of the Earth Song video. I remember waiting for the 1995 MTV performance.
Ok, so none of those things mentioned the quality of the music, but I really prefer the music too. My favourite (non-single) songs from the album were 'Tabloid Junkie', '2Bad', and 'This Time Around' for the first couple of years. I think I could relate to Mike's sentiment behind the songs. He was saying 'don't believe what you read about me', 'you can't take down', and 'this time I'm gonna do things differently'. Unfortunately the last one wasn't true as he kept on doing things that brought negative attention. The only song I didn't like from the album was Childhood and I couldn't understand why he would decide to add 'Come Together' when it wasn't needed. the album would have worked fine without either of those IMO.
I't a shame the album never gets the attention it deserves, maybe if they had released CD 2 on it's own (wasn't there a rumour they were going to do that a few years ago?) then we could have seen it charting much better in the past few weeks. I hope in time it gets more attention from the non-fans. I think CD1 will always hold it back though as people won't want to spend money on tracks they already have.
 
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