All these years I have always wondered what this album cover symbolizes. Can anybody list what each of these pictures represent?

I'm kinda puzzled....

i dunno what it means 2 be honest with you,but then again it may not mean anything just showing MJ like the eccentric person he is,i think its just meant 2 be arsty fartsy,altho u can see alot of animals on the cover so maybe that represents his love 4 the animal kingdom.theres also a couple of fair rides aswell so i suppose that shows his childish mind and also see a naked child holding a skull covering its private part maybe he but that there 2 tease himself(only joking)

I never got it either but it did make for a compelling cover.

optimus said:

U know u wrong 4 that.

Anybody else notice a little MJ with an afro in the bottom right hand corner? Just noticed that today..

Bishop31 said:

[Edited 1/24/08 15:59pm]

The part I really didn't get was the dog (bottom left) in the pop-up edition. That thing was spooky.

daPrettyman said:

DAMN!

i think it represents his eccentricity and mystiqe around his own persona

this is his best album cover imo and a very strong album as well
probaly conciderd his last master piece by many

motownlover said:

In other words...he's crazy as hell.

daPrettyman said:

Timmy84 said:

"..I'm not like other guys"

Looks like he was saying that his life and all his eccentricities had turned into an amusement park for the media and fans...

Byron said:

Makes good sense.

Timmy84 said:

Its kinda like the Around The World IN A DAy cover.

Everything represents something


I see the lightskinned darkskinned child too....thats gotta say soemthing.

Industrial inside....he feels dark and depressed inside..

paisleypark4 said:

Yeah I just noticed that, it's bright & fancy outside, dark & dreary inside.

daPrettyman said:

he made this cover during his "satanist" and "scientology" experimentation period.

its around this time that he studied the scientology stuff, since he knew lisa marie.

there is also reference to the satanist material by way of the Pyramid with the one eye, used by the Freemasons.

He obviously grew out of this phase. but during his early 90s, Mj obviously had a fascination with satanist and scientology stuff.

dirtyman2005 said:

come on now!

dirtyman2005 said:

Source for this? What MJ bio you reading?

Bishop31 said:

Well he is standing on Michael Jackson's finger bandaged hand

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

u hav 2 admit that is creepy

optimus said:

Oh I can admit it, can MJ sluts?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Wow..I never noticed that!

paisleypark4 said:

Great analogy. I never looked at it that way. It makes a lot of sense.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I look at it this way..

Mike is holding up the poor sad child who is in dispair. Hence the old dusty Rhino skeleton...usually found in the desert. The child is in color which represents warmth and light between the skull and his hand which is in black and white.

it means "My face is a fucking mess and people are going to be shocked when they see me after 2 or 3 years on hiatus, so I better cover that shit up."

great cover, though.

Aside said:

Not sure about that analogy...

i listend to will you be there the other day and gee i always will be a fan of his music. who can sing like that ! very few people

I always loved the cover. It's wacko and fantastic!
I hate that I lost the Dangerous cassette I had. One day it was gone and I haven't found it since.

I think it his interpretation of how people view him, what's inside his mind... The picture on the cover represents his mind and fact that we only see his eyes, is his way of looking at us while we are looking at him...I can't help but think that he is saying,"These Mother Funkers", think they know me, well let me let the music speak for itself". This is my second favorite album by him.