Michael Jackson Invincible - 2001

This was Michael Jackson's last album and it was a strange one. 

Critically-panned (partly due to its content and partly, one suspects, because of the unsavoury scandals he had become tainted by), it was, firstly, way, way too long at a bloated seventy-seven minutes, and, secondly, it was a somewhat failed attempt to produce something relevant to contemporary club culture while still living up to the (admittedly ridiculous) title of "king of pop". 

Therefore, many of the good songs, such as Cry, Unbreakable and Heartbreaker, are blighted by a huge, no a truly massive, thumping "beaty" club sound. This was also the era of "loudness wars" so there was a double whammy here for those who like their music more nuanced and subtle. Playing this makes your entire room shake with buzzy, vibrating reverb, which is why I rarely, if ever, play it. Now, I like my music loud, but there is loud and there is barnstormingly unlistenable. This is the latter. 

You Rock My World is a good track, though, as is Speechless. The best material is found on the album's first half, so any listen can be happily terminated after about 35-40 minutes. 

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