I think, from the first listenings, that Invincible is the worst MJ adult album, for sure. BOTDF is the best album for me!

But its the album I listened to the most in the past 20 years, and everytime I listen to it, for the 10/12 best songs on it, I really live what I hear.

The songs on it are good, the problem is the production, the mixing, the background vocals MJ didn't do anymore..

Some tracks were really innovative ( Heartbreaker, Theatened),
some were all time pop classics amd would have been hits for sure ( Whatever Happens, Speechless),
some were really, really good in a new genre for MJ but sadly lacked of MJs background vocals ( Butterflies, Heaven Can Wait, Break of Dawn),
some were sweet hidden pleasures ( 2000 Watts, Unbreak, Invincible)...

And then some were really not of the level of such an artist who released an album every 4/5 years : YAML, Don't Walk Away, Cry, Privacy...

alphastreet said:

1999-2001 saw some quick changes in the R&B sound, and when Invincible came out,
it fit in very well at the time, but you’re right, if it had come out in 1999, it would have been leading that sound instead of following it. Then again, I don’t know if maybe the sound of the day influenced the final production on the tracks.

Personally, I just don’t think it’s that bad of an album. Maybe I’m crazy, I’d probably rate it above Bad. As awesome as it was, and the killer short films it produced, the sound has that mid-late 80’s sound that permeated everything, from tons of genres, where it sounds like everything was produced on children toy keyboards. Stevie Wonder’s Characters - released the same year as Bad - suffers from this same exact thing.

I mean, it’s not a knock on the Bad album, where virtually every track is good - and it was a perfectly balanced album - it’s just that the late 80’s has that iconic but overplayed sound.

Invincible on the other hand, has aged a lot better. Some of the songs sound like they could be singles today, 20 years later.

The only track that is too overwrought for me is The Lost Children, but the music to the song was solid, just needed some less-sappy lyrics.

It’s a solid B+ album for me, probably the same rating I’d give Bad and HIStory. Thriller, OTW and Dangerous I rate as A+, near-perfect albums (Dangerous just needed a slow jam).

If you’re comparing his albums to his peers, I’d rate it an A+ hands-down. Even if Invincible sounded similar to other artists, I think it was better. I was always just a casual fan until Invincible, but I got into his work largely because I thought Invincible sounded better than all the pop on the radio.

I wouldn't even classify "Blood on the dance floor" as a album.I look at it as a maxi single.There is only 5 new songs and the rest are lame remixes that have aged badly.
I do love the 5 new songs,the artwork,and the music video for the title track.
I can't get enough of the song "Dangerous".anyone else prefer the demo version included on the ultimate collection more than the album version?

Superstition said:

I don’t feel invincible songs weee better than what was on the radio in 2002, but it was definitely better than what was on the radio in 2002 and deserved to do better