I think I've said my POV before (
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44057)...
In 1991, the music world and the world in general, was a very different place. Personal computers were for the elite few, if you had a mobile phone it was the size of a brick and i-pods were something that i-peas grew in.
CD's had only been around 5 years, and music was something you went to a shop, bought and held, not a soul-less download.
The music world was also gearing up for a musical event. These didn't happen very often and could only mean one thing – Michael Jackson was to release a new album.
It had been four years since the release of Bad, but now we were used to waiting a while between releases. After all, it was worth the wait and it never seemed that long due to the amount of single releases which followed each album.
The new album was to prove ground breaking even before we heard it. After the holy trinity of albums made with the legendary Quincy Jones, Michael was cutting the umbilical cord. It was a risk; the previous 3 albums had sold circa 90 million copies and established Jackson as the biggest pop star in history.
But it was now the '90's, could Michael show he was more than an '80's artist and could survive without Quincy?
So, 17 years and 25 million copies later, this piece is less a review, but more a homage as to why I believe Dangerous is not only Michael Jackson's best album, but quite simply, the best album ever made.
Michael was to embrace the new technology that CD's were to give. He could break free from the time restraints of cassette and vinyl and was to make a 77 minute, 14 track epic. But was it killer or mainly filler?
By now, we were used to Michael opening his albums in style. From the earth-shifting bass & spoken intro of 'Don't Stop 'til you get Enough' on Off The Wall, and the BAM BAM BAM on Thriller's 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' or the ear-shattering ascending brass on Bad, the first sound on the album led the way for an aural sensation. The first track on Dangerous didn't disappoint. Press play and prepare to be blasted out your chair. Jam literally shattered it's way through the speakers and told you Michael was back. Jam is a dance-funk-pop hybrid that is impossible to sit still to. A six minute workout that leaves you shattered by the end of it. The message of the song is simple – there may be a lot of craziness going on in the world, but you know what? Once that music starts nothings gonna stop me. Jam is classic Michael, a 'Startin Somethin' for the next generation. It was to be the 5th Top 10 single in the UK from Dangerous and was accompanied by a stunning short film with a cameo from Michael Jordan – 2 MJ's at the top of their game.
This is followed by 'Why You Wanna Trip On Me', one of only 2 songs on the album not to be have any writing involvement from Jackson. However, it was obviously written for him, with the theme of the song being, with so much poverty, war & crime in the world why is it Michael Jackson being 'strange' that makes the front page. 'Trip' was one of the few tracks not to be a single, but is still a powerful slice of rock-funk. By now you could see this album was not a Thriller or Bad part 2. It had a distinct cutting edge sound that was miles away from the synthesised sound of it's predecessor. The gamble had paid off.
Track 3 was 'In The Closet' and rumours had bounded round about the track before it was heard, due to its suggestive title & 'Mystery Girl' credit. It became apparent later that it wasn't Madonna that many had guessed but the female vocal came courtesy of Princess Stephanie of Monaco. 'In The Closet' was Michael's most sexual song & video yet. A story of a secret love (lust?) between man and woman showed Michael gyrating saucily with Naomi Campbell in the beautifully shot video by the late Herb Ritts. The third song to be around 6 minutes on the album, and the third single; by the time this was released any doubts on whether Michael had another hit on his hands were quashed and those that has waited to buy Dangerous now did so in their millions.
Track 4 is 'She Drives Me Wild', not a single and thought of by many to be one of the 2 fillers on the album. Not so, this is a blast of pure pop that only pales when compared to other epics on the album. If this was released by one of the many MJ-a-likes today, it would be a Top 10 hit easily.
Next, another classic and the second single. Remember The Time is a delight from the first hearing. A gorgeous slice of R&B pop with stunning vocals; it seems such an easy record, but the genius is the way the melody penetrates your brain and would get the dead moving. Accompanied by a John Singleton directed epic, it made the video & song entwined for all those who saw it.
This is followed by Can't Let Her Get Away and is the song I alluded to earlier as possibly another filler. Again, not so; it is a modern dance record that deserves it's place on Dangerous.
By now, the listener has been shocked and amazed, we've listened to over 30 minutes of music, but we're not even half way through the Dangerous journey. If we hadn't before, we're now getting into ground breaking territory.
Track 7 slows things down. Heal The World could easily be We Are The World part 2, as it's similar in sentiment and title. However, it shows how Michael has matured as a songwriter in the intervening 7 years. At over 7 minutes long, Heal The World does exactly as it says on the tin, pleas for us all to do our bit. Sentimental? Yes. Saccharine? Yes. Sickly? No. Somehow it manages to keep just the right side of corny to become a heartfelt prayer from a great humanitarian. At the time this became Jackson's biggest selling single ever in the UK, hitting number 2 at Christmas time, only kept from the top spot by Whitney's ubiquitous 'I will Always Love You'.
Black Or White hits you next. This was the first single and became a controversial event in itself. Since the Thriller short film in 1984, a new Michael Jackson song was synonymous with an amazing video to accompany it. It may be hard to believe now, in the days of dozens of music channels, the internet, i-Tunes etc, but Michael's videos had families gathered around their TV prepared to be amazed.
But no-one was quite prepared for Black Or White. The final 4 minutes of the 11 minute film was a breathtaking, nearly silent dance-fest with Michael personifying the panther he had just morphed from to take his anger out in his dance. So great was the furore afterwards, Michael issued an apology for any offence caused. But you get the feeling it did exactly as he wanted, as he was everywhere, and the Balck Or White film was even an item on the news and you could imagine Michael sat back in Neverland chuckling to himself! The song itself is possibly Michael's purest pop song. Taking off the album intro it's the shortest song on the album and again sounds like a simple record but is an intricate piece of rock, pop and rap. It became an overnight classic hitting number one all over the globe.
For me, the second half of the album begins now. The next few tracks are ground breaking and smash all musical styles & barriers.' Who Is It' begins with a haunting choral piece before breaking into a baseline to blow your mind. This was to be recreated in the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview where Michael blew our minds again with a beat boxing accapella intro that summed up genius in 30 seconds. If 'Who Is It' was to be categorised into a genre, I suppose it's a soul epic, the last 2 minutes of which are pure pleasure as Michael adlibs his way over a repeated chorus with a voice that encapsulates heartbreak and unrequited love. Because of Michael's success in terms of sales and innovation in terms of dance, his songwriting genius can get missed, But 'Who Is It' is a perfect example of why it shouldn't be and why his production skills shouldn't be overlooked either as he single handedly produced this. In my view the best song on the album, if not his best ever.
But wait, is it his best? Because now comes track 10, 'Give In To Me'. Ever since Thriller's Beat It, we knew that Michael Jackson could manage all genres and since Dirty Diana we expected a rock track on the album, but not this. 'Give In To Me' is a track of unparalleled genius. Guitarists Eddie Van Halen & Steve Stevens are usurped by the best of the best – Slash.
Together the make a record that doesn't sound like a pop artist trying to be hard, the song wouldn't sound out of place on a Guns 'n' Roses, Aerosmith or any other rock artist's album. 'Give In To Me' is simply sublime – in all senses – songwriting, production, musically and vocally. With a massive ending that leaves you begging for more.
Will You Be There completes what I dub the holy trinity on Dangerous, the three tracks that could not be bettered. So, we've had the dance music of Jam, the R&B of Remember The Time, the pop of Black of White and the rock of Give In To Me – do you fancy some classical or gospel? How about both? Will You Be There is a song that only Michael Jackson could make. Seven and a half minutes of audible genius where Michael begs for people to remember that he's 'Only Human' and to forgive him his fallibility. I mentioned earlier Michael's songwriting skills. Will You Be There encapsulates that. The track culminates in a spoken poem, that looking back 17 years later is a poem that Nostadamus would be proud of so great is its fortune telling – 'Through my trials and tribulations, will you still care. Will You Be There'. Stunning, simply stunning.
More gospel follows in the shape of 'Keep The Faith', not a single but a great track. The only track on Dangerous that could be compared to anything on Bad due to its synthesised production, the song is an uplifting cry to believe in whatever you believe in that you will triumph over adversity. 'Dust off your butt and get your self respect back' – indeed.
Gone Too Soon is the other track not to have any songwriting input from Jackson. As first it seems out of place on Dangerous, as it's a short ballad about early loss, dedicated to AIDs sufferer Ryan White as shown in the video. Beautifully sung, as we've become accustomed to, and hits the right spot emotionally before the album draws to a close.
The album closes with the title track. Dangerous the track is different from the rest of the album in terms of both vocals & production. More mechanical and industrial sounding than the other tracks with vocals that are more rapped than sung. Consequently, it was to prove another shocker on first listen but grows into another fantastic track that was to grow in popularity when Michael performed it on the VMAs 4 years later.
I could continue and talk about the artwork. In a day when an album sleeve meant something as it wasn't to be shrunk into a half inch square on an i-pod. Dangerous has a stunning cover, illustrated by Mark Ryden offering glimpses into Michael's psyche and life. The accompanying booklet as well with full lyrics and poetry is innovatively and elegantly put together into an aesthetic joy.
So, there you have it. I could embellish on every track here, but this is why in summary I feel Dangerous is the perfect album. Fourteen tracks and 77 minutes of pure bliss, with tracks that not only stand out on there own but somehow become one cohesive piece of work that encompasses every genre out there and masters in all of them. Michael's pseudonym has become the King Of Pop but Dangerous shows he's quite simply, the King Of Music.
Thriller:
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1265736#post1265736
Bad:
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45266
Dangerous:
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44057
HIStory:
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44385
Invincible:
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44468
and i love number one and two