Michael Jackson top albums, life and his kids today: “I think all he wanted was a provocative title, and ultimately he didn’t want the content of the song to live up to the title,” Madonna said at the time. “I said, ‘Look, Michael, if you want to do something with me, you have to be willing to go all the way or I’m not going to do it.’” His engineers remember her visiting him once at the studio, where they spent a little time in his private room in the back. “When I asked Michael later about her visit he said that she ‘scared’ him,” his engineer Rob Disner later said. “I think we all speculated that she tried to make a ‘move’ on him but Michael never said. In any event, we never saw her again.” The creative union most likely fizzled due to major stylistic divergences. Madonna imagined an extreme makeover: giving him a Caesar haircut, getting him out of his bedazzled military uniforms, taking him to New York and hanging out with the voguers, House of Xtravaganza. Michael wanted to go hip-hop and ultimately enlisted rappers Heavy D and Aqil Davidson of Wreckx N’ Effect as the principal guest vocalists.
Every song here has its flaws, though; after all, there’s a reason Jackson himself didn’t release ’em. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some things to take away. “(I Like) The Way You Love Me” works off this dreamy piano melody and some incredibly rich instrumentation that lets Jackson soar high. It’s probably the greatest highlight on the album and the one that feels the most natural, too. “Keep Your Head Up” should succeed in making you smile, sounding like one of Jackson’s ’90s classics. With a clean, sophisticated finish, Jackson finds himself swimming here, thanks to some pretty spot-on production work by Christopher Stewart. It’s easy listening, but done well. “Hollywood Tonight” could have used some tweaking to keep it from sounding like a Madonna tune (What were you thinking with that spoken word, Teddy Riley?), but regardless, it’s still a fast-paced spitter that’s decadently enviable.
Got to Be There (1972): Chances are most of y’all haven’t even HEARD this album. Correct that oversight immediately. Now, Michael’s solo debut certainly doesn’t have the glitz you’d expect from a guy known for his bedazzled socks but give him a break – his first attempt to break away from his Jackson 5 roots sees him coming into his own sound. And man, his angelic voice instantly turns heads. Michael’s reliance on covers hurts this set just a bit but he handles them all so expertly that it’s hard to consider them a detriment. Listen to this set and you’ll immediately realize why this kid was destined to be a legend. Forgotten Favorites: “Rockin’ Robin,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Girl Don’t Take Your Love From Me”.
Michael Jackson family: Mocienne Petit Jackson’s (Michael Jackson’s daughter) books are now available in french! For our dutch readers: Deel twee van de autobiografische trilogie van Mocienne Petit Jackson begint met een uitgebreide beschrijving van Mociennes ontvoering naar Nederland. Vervolgens lezen we hoe het haar vergaat in het adoptiegezin waar zij samen met haar nichtje Delivrance terechtkomt. Gaandeweg ontdekt Mocienne dat haar vader Michael Jackson is. Wanneer ze vijftien jaar is gaat ze weg bij het adoptiegezin, woont vier jaar lang op een internaat en gaat daarna zelfstandig wonen. We volgen haar in haar volwassenwording, die zich met vallen en opstaan voor ons ontrolt. Mocienne krijgt een vriend en wordt moeder van een zoon. Deze verbintenis is geen lang leven beschoren. Er is sprake van aanhoudende onenigheid met de Raad voor de Kinderbescherming, met diverse rechtszaken tot gevolg. Deze betreffen eerst haar eigen situatie, later die van haar zoon en haar gevecht om hem in haar leven te houden. De ene onverkwikkelijkheid volgt de andere op. Lees het boek hier The dark side of the Netherlands (Volume 2) (Dutch Edition).