roheblius's Full Review: Michael Jackson's This Is It by Michael Jackson
Did you know some of the highest selling albums of 2009 are old Michael Jackson catalog albums including Number Ones, Thriller, and The Essential Michael Jackson, which currently sit above all of the Beatles re-releases? If not, now you know.
The reason I mentioned that is because most of the soundtrack to Michael Jackson's This Is It is recycled material that you can find on all of his previous albums. The new stuff consists of old demos, a spoken word poem, and "new" song, This Is It, which is featured in the credits of his movie.
What's up with the new stuff? The soundtrack is broken into two parts. The first part is based on songs MJ was to perform in the concerts had they happened. The second part is the new stuff, which consists of original demos of him performing an acoustic version of She's Out Of My Life, a goofy version of Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', and harmonies to Beat It. Also added is a spoken word poem called Planet Earth, which is highly skippable unless you're the largest Michael Jackson nerd on the face of ahem, planet earth.
What's also tacked on is a "new" song called This Is It (in two versions) which he wrote with Paul Anka many years ago. The song was highly anticipated and the joke was that when it was finally released, people were saying "This is it?" It's not in the top 100 of MJ songs, but it doesn't mean it's a terrible song. It's just a very standard and laid back ballad which lacks that special quality that makes songs memorable. And here, vocally, MJ is missing his fastball.
Are the demos worth going out of your way to hear? I'd say yes, especially She's Out Of My Life. You have to remember that in the early 80s, when these were recorded, vocally, MJ still had his aforementioned fastball. This version of She's Out Of My Life isn't performed so dramatically as the actual version that made Off The Wall and there's no crying at the end thankfully. All you hear is Michael in his picture perfect voice. Only die-hards are probably interested in going out of their way to listen to these, but those who are back into his music now because of his death should also go out of their way to hear these. This is the Michael Jackson you grew up with, not the version that you grew out of.
Do you really want these old songs again? If you're a big Michael Jackson fan you already have these songs and if you're like me, have several copies of these songs sitting on your computer. The cute thing about the songs on this soundtrack is that they're the same songs MJ was to perform on the This Is It tour and ordered in the same way he was to perform them.
(I'll have them in order at the bottom.)
I wasn't terribly happy with the songs he chose for the concert because he chose certain songs like Jam, which has lost it's luster over the years and didn't include classics like Rock With You and Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough. Would Jam be in anyone's top 10 of their favorite MJ songs? And the other two would be in everyone's right?
He relied heavily on the Thriller and Bad albums, which is a little predictable, but probably the right move since most of his biggest hits were from those two albums. If you're not a huge fan of I Just Can't Stop Loving You, well I don't blame you. Rather than more classic ballads like She's Out Of My Life or You Are Not Alone (which was his last huge hit), you get a song that's not too high on anyone's MJ radar. And if you don't like sap, how about Butterflies, which was his last real radio accepted song?
All that being said, the good stuff is on here that you remember him for. Since it was to mirror his concert set list, all of the very visual songs like Smooth Criminal, Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean are here. Bad is missing and I'm guessing he just didn't want to wear that leather jacket or was sick of singing that, "Your butt is mine," lyric.
He gets props from me for adding Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground). It contains the classic hook, "Let's dance, let's shout (clap), shake your body down to the ground." Music was much simpler back then.
This is very much a Michael Jackson starter set for either the young folks who are starting to listen to MJ now, or again, those who have come back to his music since his death. If you're missing any of these classics, this isn't a bad way to help fill out your collection. Just know that it wouldn't have been my idea to including I Just Can't Stop Loving You. Even Siedah Garrett is probably sick of that song.
There are a couple of reasons why people should buy the entire package. Either you simply want the new demos and don't mind owning another copy of songs you already have. Or you are trying to fill out your collection of MJ songs. For me, I just wanted the new demos and the This Is It single. If you don't fit into those buckets, you probably don't need this CD. There are others that might work better including ones I stated above or something like The Jacksons' Story, or even History, which included a greatest hits on disc one.
(If you go on iTunes, they have a deal so that you can only buy the new stuff and don't need to re-buy songs you already have.)
I should make mention of the booklet that comes with the actual CD. I didn't get it because I bought my copy off iTunes. But Money Mike (aka speeddemon531), who is one of those MJ nerds who probably memorized the entire Planet Earth poem, was pretty disappointed in the packaging.
By the way, that dig at Money Mike was a lie. I'm sure he heard it one time and retitled it "Skip" so he never has to hear it again.
Here's the song list for disc one: Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'/Jam/They Don't Care About Us/Human Nature/Smooth Criminal/The Way You Make Me Feel/Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)/I Just Can't Stop Loving You/Thriller/Beat It/Black Or White/Earth Song/Billie Jean/Man In the Mirror/This Is It/This Is It (Orchestra version)
The Music That Inspired the Movie Michael Jackson's This is It Souvenir Edition 2 CD SET includes: - The brand-new song THIS IS IT - Unreleased Rare T...More at Walgreens
This Is It features the music that inspired Sony Pictures forthcoming film Michael Jackson s This Is It. This two-disc album will be available October...More at Buy.com
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