Tag: Michael Jackson

audio review : Blood On The Dance Floor ( song ) … Michael Jackson

The main flaw of this song has less to do with music than promotion. Epic Records, Michael Jackson’s label ever since Off The Wall, is trying to push this as a new single despite the fact that it’s (apparently) at least six years old. Some of the vocals may be new, I don’t know, but the music; the drumbeat of which is a replica of Remember The Time; isn’t. That’s a major marketing glitch that could’ve easily been fixed by simply releasing the song as an outtake from the Dangerous album. It’s also a bad look for producer Teddy Riley, considering the fact that it’s only taken six years for his New Jack Swing to sound old.

Other flaws, like lack of bass on a song that should be pounding the club and subpar vocal melodies during the verses, are relatively minor. Aesthetically this is a good song. The protagonist, a knife-wielding killer named Susie, is bad, at least in a moral sense, but the chorus sounds catchy enough, especially during the final peak when Jackson starts hyping it with his signature ad-libs. The song goes from good to great for about twenty seconds. “It was blood on the dance floor,” Jackson sings with masterful inflections, “It was blood on the dance floor.” The last two times he says it are particularly striking.

my rating : 4 of 5

1997

audio review : Blood On The Dance Floor [ History In The Mix ] ( album ) … Michael Jackson

audio review : You Rock My World ( song ) … Michael Jackson

The prelude; Michael Jackson and Chris Tucker having a conversation about a girl they’re supposedly looking at, though there isn’t any background noise to help set the scene; is like the skit at the beginning of Black Or White. It may be funny initially, but it’s replay value is nowhere near that of the song it introduces. Listeners of the full versions of these songs may, in other words, find themselves skipping past, or at least zoning-out on, the first several seconds. That means the songs would be better without their preludes. In the case of You Rock My World, the title of which doesn’t come across nearly as corny as it should, the song would also make more sense without it. The dialogue implies that the girl is a total stranger to both Chris and Mike, but the lyrics have Jackson already romantically entwined with her.

“It feels like I’ve finally found a perfect love this time,” he insists before going into one of his best choruses yet. “You rocked my world; you know you did,” it goes, utilizing a harmonic vocal stack similar to Ghosts, “Who’d think I’d find someone like you to call mine?” The words are trite; they read like a high school crush poem; but the vocal melodies, even on the verses and bridge, are quite awesome. The music, highlighted by dramatic strings where applicable, is a slinky soul groove that goes back to the relative timelessness of the Thriller album. Despite an unnecessary break near the end; the ad-lib peak section should take the song out; it’s producer Rodney Jerkins at his best. It’s not Michael Jackson at his best, but it’s damn close. And if the quality of this love theme is any indication, I’d guess he got the girl.

my rating : 5 of 5

2001

audio review : Invincible ( album ) ... Michael Jackson