Epic – 2001 – 77 minutes
"It doesn't matter if you're black or white". Or in Michael Jackson's case, maybe it doesn't matter if you're neither.
Jackson's demented transmutation from the slickest brother on the dancefloor to a pallid zombie-like figure is one of pop's most traumatic cautionary tales. Better to burn out than fade away, and Jackson's fading, both personal and professional, has often been uncomfortable to watch. The majestic disco of early albums like 'Off The Wall' later gave way to the bombast and preaching of 'Dangerous', while his face was gradually ruined by the scalpels of LA's finest plastic surgeons.
His new album, 'Invincible', could be a landmark for the recording industry. The business that is already feeling the pinch of global recession and digital piracy is collectively dreading a flop – particularly given that Invincible cost a staggering $50 million dollars to produce.
Excess is now the Jackson formula. The album's bloated running time, ludicrously long acknowledgements and catastrophic schmaltz on tracks like 'The Lost Children' all point to a man whose ego has broken free and is feeding on the corpses of record executives.
Everything is thrown into the mix, in the hope that some of it will stick. Lavish production from Rodney Jerkins, a posthumous rap by Biggie Smalls, a Chris Tucker routine, a Carlos Santana guitar solo and a portentous speech by the Twilight Zone's Rod Serling (more grave-robbing, incidentally) all make the final cut, but nothing can save 'Invincible' from being little short of a disaster.
Some of 'Invincible's tracks manage to charm. 'Unbreakable's nouveau R'n'B is passable dancefloor material, despite being overlong, and 'Threatened's melody and up-front beats are make it a reasonable sequel to Thriller.
Pop stars do not have to be perfect to attract fans, but Jackson's spiraling weirdness and horrifying appearance must now be having an inevitable effect. He has already lost the plot, and on this evidence, his career is now in serious danger. Invincible? I think not.
Luke McManus
Tracklisting: Unbreakable - Heartbreaker - Invincible - Break Of Dawn - Heaven Can Wait - You Rock My World - Butterflies - Speechless - 2000 Watts - You Are My Life - Privacy - Don't Walk Away - Cry - The Lost Children - Whatever Happens - Threatened
