Genre: Pop
Label Number: EK 69400
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© 2001 Epic/Sony Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
.FLAC via Florenfile
.AAC 256 kbps via Florenfile
© 2001 Epic/Sony Records
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Let's get the clichéd bad joke out of the way to begin with: at the time Michael Jackson released Invincible
in the fall of 2001, he hardly seemed "invincible" -- it was more
wishful thinking than anything else, since he hadn't really had a
genuine hit in ten years, and even that paled in comparison to his total
domination of the '80s. That lack of commercial success, combined with a
fading reputation as a trailblazer, a truly ugly public scandal, and
swirling rumors about his diminishing finances, along with a huge wait
between albums (by teaming his Dangerous follow-up with a hits collection, it wound up being overlooked, despite a gaudy publicity push), resulted in Jackson
being deep down in the hole, needing to surge back out with a record
that not only proved his talents, but his staying power. So, faced with a
make-or-break record, what did Jackson do to save his career? What he had done since Dangerous,
take a turn toward the street and craft a hard-driving, hard-polished
urban soul album, heavy on the dance numbers and sweetened by lugubrious
ballads. That's a proven formula for commercial success, but it didn't
push his music forward, particularly when compared to the wildly rich,
all-encompassing musical vision of Thriller and Bad.
Here, he is reined in by a desire to prove himself, so he keeps his
focus sharp and narrow, essentially creating a sparkly, post-hip-hop
update of Off the Wall.
However, the infectious joy and layered craft of that masterpiece have
been replaced with a desire to craft something hip enough for the clubs
and melodic enough for mainstream radio, thereby confirming his
self-proclaimed status as the King of Pop. Since he is exceptionally
talented and smart enough to surround himself with first-rate
collaborators, this does pay off on occasion, even when it feels a
little too calculated or when it feels a little padded. Ultimately, the
record runs too long, losing steam halfway through, as it turns to a
series of rants about "Privacy" or a deadly stretch of uncomfortably
treacly, sub-"Man in the Mirror" songs about "The Lost Children," or
when he says that he can't change the world by himself on "Cry."
Fortunately, Jackson
was clever enough to front-load this record, loading the first seven
songs with really good, edgy dance numbers -- even the opening
"Unbreakable" isn't sunk by the creepy resurrection of Biggie Smalls -- and lovely ballads, highlighted by "Break of Dawn" and "Butterflies" with its Bacharach-styled
horns. Even if these are too self-conscious and a little mechanical,
they still have a spark and sound better than anything Jackson did since Dangerous. That's not enough to make Invincible the comeback Jackson
needed -- he really would have needed an album that sounded free
instead of constrained for that to work -- but it did offer a reminder
that he could really craft good pop.
tags: michael jackson, invincible, 2001, flac,
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