It is a good album. But it is really... different than other MJ albums - it's not a classic MJ album. It is ahead of its time I believe. And it is too long. BTW, can't believe someone above listed Unbrekable, Whatever Happens and Threatened as weak - IMO those are some of the strongest on the album.
I believe , now I say it is
my opinion only that it should have been without a few tracks , and that some tracks needed to be redone. But then again,some of them really have their own magic - So you can't say that the album isn't inovative- it's just whether it's your cup of tea. It may be repetitive at times ,but I believe that it is cause of the bad tracklist.
First three songs , which I love btw, strike you as similar,but they are really good - Unbreakable is a powerful opener, Heartbreaker is I believe the fastest MJ song ever and it's got the cool beatboxing and Invincible is really modern. Break of Dawn and Heaven Can Wait took me a while to distinguish cause of the similar theme and smoothness. YRMW is a pure jewel IMO. Butterflies is so soulful and r'n'b. Speechless I used to find pretty "Disney" but my God...
listen to the song on your headphones and turn it up. I guarantee you will be dwelling with tears. It's Michael speaking from his soul. A Capella. Just his voice. I realized this only a few days ago. It's magic. It
is a cocky song - but it's Michael and that's why it is wonderful. And it's based on Michael's voice only for a large part of the song - again something new. Then comes 2000 Watts,even though I am not a fan is something that you might find on the new Black Eyed Peas album. You Are My Life - I personally don't like this song ,but it has some nice harmonies at the end and it's for his kids I believe. Privacy is my least fav MJ song I think
but it has the amazing camera flash as the main beat of the song - isn't that original as hell?! Don't Walk Away may be yet another ballad but what is really good about this song is that its chorus so to say basically starts almost at the end. It just should have been more "produced" add a few more instruments to make it more complete. Maybe Michael wanted to achieve a minimalistic sound approach here. I am not an expert in music but I do like to extinguish some stuff
Cry was supposed to be this decade's MITM. It may not be that original I must admit but it has a very good message - and the sentence "If we all cry at the same time tonight" - connected with the video ... Inspiring. The Lost Children ... Hmm... Shouldn't have been put next to Cry - again the problem with bad track listing. The song would have had a bigger impact if Cry were earlier on the album I believe. Whatever Happens - a style Michael had never done before. And it's got his deep voice. It is a
sin that this song was never a single. Such a shame. And it is on its perfect spot at the album. Just like Threatened. The beat may be similar to the first 3 songs - but that's the main thing in Invincible .(just like the New Jack Swing stuff on Dangerous WYWTOM, SDMW and ICLHGA are really similar when stripped down to the beat only) . What makes Threatened so special is the beginning and the end of the song. Turn it up and you will hear a bird croak at the start, a spooky atmosphere and then BAM! This Is It showed the song at its full potential. It's bumpy, it makes you wanna move. And then the rap made of the speaking of "whatshisname" guy from Twilight Zone (can't remember really
) ... Pure genius of an idea.
So all in all - No. Invincible is not a bad album. It just didn't live up to MJ's standards. Had there been a better promotion, videos,tour which would have been Goddamn amazing - Invincible would have been a classic - despite its terrible tracklist and too much songs.
P.S. If it were me, I would have taken away Heaven Can Wait, The Lost Children, You Are My Life and Privacy and put it We've Had Enough and Escape. Let's say. Just giving an opinion so don't hate