Ordering Invincible from Amazon.co.uk on Sunday, I got it Tuesday morning, a mere £5.85 thanks to a free voucher. £5.85 for 16 songs. (Not 16 tracks, new albums tend to show 16-18 tracks, some are like 5 seconds long). £5.85 for 77 minutes of quality music.
Track by track guide:
1. UNBREAKABLE (6 MINS 25) 4/10
Hardly the best way to start an album. A quirky repetitive jazz-pop piano riff, very mediocre indeed. A very "typical" pop track, and I think the minor sounding piano chords clash badly with Jacko's voice. This hardly shows anything special that Jacko has.
2. HEARTBREAKER (5.10) 5/10
Once again a very very similar type of background repetitive melody to the first track. R&B style lyrics, sung very well. Just once again the background music is badly clashing, a different loop would have made this fine.
3. INVINCIBLE (4.45) 4/10
Does not really live up to its name. YET AGAIN theres a quirky, annoying background track and the lyrics and singing is far from perfect too. Jacko is straining to reach some of the notes and this too is very mediocre.
4. BREAK OF DAWN (5.32) 10/10 A nice powerful introduction, just pure magic.
Acoustic guitar melodies, and the sound of birds in the background. Through the song a nice soothing background tracking and smooth singing. Nice backing vocals in the chorus.
5. HEAVEN CAN WAIT (4.49) 8/10
Intriguing xylophone melody before breaking into a smooth R&B track. Nice slow pace. Romantic lyrics, very well sung. A "typical" yet breathtaking R&B ballad.
An irritating introductory dialogue before the song you will all know. An insult that this failed to reach number 1. Not Jackson's best comeback debut, but very catchy. There's excessive and unecessary "ooh-ahh-meh-che" vocalling but this is a great dance track.
7. BUTTERFLIES (4.40) 7/10
The title reminds me of a Mariah Carey hit. Another R&B track with thick electronic drums. Whilst the lyrics are nice, the tune is smooth, the music is very mediocre and repeptitive, the drumming is too loud.
8. SPEECHLESS (3.18) 8/10
Bizarrely the start of this track reminds me of a typical Beautiful South track, the a-capella ballad. This is quite a nice ballad, though somewhat a bit too feminine for Jacko.
9. 2000 WATTS (4.24) 6/10
Sounds like a Backstreet Boys kind of "well-ard" pop track. At least Jacko tries to experiment but this clearly is not his style.
10. YOU ARE MY LIFE (4.33) 10/10
Beautiful ballad, Jackson at his best. Sounds like a Disney kind of ballad, very relaxing. Lyrics very meaningful too, "You are the sun, close in my heart..."
11. PRIVACY (5.05) 5/10
Daft film-parody stlye introductory dialogue. Half a minute later there's another dark pop track, similar style to track 9. Doesn't suit Jackson - it might have in the 1980s but he is now past this.
12. DON'T WALK AWAY (4.25) 9/10
Another slow emotional ballad, with repetitive acoustic guitar and strings in the background. Nice foreign percussion instruments, this is the style that suits Jacko best.
13. CRY (5.01) 10/10
ABSOLUTE MAGIC. The 2001 equivalent of his infamous "Heal The World" track content-wise. He again cries to save the planet, though this time acknowledging "I can't do it by myself" - this ballad is the sort that could be a theme tune to UN or whatever, it represents peacefulness and united harmony. Superb. Play it LOUD, the percussion stereo is greatly effective.
14. THE LOST CHILDREN (4.00) 9/10
Hmm... Jacko with an interest in children? Really? I would have not guessed. Anyway this is yet another fantastic ballad, a really soothing melody, chords which work together really well, and a strong family theme in the lyrics.
15. WHATEVER HAPPENS (4.56) 8/10
Spanish style intro. He tells a story about a woman occupying his mind. Slightly mediocre, nothing special but still a relaxing track, the Spanish acoustic guitar works well.
16. THREATENED (4.19) 6/10
Following a great string of soothing ballads, Jacko makes a change with another pop track. Very mediocre, very similar to the other pop tracks on this album and isn't the best of endings, as it doesn't leave the listener thinking it was particularly special.
CONCLUSION
Jacko is obviously under which musical style to adopt, the 16 track disc has a random mix of ballads, R&B hits and pop tracks. This is not a good idea, as few people will like all tracks equally. I for one absolutely love the ballads on the album, they are just fantasitc, but I find the opening pop tracks absolute pap. Anyone could perform them, it doesn't show Jacko's great talent.
My out of 10 rankings give an average of 72.5%. The mediocre and annoyingly quirky pop tracks are compensated by some of the best ballads Jacko has ever written.
Do a ballad album next time. Or make 1 album dedicated to pop, one to ballads? Like Blood on the Dancefloor was a dance remix only album, so appealed just to that audience. This album will please everyone in the sense that everyone will like something, though very few will like all.
Anjool
PS isnt it sooooooo annoying when u spend ages writing a review, upload your review just for someone else to submit their crap review 5 seconds later so your review gets no publicity on the main page!!!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
If this was an album by someone else, people/the media would say it was great!
I have to say I don't like "Break of Dawn", "Heaven Can Wait", or "Lost Children". I love "Don't Walk Away" and "You Rock My World". "Butterflies" is a good cover version. "2000 Watts" should have gone on a storm in the clubs.
Great review, even though I don't like all the same songs as you.
treeman 06.11.2001 22:24
love to see you dig your way out of this one with dabmim, I suggest big apology. didn't read his so can't comment. treeman
treeman 06.11.2001 22:22
Very good op. loved the way you summed up each track without writing too much on each one, some can be so darn boring that way. Pretty good op. treeman
For such a boldly titled and apparently driven attempt to reinstate Michael Jackson at the ... more
centre of the pop world,Invincibleis a listless thing. Split between scratchy funk workouts and mid-tempo ballads that might have appeared asBadB-sides, the albu...
Postage & Packaging: £1.24 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
For such a boldly titled and apparently driven attempt to reinstate Michael Jackson at the ... more
centre of the pop world, Invincible is a listless thing. Split between scratchy funk workouts and mid-tempo ballads that might have appeared as Bad B-sides, the ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Nov 6th, 2001
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