The Music of Michael Jackson
From Off The Wall to Invincible in Celebration of His Final Concerts
May 16, 2009
Michael Jackson single handedly established the foundation of Pop music and still holds the best selling record of all time after 25 years. In addition, Michael Jackson re-invented the art of music videos to use as a marketing tool for his albums, one of the many reasons his albums have sold hundreds of millions of copies and continues to sell each year.
Off the Wall / Thriller
Michael Jackson’s first solo attempt, Off the Wall, was a successful one, which spawned such hits as Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Workin’ Day and Night and the eternal classic, Rock With You. Even after the fall of Disco, Off the Wall continues to be a staple in Michael Jackson’s solo career and propelled him into his journey of iconic status.
After experimenting with the Disco sound, Michael went to work on what quickly became the best selling album off alltime. Thriller plays like scenes in a broadway show especially since big budget videos accompanied his biggest singles: Thriller, the creepy horror film with the spine-chilling voice of Vincent Price; Beat It, the fight song reminiscent of scenes from the West Side Story; and Billie Jean, based on numerous groupie encounters where Michael excessively denies fathering a child. However, it was his infamous Moonwalk performance on Motown 25 that catapulted Michael Jackson into superstardom, untouchable and The King of Pop.
Bad / Dangerous
With Bad, Michael Jackson experimented with more of a rock sound including heavy guitars. Speed Demon and Dirty Diana introduced the audience to Michael Jackson’s rock persona while The Way You Make Me Feel, Liberian Girl and I Can’t Stop Loving You are traditional Michael Jackson love songs. This record also included the first of many socially conscious songs, Man In the Mirror. Just like his previous albums, Michael Jackson used big budget music videos for his top singles; many of which were included in his film Moonwalker including Smooth Criminal, Leave Me Alone and Speed Demon.
Michael’s fourth solo album, Dangerous, includes traces of New Jack Swing, a sub-genre of R&B music that was popularized by producer Teddy Riley in the late 80’s and early 90’s; Dangerous also dabbled in Hip Hop with such songs as Jam, She Drives Me Wild, and the top selling Black or White. Michael Jackson used Black & White and Remember the Time as the face of Dangerous with top budget videos.
HIStory / Invincible
This album is when the world felt Michael Jackson’s wrath. Fresh from child molestation allegations, the Pop star poured his heart, frustrations and anger into this album. For the first time in Michael Jackson’s career, HIStory included profanity and hatred against those who pointed the finger at him – the tabloids and former District Attorney Tom Sneddon. The first half of the album included Michael Jackson’s biggest hits of his solo career thus far.
Michael Jackson's HIStory
Michael Jackson's latest album, Invincible, unfortunately did not garner the same respect as his past albums because of the lack of publicity behind it, but it held its own. This happened to be the only album that did not include numerous flashy videos, except for the lead single You Rock My World.
Unbreakable included a posthumous feature from rapper Notorious B.I.G, but it’s the love ballads that are the biggest highlights. Both Heaven Can Wait and Butterflies are breathless. Although Invincible has sold millions of copies, it clearly did not get the same recognition it deserved. However, hard-core fans will find enjoyment in anything Michael Jackson creates.
Michael Jackson’s staying power is solely contributed to his evolution of music throughout his career. Each album gave his audience something new to listen to and his mini-films transitioned the art of video making with the success of Thriller. Now that Michael Jackson is giving his final curtain call in London, one can only hope that performing will give him the desire to get back in the studio.
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