In the time leading up to the release of 1991’s “Dangerous”, things were not all well in the Michael Jackson camp. Hints of misadventures to come were surfacing. MJ’s last album, 1987’s “Bad”, was considered a failure by the artist. This despite spinning off five consecutive #1 singles, 7 top 40 hits overall, selling 7 million copies in the U.S. and outselling “Thriller” overseas. Unhappy with longtime producer Quincy Jones and the creative team he’d employed for his entire solo career up until that point, Mike needed some new blood.

Enter Teddy Riley. The Harlem-born producer was the founder of modern R&B as we know it, marrying hip-hop’s sonic textures to R&B’s smooth vocals and calling it "new jack swing". He was called upon to make MJ’s “Dangerous” an album that would fit properly in 1991’s musical landscape. Riley & Jackson collaborated to make a masterpiece that would be considered Jackson’s best work if not for the pure genius that “Off The Wall” & “Thriller” were. By combining Jackson’s gift for melody and intriguing lyrical content with futuristic production and hard-hitting beats, “Dangerous” brought The King of Pop firmly into the 90’s.

It’s kind of a funny aside that when “Dangerous” was released, Jackson was still considered weird in a funny kind of way as opposed to the creepy way we look at him now. Unfortunately, his private life and general bizarre-ness (that’s not a word, is it?) have tainted the perception of the excellent music he’s made.

Of the Riley/Jackson collaborations, there is not one dud to be found in the bunch. The album opener, “Jam”, gives Michael a chugging, funky soundscape to work with as he speed-sings his way through a litany of the world’s problems and his personal pressures, explaining how he’s found his inner peace through song and dance. “I just want you to recognize me in the temple,” he sings., “You can’t hurt me, I’ve found peace within my life”. A rap cameo by Heavy D (sounding uncannily like Chubb Rock) adds to the song and also heralds the first appearance of a hip-hop artist on an MJ track. “Why You Wanna Trip On Me” continues the social commentary theme, as Riley provides a more bare-bones track (basically a synthesized rhythm track with some guitar strums), and Michael, through clenched teeth, asks why people (fans and the media) focus on him when there are obviously more important things going on in the world).

“Remember The Time” sounds like an update to “Off The Wall”’s “Rock With You”, with it’s swirling harmonies and easygoing background. Michael sings the first 2/3 of the song in his normal tone and gets increasingly excited as the song continues, making you think that if the girl he's singing to really didn’t “remember the time”, Mike might’ve gone off and hurt someody. “Can’t Let Her Get Away” succeeds the most in marrying a track that’s pure hip-hop to Michael’s signature melodies. The song has a wicked instrumental breakdown in the bridge that’s so jammin’ you can almost picture Mike dancing his behind off while the song’s playing. Despite the obvious smooth groove that encircled "Off The Wall", "Dangerous" is Michael's most aggressively rhythmic album, perfect for a percussive, groove-happy singer like MJ.

The remainder of the album’s tracks are pretty much handled by Michael himself, and allow him to concentrate on other genres of music, to almost universally good results. “Will You Be There” and “Keep The Faith” both fall into the “inspirational” category, with “Faith” being a pretty traditional gospel song, and “Will You Be There” (which was later used as the theme to the kids film “Free Willy” containing some great choral singing and a shuffling rhythm. The song is pretty good, although I really could’ve done without Michael’s weepy spoken recitation at the conclusion of the track. “Give In To Me” is the album’s token rock track and features some excellent axe work by Guns “N’ Roses’ Slash, as well as some pretty extreme lyrics (for Michael, anyway), as he makes his move on a conquest. “Don’t try to understand me,” he sings. “Just simply do the things I say”. Even “Gone Too Soon”, the weepy ballad dedicated to teenage AIDS victim Ryan White, is undeniable. This track manages to be well-sung without falling into the incredibly syrupy trap that plagued many of his ballads post-“Dangerous”.

This album’s fourteen tracks only include two missteps: first single “Black Or White” (always my least favorite of Mike’s big hits), and the anthem “Heal The World”. “Black Or White” just suffers from being a bit too generic and nursery-rhyme sounding, and is further brought down by the Stones-on-speed guitar riff, and the terrible (and uncredited) rap in the middle of the song. I can’t fault “Heal The World”’s inspirational message, but did Mike have to sing it over an easygoing rhythm and acoustic guitar that makes it sound like one of those at-the-campfire folk songs?

On “Dangerous”, Michael took a chance by not sticking to the formula that had made his previous albums so successful and it worked. “Dangerous” is a forward-thinking, well-produced, well-sung masterpiece, and underrated in terms of quality. At a time when few established R&B artists were taking any sort of creative risks with their music (except for Mike’s baby sis Janet), MJ stepped up to the plate and hit it clear out of the park.

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars (1/2 star lopped off for "Heal The World")

Key tracks: "Jam", "Can't Let Her Get Away", "Dangerous"

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Waking up