Invincible - Michael Jackson

...The Dancefloor after 1995's History. Invincible was released by Epic Records and features production from Babyface, R Kelly, Rodney Jerkins, Teddy Riley and the unknown "Dr Freeze". It was released on 30th October 2001 to mixed reviews from critics and fans alike.

**The Album**

1.) Unbreakable

This starts off the album in a superb way with a full on stomper of a track which features a stupendous ...
...

3.) Invincible

This is a great title track which starts off with some warm sounding hooks and a funky beat. This has a slower pace than the previous tracks but still has a heavier feel than the majority of the album. This is a very impressive track which moves along well and Jackson's vocals are strong and add a great touch to the overall feel of the track.

4.) Break of Dawn

This kicks off the ... more

**Introduction**

Michael Jackson has become a lot like Marmite with many people around the world over the last few years. Some either Hate him or Like me Love him. (Or rather his Musical legacy). With all the bad press I thought we should focus on something positive and With his huge upcoming stand at London's 02 Arena coming up I thought it was time to review the album that is freshest in the memory of Michael Jackson fans and that album is of course his 2001 album Invincible.

**Invincible**

It's been eight years since Michael Jackson released this album and that makes his previous gaps between albums seem like an artist who releases an album every year or year and a half where it has always been around four years apart from 1997's Blood on The Dancefloor after 1995's History. Invincible was released by Epic Records and features production from Babyface, R Kelly, Rodney Jerkins, Teddy Riley and the unknown "Dr Freeze". It was released on 30th October 2001 to mixed reviews from critics and fans alike.

**The Album**

1.) Unbreakable

This starts off the album in a superb way with a full on stomper of a track which features a stupendous beat which is accompanied by the many hooks. It also features background vocals from Brandy and a rap sample from Notorious BIG. This is a great start to the album and is a preview of the way the first three tracks go.

2.) Heartbreaker

This is another uptempo stomper but though not quite as heavy as the opening track it still features a beat that thumps along and some funky hooks. Jackson's vocals start understated then he gradually gets louder as the song progresses. This track is about a relationship that has gone wrong that you knew was going to end this way.

3.) Invincible

This is a great title track which starts off with some warm sounding hooks and a funky beat. This has a slower pace than the previous tracks but still has a heavier feel than the majority of the album. This is a very impressive track which moves along well and Jackson's vocals are strong and add a great touch to the overall feel of the track.

4.) Break of Dawn

This kicks off the ballads on the album with a very impressive track. The instruments come in slowly and are joined by the beat of the drum which pounds throughout. This track is about a romantic night where you spend time with each other and "make love to the break of dawn" Although this is a ballad it does have a quicker tempo than the other ballads on the album.

5.) Heaven Can Wait

This brings the album back to the more uptempo tracks with a very impressive track, It opens softly with a dark melody which leads into the other instruments kicking in. The drum beat is slightly different than Break of Dawn and Jackson's vocals are on fine form. He shows he still has the vocal prowess later in the track when he erupts into some sensational vocals.

6.) You Rock My World

This was the first single from the album and features an introductory skit with Chris Tucker about seeing a beautiful woman and arguing about being able to get with her. This is a very funky track which has a great beat to dance to. This is one of the most flowing tracks on the album and is a great one to dance to with your mates.

7.) Butterflies

This is an interesting track because although it has a ballad like feel, it has a heavier beat than usual. This works very well against the laid back vocals from Jackson. I love the gentle strings in the background as Jackson sings, they add a subtle yet beautiful touch that really adds to the overall feel. A very good track indeed. It was originally recorded by Floetry.

8.) Speechless

This is one of the best ballads on the album and really nothing like anything else on the album. At 3 minutes 18 seconds this is quite comfortably the shortest song on the album but also one of the sweetest. Jackson proves he can still sing the pants off anyone with his laid back beautiful vocals. This is a really beautiful track and one of the greatest moments of the album.

9.) 2000 Watts

This brings the album back to full on uptempo stompers as this is a full on thumper of a track. This track features input from Tyrese Gibson and Teddy Riley and this results in a very impressive uptempo track that has a great beat and a great flow. One of the best tracks on the album to dance to as it's just so catchy.

10.) You Are My Life

Back to the Ballads we go for the moment with this tender heartfelt ballad about telling someone what they mean to you. The simple drum machine sequence works well with the other instrumentation and the backing vocals are amongst the best on the album. This is another very impressive ballad indeed. Great stuff.

11.) Privacy

This is an amazing track about how Michael Jackson feels about the media intrusion he experiences. This features long-time collaborator Slash on Guitar and he provides some incredible guitar work which culminates in a really spectacular guitar solo which needs to be heard. A very impressive track particularly musically.

12.) Don't Walk Away

Back to the Ballads we go after the previous up-tempo track. This starts with gentle guitar and strings and then the percussion comes in softly. Jackson's vocals are tender and emotive and as the song develops his vocals become more centre stage. This features some beautiful backing music which adds a great deal to the emotion of the song.

13.) Cry

This is an R Kelly penned track which talks about the problems in the world like the issues and subjects of war, loneliness, lying, changing the world, depression, suicide, miracles, and faith. This is another great Michael Jackson ballad penned by R Kelly. I love the way the song develops until it really erupts towards the end.

14.) The Lost Children

This is maybe the weakest track on the album but is still a very good track indeed. It opens with a gentle piano piece which leads into the vocals from Jackson, The simple beat moves along well. The choir is a feature throught the track and Jackson's vocals really shine towards the end when the track gets to it's climax. It closes with children playing then going home as it's dark.

15.) Whatever Happens

This is an incredible track which features Carlos Santana on guitar. The Beat is another heavy beat and the song flows as well as any track I can think of. Guitar Legend Carlos Santana provides his amazing guitar playing to great effect on this track with several great moments. This is a clear indication why Michael Jackson is the total package.

16.) Threatened

This is the Thriller for 2001, It's a dark track which features snippets from Rod Serling. This is a very funky uptempo track which features lots of hooks and loops. This closes out the album very well as it shows the mix of ballads and uptempo tracks which feature on the album. Not as good as Thriller but very good all the same.

**Overall**

There we are, 16 tracks feature on this album and there's not one bad track at all. There are certainly some tracks which are up there with anything he has done in his career. Whilst this has certainly not recorded the insane number of sales albums like Thriller, Dangerous and Bad have it is still a great album with great collaborations and one that should live in the same memory as all of Michael Jackson's other albums as it is a great album itself.

Also posted on Dooyoo as Lakerfanster 

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