Michael Jacksons History Album, MJ Wrote 12 Songs on HIStory

The HIStory album was released on June 20, 1995, and was Michael's first solo album to contain a greatest hits package along with new tracks!

In total the two-disc album contains 30 songs adding up to over 150 minutes of music! Special editions of the HIStory album were released in Canada, Germany, Holland, and France in which Michael spoke directly to his fans of these countries thanking them for their support over the years and promising to tour their countries soon.

The first disc "HIStory Begins" of this album contains 15 of Michael's number one hits - songs that made him the 'King' of the entertainment industry.

The second disc "HIStory Continues" of this album contained 15 brand new songs, 12 of which were composed and written by Michael himself. The second disc of the 'History' album also credited Michael for the first time with playing the keyboards, Synthesizer, drums and percussion, and guitar.

Special appearances on the album were made by Janet Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, the late Notorius B.I.G, Boyz II Men, and Slash.

The album was controversial, with many angry songs - Michael's reply to the press and allegations that had been plaguing his life and career over the previous few years, as well as had a softer edge with ballads such as "You Are Not Alone", "Earth Song", "Stranger In Moscow" and "Smile". Shortly after it's release the 'HIStory' album was pulled from the shelves due to the the controvercial lyrics in the song "They Don't Care About Us", and new copies of the album were released with a formal apology written by Michael to those who may be offended by the lyrics.

5 singles were released off of this album; "Scream", "Earth Song", "You Are Not Alone", "Stranger In Moscow", and "They Don't Care About Us". The album hit #1 in 19 countries around the world, with world wide sales of over 15 million. The "You Are Not Alone" single broke a world record when it became the first-ever single to debut at #1 on the Billboard music charts.

The track listing of 'HIStory' is as follows:

DISC ONE:

1. Billie Jean (written by Michael Jackson)
2. The Way You Make Me Feel (written by Michael Jackson)
3. Black Or White (written by Michael Jackson)
4. Rock With You (written by Rod Temperton)
5. She's Out Of My Life (written by Tom Bahler)
6. Bad (written by Michael Jackson)
7. I Just Can't Stop Loving You (written by Michael Jackson)
8. Man In The Mirror (written by Siedah Garrett & Glen Ballard)
9. Thriller (written by Rod Temperton)
10. Beat It (written by Michael Jackson)
11. The Girl Is Mine (written by Michael Jackson)
12. Remember The Time (written by Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley & Bernard Bell)
13. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (written by Michael Jackson)
14. Wanna Be Startin' Somthin' (written by Michael Jackson)
15. Heal The World (written by Michael Jackson)

DISC TWO

1. Scream (Duet with Janet Jackson) (written by Michael and Janet Jackson, James Harris III & Terry Lewis)
2. They Don't Care About Us (written by Michael Jackson)
3. Stranger In Moscow (written by Michael Jackson)
4. This Time Around (written by Michael Jackson)
5. Earth Song (written by Michael Jackson)
6. D.S (written by Michael Jackson)
7. Money (written by Michael Jackson)
8. Come Together (written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney)
9. You Are Not Alone (written by R. Kelly)
10. Childhood (Theme from Free Willy 2) (written by Michael Jackson)
11. Tabloid Junkie (written by Michael Jackson, James Harris III & Terry Lewis)
12. 2 Bad (written by Michael Jackson)
13. HIStory (written by Michael Jackson, James Harris III & Terry Lewis)
14. Little Susie (written by Michael Jackson)
15. Smile (written by John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons)

Michael Jackson’s Invincible 2001 CD Will Be A Classic In Collections

INVINCIBLE On October 29, 2001 (October 30th in North America) Michael Jackson's latest album was released! Titled, "Invincible", the 16-track album has been said to be Michael's best work since 'Thriller', and was expected to revolutionize the music industry as we know it today....

The album was released on CD, and vinyl and released with 5 different covers. Album covers were printed in white/silver, blue, green, red and orange, to make collecting the CDs "more fun" for fans!
However, after the first single "You Rock My World" was released it became clear that Sony Music were nt interested in promoting the album. Only 1 more single "Cry" written by R. Kelly was released and that was without a proper music video.

Track Listing

1. Unbreakable
2. Heartbreaker
3. Invincible
4. Break Of Dawn
5. Heaven Can Wait
6. You Rock My World
7. Butterflies
8. Speechless
9. 2000 Watts
10. You Are My Life
11. Privacy
12.. Don't Walk Away
13. Cry
14. The Lost Children
15. Whatever Happens
16. Threatened

Invincible is the tenth and final studio album completed and released by American recording artist Michael Jackson during his lifetime. The album was released by Epic Records on October 30, 2001, six years after Jackson's 1995 double disc studio album HIStory. The album art is an image of Jackson's face with his right eye pixelated in a deeper hue (the rest of his face appears as a watermark). When it was first released, it was available in five different colors - the standard silver cover, along with red, green, orange, and blue. As of 2009, the red, green, orange, and blue covers are out of print. To date, Invincible has sold an estimated 8 million copies worldwide.

It's finally here, six years and 21 million dollars later. And while the production is never less than sumptuous, does it really contain six years' worth of great tune? NAME heard it once in a room full of liggers, so our remarks should be understood with that proviso. But it didn't sound all that to us...

1. Unbreakable
Dramatic, machine-tooled opener operating at producer Rodney Jerkins' slightly-slower-than-you'd-expect patent tempo, this is the only tune that really stuck in NME's head the morning after hearing it. Featuring a rap by Notorious BIG, it's lyrically defiant and the longest track at nearly six and a half minutes.

2. Heartbreaker
A busy, percussive groove with a compulsive repetitive chorus but a classic soaring Jacko middle eight. The words excoriate some girl who's, yes, broken Michael's heart.

3. Invincible
The riff is slightly reminiscent of Sly & The Family Stone's 'Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again)' (which Jackson used on his remix of 'Scream'). The lyrics describe Jacko competing for the affections of a girl with another bloke who buys her "diamonds and pearls". Jacko isn't getting anywhere because she's, yes, invincible. It's a good, hard R&B record, but on first listen not really much of a song.

4. Break Of Dawn
The first ballad and a typical mid-paced R&B production (by Teddy Riley) with bells and strings a-go-go. Features excellent Jackson vocals and even tweeting birds but it's hardly cutting edge.

5. Heaven Can Wait
Around this point you realise that Jackson is no longer pioneering - this would be a good Usher ballad. It has classic "if I should die tonight" love lyrics and swelling chords, but doesn't add up to all that much.

6. You Rock My World
Since this sounds unremarkable the first 16 times but suddenly turns mysteriously great on the 17th, it serves as a warning not to judge the rest of the album prematurely. It's the full version, including the annoying intro.

7. Butterflies
Slow, dragging funk with Fender Rhodes piano and huge harmonies, it's Michael talking about some girl who gives him "butterflies inside". It finishes with the lyrics "I wish I could be in you tonight". Oo-er!

8. Speechless
Written and produced by Jacko alone, this is the first really soaring tune on the album. Possibly a tad sugary for some tastes, it at least has an indubitably strong chorus. It's also beautifully sung, with a good chord change at the end. A glimpse of what could have been before the production armies marched in?

9. 2000 Watts
Hard, hammering and chant-like, this is a definite highlight. With minimal, industrial production, it's a rough equivalent to 'They Don't Care About Us' on 'HIStory'. The tribal feel underlines that this album is really good at rhythm, but unfortunately less so at tune.

10. You Are My Life
A Carpenters-style ballad with a soppy key change, this is neither here nor there.

11. Privacy
Very slow funk, with the tempo (and tune) of Jacko's old cover of The Beatles' 'Come Together'. It also sounds a bit like Bobby Brown's 'My Prerogative', before turning into Whitney Houston's 'Queen Of The Night'. Lyrically, the title says it all - but at least it has balls.

12. Don't Walk Away
Despite the title, this passed NME by. It's a ballad.

13. Cry
The first single in the US, this is an R Kelly-penned belter adorned with a massive gospel choir. It'll be released as the Christmas single over here. A proper song, it's about the death of a loved one and should strike a chord with the latent Jacko massive.

14. The Lost Children
It's a waltz, with interesting chord changes and - yup! - a children's choir. Has refreshingly light production compared to the sonic assault of the rest of the album, but it's a bit wishy-washy

15. Whatever Happens
Bossa nova bollocks featuring Carlos Santana, this is like a lo-cal version of Terence Trent D'Arby's 'Sign Your Name'
16. Threatened
More Rodney Jerkins funk, this has a compulsive upward chord sequence and good drum rolls. Sporting a 'Thriller'-style rap, it's an emphatic end to a less than convincing album.

And that's it. On first listen, 'Invincible' is a good R&B record, but certainly not pioneering - and there's a question mark over too many of the melodies. It doesn't sound like the album that will save Jacko's US career, and why it's taken so long remains a mystery.

Michael Jackson's Invincible Album on CD

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Top Album Of All Time

Ever since Michael was a young boy he had dreamed of recording the biggest selling album of all time.

Released in 1982 that album was "Thriller". Again Michael worked with Quincey Jones as producer and Rod Temperton writing some of the songs including the title track.

The aim was for every song to stand on its own as a single.Quincey had kept telling Michael they needed a great rock song on the album, Michael had "Beat It" but Michael wasn't confident enough in his own song writing at this stage in his career and held onto the song, but eventually he played it to Quincy who loved it. Michael was trying to get the message across of not turning to violence and avoid the trouble.

Michael again collaborated with Paul McCartney and they came up with "Say Say Say" which Paul had on his album and Michael had "The Girl Is Mine" both hit singles. The massive hit "Billie Jean" a song penned based on experiences Michael and his brothers had from girl fans was a massive worldwide hit Billie Jean.

Sisters Janet and LaToya featured on back up vocals on "Pretty Young Thing" The album was also boosted with groundbreaking videos that helped album sales soar.
The album has sold over 50 million copies.

Tracklings
1.Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (Jackson)
2.Baby Be Mine" (Temperton)
3. The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) (Jackson)
4. Thriller" (Temperton)
5. Beat It" (Jackson)
6. Billie Jean" (Jackson)
7. Human Nature" (Bettis/Porcaro)
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (Ingram/Jones)
9 The Lady In My Life" (Temperton)

There will never be another artist like Michael Jackson. He had everything. The sex appeal, the voice, the experience, the connections- Michael Jackson epitomized everything about a pop artist. Despite his recent history and the jokes that go hand in hand (which haven’t been funny for years), Michael Jackson proves on his albums that no matter what he does, he has something great that everyone will remember him for. Thriller stands out as one of the best albums in his career, showcasing some of his most legendary songs ever.

The success of Thriller is flat out scary. The album skyrocketed to the top of the charts and stayed there for 80 weeks, one of only 3 albums to reach that level. Today, it stands as the second highest selling album in the United States and according to some sources, the highest selling album ever in the world. Seven of the nine songs on Thriller became singles, and three of them are among Jackson’s greatest hits. Thriller shows Michael Jackson branching off into a large amount of genres, including rock, R&B, funk, and just straight up 80s synth pop. Despite all the different areas of music, Jackson almost subconsciously inputs his undeniable catchiness and appeal. He took a larger songwriting and production role on this album, allowing him to really play to his strengths. He shows an obvious influence from artists like James Brown, George Clinton, and Stevie Wonder, but he also pulls in some even bigger star power. He called on Paul McCartney, immortally famous Beatles member, to do a duet with him. They “collaborated” and produced The Girl is Mine, the first single off of Thriller

Jackson actually wrote all of The Girl is Mine, not allowing McCartney in any of the writing. McCartney simply adds his voice and more importantly, his name to the song. Unfortunately, even with the talents of two of the greatest pop artists of all time, The Girl is Mine fails to impress. The song is a slow, dreamy love song, allowing the vocal talent to stand out. However, the poppy hooks fail to catch the attention of the listener and the music itself pails in comparison to most of the album. Regardless, The Girl is Mine found instant success, maybe due to the star power in the song. It peaked at #2 in the pop singles chart. However, The Girl is Mine was only the beginning of the success for Thriller. Jackson then released Billie Jean, a much more uptempo and overall better song than his previous effort. Jackson also wrote Billie Jean entirely, and proves his undeniable songwriting talent on the song. It grooves a simple drum beat and a fantastic, jumpy bassline. Melodically, a synth chord progression outlines the verse, but more and more instruments add in to the climatic chorus. The chorus features extremely catchy vocal harmonies and a superb funky guitar line. That line later expands into an instrumental bridge, and the guitar stands out as a certain highlight of the song. Billie Jean shot to #1 in both the Black Singles and Pop Singles charts.

Thriller contains two more extremely important tracks, the first being the title track. Known more for its dance moves and music video, Thriller is about as epic as a pop song gets. The song draws from Tower of Power horn licks and Funkadelic pop sensibility. The huge brass statement that leads the song into its main groove simply states that Thriller plans to go beyond the normal limits of a pop song. The song outlines the story of a cheesy horror film, which the video conveys perfectly. Immediately following Thriller is Beat It, which also brings in some extreme extra star power. Jackson called on Eddie Van Halen to play guitar on this song. The song draws heavily from the hair metal wave taking the rock nation by storm. The song actually peaked at #14 on the rock charts as well as #1 once again on the Pop Singles and Black Singles charts. Van Halen’s guitar playing is just as lackluster as McCartney’s appearance, but at least Van Halen isn’t as legendary as McCartney. He bursts out his typical fret-burning solo that somehow never impresses me. However, it’s a common misconception that fast guitar playing equals good guitar playing, so fans ate the song up. The riffing plays fairly stereotypical, but this isn’t on a Van Halen album, it’s on a Michael Jackson album, and Jackson lets his audience know that. His poppy vocal harmonies and lyrics make this song for what it is..

Overall, Thriller is composed much like a sandwich. The bread covers the top and bottom, the less interesting part of the sandwich. On Thriller, tracks 1-3 make a good first impression but after hearing the entire album, they just do not live up to the middle of the album, or the meat of the album. The three huge singles, Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean all stand out even today as some of the greatest pop singles of all time. Finally, the last half of the album feels much like the beginning. Human Nature and The Lady in My Life are both good tracks, featuring some great bass and Jackson’s more sensitive side, but still never live up to the catchiness and fun of the middle of the album. However, as the entire album is listenable all the way through and each track has at least its moments, Thriller stands as one of Jackson’s greatest efforts, giving him an eternal legacy in pop music.

Thriller can be purchased New or in collectible form. Vinyl is more collectible than a CD. The vinyl versions are also expected to go up in value as more people chose to re discover MJ.

Thiller Collectors Editions:

Thriller Vinyl Albums For Sale

Thriller on CD For Sale

Michael Jackson’s BAD Album and CD are Real Bad

Released in 1987 Michael devoted two and a half years to recording the follow up up to Thriller.

Michael again worked with Quincy Jones, and they both set out to make the most perfect album humanly possible.

Michael wrote all but 2 of the songs on the album, "Man In the Mirror" a great self message song co-written by Siedah Garrett who co sings on the love song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" and "Just Good Friends" the duet with Stevie Wonder were the only other tracks not written by Michael.

On the Cd, new technolgy allowed space for an extra track "Leave Me Alone" a simple message and along with the video gets the message across of him wanting some privacy and trying to dispell some of the ludicrious stories constantly surrounding the now global superstar.

The album has sold over 25 million copies.

Track listing:

1. Bad
2. The Way You Make Me Feel
3. Speed Demon
4. Liberian Girl
5. Just Good Friends (Duet with Stevie Wonder)
6. Another Part of Me
7. Man in the Mirror
8. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
9. Dirty Diana" (Jackson)
10. Smooth Criminal" (Jackson)

Extra track on the CD
11. Leave Me Alone" (Jackson)

Michael Jackson Bad on Vinyl, Album

Michael Jackson's Bad on CD