XSCAPE- Michael Jackson ( yes, its worth listening to)

  

Not a fan of the album art tho..kinda creepy

Five long years without the King of Pop, the money hungry Jackson empire has yet again released a project in honor of Michael Jackson, and they might have gotten it right this time. After hearing the last 10 albums from the late Tupac and Biggie, one cant blame the public from not fully accepting posthumous albums. Add in the musical hot mess someone created back in 2010 (Michael,2010), the news of a new Michael Jackson album wasn’t something people’s panties were getting knotted for.

A combination of 1983-1999 recording sessions, producers, Timberland, J-Roc and LA Reid were able to breathe some life back to King of Pop, even if it was for 35 minutes. Recognizable Timberland rhythms are used as the backdrop while the grittiness of Michael’s voice is brought to the forefront to create a few timeless hits.  The magic of the project lies in the ability each of the  8 tracks has in  mirroring each era of Michael perfectly. Songs like Slave to the Rhythm can be easily recognized from the Dangerous era while the smooth love ballad Loving You sounds like the 12^th song of the Bad album.

While the album isn’t perfect, its as good as we are going to get without MJ himself hovering over Timberland’s shoulder. In some songs like Blue Gangsta, its obvious Timberland was attempting to play catch up with the already mixed and mastered vocals of Jackson. The deluxe version of the album provides the original recorded tracks which are just as moving as the Timberland touched versions.

This album is almost a double edged sward. XSCAPE was such a success that it is almost a predictor of the tragic, epic fail of the next Michael Jackson album. I think one of the magical things in music is that it is insight into the mind of the artist (or song writer) and it’s the artist job to bring that vision to life though songs, videos and performances. Unfortunately, because of the King of Pop’s untimely death, that magic went in the tomb with him. Although Timberland was about to resurrect it temporarily, I don’t think lightning would strike twice. Overall, I’d rule the posthumous project a success, but I’d like to use this as my formal request to the estate to quit while they are ahead.