Michael Jackson, HIStory – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE – Book I
Michael Jackson didn't do himself any favors by configuring HiIStory as a double CD. Its first disc unfurls a hugely impressive collection of greatest hits. The second offers 15 new songs that don't fare at all well by comparison. Jackson produced a lot of the new work himself, and since self-awareness and self-criticism have never been his strong points, it's small wonder many tracks stumble into self-indulgence.
The new music's main draw came in “Scream,” a tete-a-tete between Michael and sister Janet (then a bigger, and far hipper, star). Unfortunately, their union sounded shrill and overblown, even as produced by Janet's normally on-point sonic sculptors, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. From there, things go downhill fast. Much of the music plays either to Jackson's cornier or more self-righteous sides. For the former, we have “Earth Song” (a condescending environmentalist tome). For the latter, there's “Tabloid Junkie” (about his problems, not ours), plus a swipe at an old business manager who allegedly did him wrong: “D.S.”
The cover of “Come Together” once again represents a strained attempt for Jackson to sell himself as a one man Fab Four, while “You Are Not Alone” (penned by R. Kelly) and “Childhood” (from the movie “Free Willie”) break the bank on kitsch. It all skids to a sad close in “Smile,” a cover of the song associated with Charlie Chaplin. Jackson cries through the piece in a way so self-pitying and solipsistic he seems almost entirely lost to us by now.
