Thesun 2009-06-29 Page19 The End Of History

theSun

19

| MONDAY JUNE 29 2009

in memory MICHAEL JACKSON: Aug 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

On record

soul. Jones and Temperton knew what they were doing: Beat It, cannily, crossed over with the rock market thanks to its Eddie Van Halen riff, and Thriller itself redefined music video. I’m just the right age to remember sneaking into clubs and seeing the place stop dead when the 15-minute zombie flick was played on the big screen. What Jackson wasn’t, in the context of 1980s megapop, is a “genius”. Unlike Prince or Springsteen, he wasn’t a selfsufficient auteur, and unlike Madonna, he didn’t create his persona through sheer force of will. What he was – and there’s no shame in this – was an incredible entertainer, an untouchable song and dance man. Speaking of which, even his dance routines weren’t selfgenerated. He may have tried to copyright the moonwalk as his own, but anyone with a sharp memory knows it was actually premiered by Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar on Soul Train. Post-Thriller, the Jacksons temporarily reunited, most memorably with the video for Can You Feel It, on which the brothers, 100ft tall, stood atop the Golden Gate bridge, scattering fairy dust on the mere mortals below. Less celebrated, but equally great, is the rock-funk scorcher they recorded with Mick Jagger, State of Shock. Michael relished these celebrity duets, and his oft-overlooked Paul McCartney collaboration, Say Say Say, features one of his most electrifying vocals.

The unimaginable wealth which Thriller brought him led to Jackson’s mad emperor phase: the Neverland ranch, the chimpanzee companion, the diamond glove, the Moonwalker movie, the oxygen tent, the insistence on the sobriquet “King of Pop”, the facial surgery. Five years passed before Jackson released another album. By the time of Bad, whose title track had a leatherclad Michael playing an unconvincing street thug in the video, the singer’s skin was very, very white (due, it was claimed to widespread scepticism, to the condition vitiligo). Despite some superb tracks – notably the breathless urgency of Smooth Criminal – the writing was, like the album’s pseudo-graffiti logo, on the wall. As Michael’s life continued to spiral out of control, from gruesome photos in which he

appeared to have no nose to the scandal involving his strange relationship with 13-year-old Jordan Chandler, so the quality of his music deteriorated. He was still capable of putting out the occasional great record, such as Black or White from 1991’s Dangerous, which also featured the minimal, robotic New Jack Swing of the Teddy Riley-penned In the Closet, but Jackson’s 1990s were defined by the likes of the schmaltzy Heal the World and the pompous Earth Song. His antics became increasingly bizarre, from arriving on stage via jetpack to presenting himself as a Christ figure at the Brits (prompting Jarvis Cocker’s legendary stage invasion) to the giant effigy of himself he floated down the Thames to promote 1995’s half-hits, half-new album HIStory. A second child-abuse scandal broke out in the new millennium, exacerbated by

Martin Bashir’s documentary and by Jackson, unfathomably, dangling his baby out of a Berlin hotel window. Although he was never found guilty, Jackson’s reputation never recovered among the “no smoke without fire” brigade. Much of which comes down to a simple failure of imagination. What if Michael really did pay off the Chandlers because he just wanted the whole thing to go away? What if Michael really was so innocent he merely wanted to recapture his childhood with those sleepovers? What if, when he told Bashir “when I look at children’s faces, I see God”, he was being sincere? What if, in short, Michael really was – to quote his own Thriller video n “not like other guys”? The lynch mob had made up its mind, and Jackson’s audience had shrunk. And, harsh as it may sound, this was probably no great loss: 2001’s Invincible doesn’t suggest the world has lost a productive talent, and it’s perhaps for the best that we never found out what the This Is It tour would be like. Nevertheless, Michael Jackson is still loved for what he once was, his influence impossible to ignore. Right now, the more speculation and scum-slinging I hear, the more I feel drawn back to the purity of that fourdecades-old a capella vocal. You and I must make a pact/We must bring salvation back/Where there is love, I’ll be there... It’s hard to assimilate the knowledge that, from this moment on, he won’t. – The Independent

MICHAEL Jackson, the King of Pop who began his career as part of the Jackson 5, recorded nine solo albums between 1972 and 2001, including Thriller, the topselling album of all time. The Jackson brothers released their first album with Motown in 1968, and Michael released his first solo album, Got to Be There, with the legendary black music label in 1972. He switched to Epic in 1976, releasing his first album under that label the same year, Off the Wall, which was produced by Quincy Jones. In 1995, J a c k s o n released HIStory, Past, Present, Future, a double album of old and new singles. His last album, Invincible, was released in 2001. Thriller, which came out in 1982, remained at the top of the charts for two years and was at No.1 for 37 straight weeks. According to industry experts, it sold between 50 and 60 million copies. A number of other compilations and singles were also released over the course of his career. They include The Essential Michael Jackson, Micheal Jackson King of Pop and Remember the Time. Jackson sold some 750 million records during his career, according to US figures. – dpa

Friends and fellow artistes remember MJ pg 20

MJ Discography

» 1972 – Got To Be There, Motown » 1972 – Ben, Motown » 1973 – Music & Me, Motown » 1975 – Forever, Michael, Motown » 1979 – Off the Wall, Epic » 1982 – Thriller, Epic » 1987 – Bad, Epic » 1991 – Dangerous, Epic » 1995 – HIStory, Past, Present, Future, Epic » 2001 – Invincible, Epic

Thriller legacy that lives on MICHAEL Jackson was one of the biggest stars in the history of music along with the Beatles and Elvis Presley, thanks in a large part to his top-selling album of all time, Thriller. With his high-pitched voice and extraordinary dance skills, Jackson left his mark on modern music, selling a total of 750 million records according to US statistics, a record for a solo artiste. When Thriller came out in December 1982, Jackson, who was then aged 24, was already a star, having made his debut at age four alongside his brothers in the funk group, the Jackson 5. But it was Thriller, Jackson’s sixth solo album, that was his breakthrough. The album spent 80 weeks in the top 10 in the US, including 37 weeks at No.1. It went platinum 27 times in the US, and is the only album to be

the top-selling album two years in a row (1983-1984). Thriller went platinum in 16 countries, including Britain, France and Japan. Seven of the album’s nine songs were released as singles. It was in a performance of one of those songs, Billy Jean, in a May 1983 televised performance for the 25th anniversary of Motown, that he first performed his signature “moonwalk” dance move. The legendary black music label first launched Jackson’s career as part of the Jackson 5 in 1968. But it was Thriller, Jackson’s second solo album produced by Quincy Jones, that pushed him and black music in the mainstream. A mix of soul, disco-funk and pop, the album benefited from collaboration with a number of top artistes, including former Beatle Paul McCartney (on The Girl is Mine) and

guitarist Eddie Van Halen (Beat It). The success of the album was also due to social factors. It came out at the height of the vinyl era and the beginning of the MTV era. Music videos provided a perfect format for Jackson’s dancing skills. His ingenious videos helped fuel the success of the channel, which in turn helped crown him the King of Pop. The video for the single Thriller, a 13-minute horror film spoof directed by John Landis, revolutionised music videos with its choreographed zombies dancing with Jackson. But Jackson was never able to match the success of Thriller with his following albums. Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and Invincible (2001) generated less and less critical interest and sales. Child sex abuse allegations and his changing appearance also damaged his career. – AFP

Market demand SONY Music Malaysia is preparing to release more copies of Michael Jackson’s albums currently available in the market, including his alltime bestseller, Thriller (the 25th anniversary re-release), The Essential Michael Jackson as well as the DVD, Michael Jackson, Live in Bucharest: Dangerous Tour. So far, the company has received orders for some 5,000 units of Jackson’s albums, which will be on sale soon.