Blood On The Dancefloor - Michael Jackson

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Excellent remixes plus new tracks .  Flows well .
Disadvantages:	Some new tracks are samey .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

INTRODUCTION

Michael's career has been a rollarcoaster one. It all started with a steep upwards slant and then seems to have gently come down over the more recent years. Indeed, I have come to expect that Michael's more modern albums would not be as good as those original classics, including "Off the wall" and "Thriller".
To be fair, his more recent work has been of a very good standard but has failed to break that trend. However, there is one album that I feel stands out in its own right as a superb masterpiece.
Criminally underrated and undersold, in my mind, this album represents the very best of Michael's latest style of music along with some truly inspiring remixes of previous releases. This album is of course "Blood on The Dance Floor".

THE CASE

We'll start with the first thing you'd see when buying this album; the case. In all honesty, it's nothing spectacular. The basic cover is black. On the front is a picture, showing a large city in background, with an over depiction of a dance floor, with black and white squares.
In the centre of this, at the front is a picture of Michael that looks as if it has been painted to look as realistic as possible by an artist.
His stance portrays him with his right leg lifted up slightly and both arms thrust out sideways, towards his right, with his head tilted to face the same direction and he looks as if he is in the middle of belting out a song. Nice.
The sky is a somewhat eerie darkish blue, with large golden clouds billowing over the city. On the top in scrawled red writing is the album title. It's a nice enough cover but nothing to write home about. The content is good though. Plenty of pictures of the star himself, alogn with song words and plenty of interesting info. Anyway, what matters most is the music. So here we go!

THE MUSIC

"Blood on the Dancefloor" is a mixture of Michael's newer songs and remixes of songs from the modern section of his "HIStory" album. The result is a rather pacey, exciting album that gives interesting new riffs and beats to established favourites, whilst interjecting with his new songs. I have reviewed several but not all the tracks here, just to give a general idea of the album.

THE TRACKS

Kicking off the preceedings is the title track itself: "Blood on the Dancefloor". Instantly setting the pace with a strong beat and some great sounds, the track seems to lull into low-tone verses with an almost sinister feel, inkeeping with the lyrics of the track. The words are very pronounced in order to help endorse this effect. It then builds into the chorus, where the beat builds to an even higher level, with a great riff to the song pushing through. The track continues in this slightly fluctuating tone and style, with the strong beat keeping the pace throughout. This song really is a credit to Michael and is very enjoyable to listen to. Towards the end, the chorus is repeated more often, while Michael interjects with his trademark yips and yelps which do compliment the chorus well. At the very end, the music subsides as the beat remains, still belting as strong as throughout the track, to then fade away and end a superb song.

"Morphine" is a rather odd track. It starts with an electricity sound effect. The beat is very industrial but there doesn't seem to be a tune as such. Instead, it feels as if Michael is shouting. It is obvious that this song was designed to make a point concerning Michael's real life but it's a shame that it fails to deliver anything more then what is a painfully average and lost track. Occasionally a tuneful part pushes through but quickly subsides. The track does not flow well at all. It fluctuates to an extreme that makes it somewhat disorientated and confusing. Tunes that do manage to push through are not consistent and this song just seems to feel like a collection of bits of other songs, with an electrical surging sound passed through. A plethora of yips and yelps have also been thrown in but seem to sound a bit "alone" or "lost" within a track that itself seems to have no direction.

"Superfly Sister" is a generally rather brilliant track. It starts off with a gentle clinking sound, where a beat is then implemented with a great basic tune. Percussion is also added in to deepen the ever building sound. The verses are distinctly average but do keep an exciting pace and the background tune still manages to express itself in a low-key way. The chorus is fantastic, with Michael's voice taking on an almost "double" sound. The riff is also more prominent here. The track is consistent but introduces variation on the beat in order to vary the track, as slightly longer intervals are created between verses and the chorus. Towards the middle of the track, a guitar is used with a different tune which still compliments the track perfectly well. Nearer the end, the chorus is repeated with different lyrics and seems to continually be interupted by variations on the tune and beat with more percussion and varying sections of lyrics from Michael. The whole track offers quite a variety within a contained style that keeps the track flowing. The basic tune is frequently referred to in the track to keep a sense of orientation. Finally the track ends with the beat subsiding and Michael singing a few last lyrics. A great song!

"Scream Louder (Flyte Tyme Remix)" is a remix of "Scream" from the HIStory album. This new version starts off with a gentle tune that is then broken into by a periodically burst of sound, where Michael lets out a scream to the appropriate backing of instrumental sound. the beat then quickly jumps in, building faster and faster to launch into a very pacey and exciting track. The new re-mix riff at first sounds like it would make as suitable a combination with "Scream" as Jive Bunny and the megamixers would with "ABBA" but once it gets going, it seems to sound fantastic. The tune stays in the backing as Michael and Janet share loud and passionately presented verses. The basic beat keeps the whole thing moving, while the verse seems to merge into the chorus with an over-voice of Michael humming in the background, with the verse growing louder. The chorus is a blast of what was a building beat and atmosphere, with a repeat of the words: "Stop Pressuring Me". The beat also seems to introduce the sound of breaking of glass when it builds up. It may sound slightly odd but works into the track beautifully. In the middle, the song takes a plunge into what is almost silence while it then instantly regains itself while introducing a variation on the beat and tune, accompanied by Michael's freely applied yelps. The chruses then build to greater heights and repeat as the track takes a turn into it's final moments. It ends suddenely, with the beat bursting to an explosive end. This is one of the best tracks on the entire album. Personally, I find it much better then the original, since it seems to have a little more depth and direction.

"Stranger is Moscow (Tee's In-House Club Mix)" is another remix from the "HIStory" album. It starts off with a thumping beat and also rather contraversially starts playing one line from the chorus. This is then switched over to another line from the chrous, while the beat is deepened with a background sound. After switching to yet another line, the track kicks off into its normal routine after a brief quietening. The verse has a magnificent tune, while the beat doesn't change too much. It then moves into the chorus, where more piano sounds are brought in. This track does particular credit to Michael's voice. The interlude where just the beat and a variation on the basic tune is played has a brilliant effect in what is a truly remarkable track and in my mind is easily an improvement on the original. Towards the end, the lines from the beginning are sung in their proper context to add a brilliant variation but yet refer back to something from the beginning which dually gives the track variety and also keeps it consistent. After this, the tune dies off as the basic beat thumps its last beats. My only criticism is that the beat remains pretty much the same throughout but overall it hardly matters in what is a terriffic song.

"Earth Song (Hani's Club Experience)" is yet another remixed HIStory hit. Most people will be familiar with the original. This remix is very different. The tune and verses are the same, although a whole new (and all too familiar) beat has been added. It starts off with the classic "jungley garden" sound, with a gentle sound pulasting through. The beat then slowly starts to build with percussion and clapping sounds, but remains low-key. A new sound that sounds like bongos is then added to the mxiture to create a variety of sounds that forms a very pleasant sound. Having established itself, this sound is finally broken by the piano-like sound at the start of Earth Song, with the basic beat then returning to re-build itself. All this then subsides with the first verse. The tune is excellent here, as different sections of the original backing sound return. The classic chorus (which has no actual words) but instead comprises of "aaaahhhh" then comes in with the backing beat and sounds in full swing. This track is very mellow and rather less fluctuating then the original. It never actually goes into the latter stages of the original but instead keeps to the former stages, with the new mellower sound. The result is a truly brilliant slant on a great hit. After a couple of choruses, the track starts to tone down, only to break back into another chrous, with the beat instantly building back up stronger then before. After this very pleasant chorus, the track starts to tone-down towards the end, bringing back the original piano-like tune which seems to compliment the ending perfectly. All in all, this track is very different to the original and I neither prefer it or not like it as much. I feel that it is a good track in its own right and deserves to be treated as such.

"HIStory (Tony Moran's HIStory Lesson)". This is another track that is very different to the original. Infact more so then any other remix. The song begins with a very deep and frequent beat that starts growing with interjections of sound and vocalistic expressions from Michael. These expressions become more frequent as the beat becomes louder and more prominent. The track then breaks into a very catchy and exciting tune (not found in the original), almost sounding like a dancey techno track. The chorus then kicks in with the basic beat accompanying. The chorus is much more pacey and has a lot more oomf then the original, with the dance-like tune returning to add depth. The whole track seems a lot less disorientated then its predecessor and seems to keep a consistent pace and style, with a brilliant new beat and tunes. Various aspects of the original, including what sounded like snippets of an old news broadcast have not been included in the remix, which in my opinion is not a bad idea, since it allows the track to freely flow and build itself up. Later on, more phrases are repeated to a very strong and repetitive beat, only to be interjected with the chorus again or a new part of the tune. This track incorporates many different tunes and beats that all fit together like a very large jigsaw. The result is a highly original, unique and mindblowing remix of the original song that delivers excitement, pace and inspiration. Stunning!

CONCLUSION

For many years Michael has set the standard in pop and rock and this album is very fitting for such an artist.
To be fair, some of the new tracks don't seem all too brilliant and just feel like something that Michael whipped up in a hurry to fill space. Others are truly unique and excellent and I can safely say that nearly all of the remixes are superb. The whole album is generally very pacey and there aren't really any gentle songs. Some of the tracks feel like they all have the same thumping beat which can let down the overall impression.
However, I would have to say that I whole heartedly recommend this album. For any MJ fans, this is a must-have.
"Ghosts is one track that I have not reviewed in this review but is actually my favourite on the entire album. I have, however, written a review on it seperately as an individual track, so if you liked this review I can recommend the "Ghosts" review also.
I actually bought this album on special offer at £5 from HMV.
In fairness, it does comprise of many remixes of songs from HIStory which lends the idea that this album doesn't have much new to offer. However, I would say that all the remixes are brilliant interpretations of the originals and many of the new songs are great.
All in all, this is a wonderful album that in my opinion (unlike Invincible and HIStory) was very underrated and undersold. If you haven't heard it before, you're definitely missing out!