Ellie said:

Dangerous aside, critics generally haven't had a good thing to say about any of his post-Thriller work.

Which is why I was astounded when Vince actually got good reviews from both NME and Melody Maker!!! Both mags had been anti-MJ for so long that I thought they'd never had a good word to say about him again.

lilgish said:

I don't think it would have made much difference as the songs weren't on radio.

Wasn't a tour scrapped because of the Sony mess anyway?

Ellie said:

What Michael needs to do is this.

1. He needs to stop trying to top, "Thriller". That was a long time ago. Leave it alone and move on.

2. He needs to stop listening to people and start following his own instinct again. This is a formular that worked with "Off the Wall" and to a certain extend, with "Thriller". I have a few "lost tracks" from both albums and they are amazing. They were left off of the albums because people had advised him that they were not his style or that they would not sell. Tell me, if he had released, "Joy", instead of giving it to Blackstreet, don't you think it would have been a hit? Instead it was left off of the "Dangerous" CD and "Heal the World", was put in it's place. Don't get me wrong, I like the song, but Michael needed a song that would make people take notice for a good reason, instead of the reason of him being strange.

Finally, when it comes to "Invicible", I think it is his greatest cd since "Dangerous". It has some grooves, some of the best ballads from him in years and seemed to have something that his music has been lacking for quite some time, focus. But, like other artists, Michael has fallen victim to the voice of the record company. No longer will his music be judged by his rep. Now it is judged by what these "Bigwigs" believe the public will want to hear. If If he goes against them, they do nothing to promote the album.

shorttrini said:

What you have said is so true. I remember hearing "fly Away" which was suppose to have gone on the "Bad" album. "Bad" to date is MJ poppish album, which now sounds so dated. Can you imagine if songs like "fly Away","joy" and all those other songs which were left out in the name of record sales were included, Bad would have been more of a classic album than it is now.

To shorttrini and whatsgoingon: Agreed.


"Whatever Happens" is a good to great song. Too bad MJ's vocals suck royally on it. "DOoOoOo-doo-doo-doodoo.. I SAY YEEAHH!!... STOPDIBBIT YEEAHH!!.. *later on, entering soppy crooning mode* Whateva haPEEENSS..".. awful, awful, awful. He sounded like he couldn't breathe properly (probably the case) and was sick.

How anyone can prefer Invincible to HIStory is baffling to me.

squiddyren said:

Say what???

calldapplwondery83 said:

I'm serious. He coos and growls throughout the song as if both his nostrils are plugged up.

Cloudbuster said:

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was single-material, which Elton John proved a few years later.

carlcranshaw said:

whatever happens is my song tho!
say what u want but invincible was a pretty good album minus a few songs (speechless, 2000 watts being the 2 i would DEF. give the boot)

I found it so strange how when Invincible was released there was alot of great reviews from critics, but then all of sudden it was the worst thing MJ had ever made. What made people go from loving it so much to suddenly hating it so much? Was the tracklisting different when the first batch of critics heard it?

DarlingDiana said:

where????

I don't remember Invincible getting good reviews.

I speak as a fan when I say it didn't really deserve any either.

Three or four good cuts out of sixteen doesn't make up for a lacklustre album.

Well, in my opinion the same could be said for "Dangerous". To me, it was always 2 cuts away from being a "great" album. If you take out, "Heal the world" and "Will you be there", Michael has an album that would be in the top 10. Like I said before, there will never be another "Thriller",so he should stop trying to recreate it. Also, just because an album sells 44 million copies, does not mean that it is a "great" cd. There is a lot of things that are behind that. Let's not forget marketing. When that album came out, his face,and voice was everywhere. You could not turn the channel without seeing him. Before him, MTV would not play a video by an african-american. So, he has opened alot of doors for people, whether we like to admit it or not.

To me, "Off The Wall", will always be my favorite MJ, cd. It has some kick-butt grooves, and you can tell that he had alot of fun doing that album. One more thing, did you all ever notice that whenever he puts out an album with a theme, it never is a good cd? "Thriller, "Bad" "Dangerous" and to a certain extent, Invincable"?.. All of these have a common theme. He wants to show us, as well as to himself, that he still has it. While "Off the Wall", is just that, off the wall and carefree.

I understand that he and Teddy are in the studio working on a new CD. Teddy was quoted as saying that he and Michael will be incharge of it and aside from other producers, they are going for a more modern sound. If you asked me, all Michael needs to do is, have fun and the rest will come.

shorttrini said:

Take out Will You Be There? You must be kidding!! I agree with you on Heal The World, but that's seems to be one of Michael's favourite songs (along with You Are My Life ). Will You Be There is one of MJ's finest moments.

On subject: Whatever Happens could've easily been a summer hit. Just imagine an unplugged performance of it with just Michael and Carlos.

Every damn MJ thread turns into a "What Michael Needs To Do Thread"

ahh well

Whatever Happens is probably one of the only songs i still listen to from that album...
I use to really love that album, but i dunno after a fw monthes i just grew to hate it...

EmbattledWarrior said:

me too