ARTIST: Michael Jackson
ALBUM: Xscape
LABEL: MMJ / Epic
RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2014
Still King of Pop?
Written by Silas Valentino
Posthumous: it’s one of those words that has me feeling a little giddy whenever I have an appropriate opportunity to drop it. How often can you say it outside the occasional discussion of posthumous compilation releases or in referring to a child born after the death of their father (another definition for the word). Beyond the little joys vocabulary can spark the Michael Jackson estate recently released Xscape, the slain King of Pop’s second posthumous release—and just like certain words it’s a highly produced pack of bubble gum pop that provokes subtle joy.
MJ has been dead for exactly five years and in that time he’s made more money than I could ever fathom. Luckily for the people who made local news for publically mourning his death in 2009 the Jackson Estate is slowly leaking out rosy-polished outtakes, rarities and cutting room floor gems. They gave the world Michael back in 2010 where they misattributed Dave Grohl and made a lot of us fee a little uncomfortable at the record’s apparent money-grabbing existence. Whoever is pulling the MJ property right’s strings is feeling no remorse for the heavy borrowing from one of music’s greatest entertainers.
But don’t let the backdoor greed get in the way of pop music royalty. These songs are truly wonderful and if you’re fan of Michael Jackson—whom am I kidding? —If you’re a fan of good time music, Xscape is an excellent option for your up-tempo delight. It just lacks a genuine, authentic feel.
“Love Never Felt so Good” is a bright, shiny jam that sounds as if Michael has gone all Thriller zombie and returned to show Bruno Mars how to do it right. Co-written by Paul Anka (the musical mad genius who wrote the score to Sinatra’s “My Way” and the Johnny Carson theme song), this album opener is an immediate pleaser. In staying consistent with the album’s odd behavior relating to Jackson’s legacy, Justin Timberlake contributes some vocals in one version of the song. What if MJ is up on the cloud pissed that the Wynton Marsalis to his Miles Davis is cramping his song?
Dug up from his Bad sessions from the mid 1980s, “Loving You” is a soft R&B funk that really shines in its demo version. Skip the Timberland hyper-produced album take and blast the Reagan-era ode to Michael’s favorite device: love. I was barely a twinkle in my father’s eye when this song was composed but it’s drenched in enough 80’s goo to make me want to comb my hair sideways to match my nighttime sunglasses.
Track 6, “Do You Know Where Your Children Are,” takes on a different meaning after Jackson’s 2005 child sexual abuse trial.
The most surprising track on Xscape is “A Place with No Name,” a wobbly sugar bite that was heavily influenced by the 1970’s soft rock band America’s tale of heroine addiction. Sharing certain lyrical structure and melody to “A Horse with No Name,” “A Place with No Name” is another track that sounds way better in its demo form.
Amazing isn’t it? Michael Jackson sounds the best when he has total control over his work versus having his renowned fans rework his leftovers.
Last May during the Billboard Music Awards the Michael Jackson estate took massive liberty over MJ’s image when they splattered it on a big screen in holographic form. A Call of Duty-resembling Jackson danced and sang “Slave to the Rhythm” while the audience cheered and looked both awkward and severely stunned. This is a good image to describe Jackson’s posthumous releases. They make you smile while simultaneously alienating pop music’s golden child.