Michael Jackson

I haven't written about Michael Jackson mostly because I'm not sure if I can add anything to all that's been said. His death certainly was shocking, on the level of Elvis or John Lennon.

I have to admit, I'm one of those people who thinks Jackson had an Orson Welles problem--he did his greatest work right at the start, and nothing after would top it. Sure, he'd sell more records, and have bigger hits, but it was never the same.

For the Jackson 5 were the last great group to come out of Motown, hitting it big just before the end of the 60s. Some called it bubblegum, but if it was, it was great bubblegum. And the voice of the band was Michael. Only a kid, and probably copying all the great soul singers and shouters he'd heard, he had an amazing instrument.

Commercially, the band started out as strong as any in history, with four straight #1 hits followed by two #2 hits: "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," "I'll Be There," "Mama's Pearl," and "Never Can Say Goodbye." Each one a classic single. And Michael also had some nice solo hits, with "Got To Be There" and "Rockin' Robin." (Then he got to #1 on his own with an ode to a rat, "Ben.")

But already by the mid-70s, the Jackson 5 weren't quite the hitmakers they'd been. They had a "comeback" in '74 with a #2, "Dancing Machine." I liked the song, but it didn't bode well. Whereas previously they were engaging rockers with soul, now they were funksters with, it seemed to me, a lot less feeling and melody.

The Jacksons would go on to have a few more hits, but they'd be left in the dust by brother Michael. He broke through as a solo act (on a new label) in 1979 with his album Off The Wall, which included two #1 hits, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You." Listening to these songs recently (who could avoid them) I thought they're better than most disco of that period, and have a jazzy-funky edge provided (I'm guessing) by producer Quincy Jones. But they didn't strike me as strong enough that I'd put them on a mixed tape (back when people still made mixed tapes).

Worse, Michael's greatest talent, his voice, was not progressing. Perhaps he was coming up with his own style, but he was becoming too affected. Too much puffing and snorting and whining. Just sing it straight, Michael.

Few thought he'd top Off The Wall, but boy did he--commercially at least. His next album, Thriller, released in 1982, became the top selling record in the world. And almost every song on it became a top ten hit. First he released his duet with Paul McCartney, "The Girl Is Mine" (which went to #2) and followed it by two #1 hits that would make him the biggest star on the planet, "Billie Jean" and "Beat It." They're pretty good songs, as were others on the album, but I found his singing harder than ever to take.

Around this time, he was featured, with so many others, on a Motown anniversary TV special. First he sang oldies with his brothers. Then he did "Billie Jean" and the crowd went nuts. In fact, if I had to pick the highlight of his career, when it seemed the whole pop world was about him, it was those few seconds he moonwalked and the audience screamed. His future seemed limitless, but he'd never reach these heights again.

Let me also add he was an innovator on the visual side of music, for what it's worth. I still remember sitting around a communal TV with about 30 other people watching "Thriller" debut (followed by veejay Mark Goodman, who probably taped his bit earlier, smiling afterwards like the cat who ate the canary). It was a fascinating moment in the history of music video. It even seemed momentous to some at the time.

One more thing. Everyone talked about what an amazing dancer he was. He'd be (and has recently been) compared to greats like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. They even included one of his videos in the classic film compilation That's Dancing! (1985). This might have been a good commercial move, but let's be honest. The guy had a few decent moves, but he never really developed beyond them. He's a good dancer for a modern pop musician, but Astaire and Kelly are light years ahead of him.

He released his next album, Bad, in 1987. He had so much momentum at this point that half the songs on it went to #1. But none of them compared to his best stuff from Thriller or Off The Wall. His music became less and less interesting as his personal life started to take over.

I don't want to repeat all the weird stories and cheap jokes about Michael (you know, like "Why did Michael Jackson go to K-Mart? Because he heard boys' pants were half off."). In fact, while I thought he had some odd habits, I never believed he was a child molester. My theory of his criminal trial was the prosecutor just got tired of people asking him at cocktail parties why he wasn't going after Jackson. So the authorities had a fishing expedition, but didn't turn up any real evidence of a crime.

I don't know what Jackson was going through in all those years where his public persona got creepier and more remote, but that's not my business anyway. I was more concerned with the music, which, along with his popularity, was in steady decline. He seemed ready for a comeback just before he died, but we'll never know how it would have gone. At the very least he'd be in that common enough situation where he sells out shows as an oldies act if no one's buying his new music.

So farewell, Michael. Your best stuff--very good indeed--will live on.