Michael Jackson – Invincible (2001) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Michael Jackson – Invincible (2001)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:17:05 minutes | 1,59 GB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Epic

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 did 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. It’s a proven formula for commercial success, but it not only didn’t push his music forward, it made his reach seem rather timid when compared to the wildly rich, all-encompassing musical vision of Thriller and Bad. Here, he’s 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. It’s not as good as that sounds, because the infectious joy and layered craft of that masterpiece have been replaced with a dogged, near-maniacal 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 (a really terrible title, btw). Since he was 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 (which they are), they still have a spark and sound better than anything Jackson had done since Dangerous. That’s not enough to make Invincible the comeback Jackson needed — he really would have had to have an album that sounded free instead of constrained for that to work — but it does offer a reminder that he could really craft good pop. If only he had been fueled, not constrained, by his obsessions, this could have been really interesting. –Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracklist:
01. Michael Jackson – Unbreakable (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.) (06:23)
02. Michael Jackson – Heartbreaker (feat. Fats) (05:07)
03. Michael Jackson – Invincible (feat. Fats) (04:46)
04. Michael Jackson – Break of Dawn (05:32)
05. Michael Jackson – Heaven Can Wait (04:49)
06. Michael Jackson – You Rock My World (with intro) (05:38)
07. Michael Jackson – Butterflies (04:40)
08. Michael Jackson – Speechless (03:18)
09. Michael Jackson – 2000 Watts (04:24)
10. Michael Jackson – You Are My Life (04:33)
11. Michael Jackson – Privacy (feat. Slash) (05:04)
12. Michael Jackson – Don’t Walk Away (04:25)
13. Michael Jackson – Cry (05:00)
14. Michael Jackson – The Lost Children (04:00)
15. Michael Jackson – Whatever Happens (feat. Carlos Santana) (04:56)
16. Michael Jackson – Threatened (04:20)

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