We will not discuss the white devil of RIAA at this present time
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HIStory, oh? Why not.
Because HIStory moved like 2.6 million through SoundScan and the RIAA's rules about shipments and certifications make the album look a lot more successful in the U.S. than it was.
Because HIStory moved like 2.6 million through SoundScan and the RIAA's rules about shipments and certifications make the album look a lot more successful in the U.S. than it was.
hmmmmmm HIStory US sales are a confusing mess to say the least.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: On Dangerous, humanity lets Michael Jackson down at every turn. Women are tramping on his fragile soul and breaking his heart, and his fellow citizens can’t be bothered with trying to save this parched, crumbling mound of mud we call earth. ”Everyone’s taking control of me/Seems that the world’s got a role for me/I’m so confused,” Jackson sings (presumably to his God) in one of the album’s three overtly hymnlike numbers, complete with enough choirs and orchestration to boost what sounds like his sagging morale.
LOS ANGELES TIMES: "Dangerous," the album, arrives in stores Tuesday and guess what? Like the video, it too is a messy grab-bag of ideas and high-tech non sequiturs, with something for everyone from the man who has everything. In other words, Merry Christmas!
At the risk of sounding uncynical, it can be said that, for all the weaknesses inherent, it's a dandy stocking-stuffer . Relatively tame, and wildly unfocused, "Dangerous" is also mostly good, expertly made fun.
Though it's far from his best work, Jackson really can't lose with this project, since literally no one in the world except Jackson himself--and possibly a few Japanese executives--holds the realistic expectation that this or any album he'll ever make again will outsell or outphenomenalize "Thriller."
NEW YORK TIMES: More than ever, Jackson's lyrics aim to talk about the desires of the widest, tritest majority; they seem based on demographic research rather than experience or imagination. "Dangerous" pushes Jackson's paradoxes to the breaking point; it is his least confident album since he became a solo superstar. He may well be the richest and most financially secure of pop performers, with a new contract that reportedly guarantees him $50 million in advances for his next six albums. Yet unparalleled commercial success has made Jackson, if anything, less venturesome. Nine years ago, he had the broadest appeal in pop; now, he sounds so eager to reclaim his popularity that he has ruled out taking chances.
ROLLING STONE: The triumph of Dangerous is that it doesn't hide from the fears and contradictions of a lifetime spent under a spotlight. This edge of terror electrified Thriller's Jackson-penned break-through cuts "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" but was diverted into an unconvincing nastiness in 1987 on Bad. It also drove the "controversial" segment of the "Black or White" video, but this tension is presented much more effectively on the album itself.
Teddy Riley replaces. Quincy Jones as Jackson's primary collaborator on Dangerous, an inspired selection that is the key to the album's finest moments. Riley's work on Dangerous is reminiscent of Jackson's solo album Off the Wall (1979) and that record's distillation of disco to its perfect pop essence. Riley's tracks don't offer the revolutionary genre-busting of Thriller, but they dramatically illustrate the versatility of his style. Instead of the cocksure strut of a New Jack classic like Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative," the stacked layers of keyboards on Dangerous shift and percolate, varying textures over insistent, thumping rhythm tracks.
One of my favorite moments in the 1992 Rolling Stone cover story, linked below:
Quote:
At night, Neverland looks like it has been sprinkled with a kind of high-tech fairy dust. Out by the amusement park, for instance, Jackson has had white lights installed up the trunk and on the branches of the oak trees. As these lights flash on and off, glittering trees appear to materialize before one's eyes, only to vanish. A winding yellow-brick road (with recessed gold-colored lights) leads to the amusement park, which is lit against the black sky. Back at the house, the lake, the statues and the wood and stone buildings themselves look like set pieces from a fairy tale.
It would really be something to see Neverland become a Graceland-esque destination. The great thing about Neverland is that he owned that huge tract of land, so you wouldn't have to worry about cheap curio shops and no-tell motels popping up all around the house. You could have an undiluted Michael Jackson experience. They could build a museum on the property, restore the place to its former glory, people could go on the rides and experience it in many of the ways Michael did, they could play his songs and the music he loved over the speakers, people could see his Giving Tree, special night-time events like big-screen viewings of his short films, there's no limit to what could be done with Neverland. It would be wonderful to visit the place that, at least for a time, was Michael's dream come true, his respite from the world.
It would really be something to see Neverland become a Graceland-esque destination. The great thing about Neverland is that he owned that huge tract of land, so you wouldn't have to worry about cheap curio shops and no-tell motels popping up all around the house. You could have an undiluted Michael Jackson experience. They could build a museum on the property, restore the place to its former glory, people could go on the rides and experience it in many of the ways Michael did, they could play his songs and the music he loved over the speakers, people could see his Giving Tree, special night-time events like big-screen viewings of his short films, there's no limit to what could be done with Neverland. It would be wonderful to visit the place that, at least for a time, was Michael's dream come true, his respite from the world.
Didn't the good sis hate the ranch post 2005? I've been to Neverland a couple of times actually.
Didn't the good sis hate the ranch post 2005? I've been to Neverland a couple of times actually.
Isn't it 100,000,000 dollars on the market?
I know that he said the place was "a house, not a home" following the way it was violated during the police search in 2003. I just can't think of another place so associated with Michael and so ideal for such a venture.
I know that he said the place was "a house, not a home" following the way it was violated during the police search in 2003. I just can't think of another place so associated with Michael and so ideal for such a venture.
When were you there? Tell. Me. Everything.
You know I lived in California So I had a chance to visit the ranch many times when the good sis was on this earth.
Well for one it's far as hell, because it's like the only property out there.
I went to his house in the early 2000s and mid-late 2000s.
Cracking album! I remember rushing to the record shop to buy it on release day. Not because I was a Jacko fan, but because it had been heavily rumoured that Madonna was featured on "In the Closet". I was gutted when I got it home and realised it wasn't her, but ended up loving the album anyway. It was such a huge event when he released this. Pop was so, so exciting back then and it didn't get any bigger than a new Jacko album. Fond memories of such a fab time in pop music!
Absolutely ADORE the artwork too!
Will You Be There is probably my favourite track, but I adore most of the album.
You know I lived in California So I had a chance to visit the ranch many times when the good sis was on this earth.
Well for one it's far as hell, because it's like the only property out there.
I went to his house in the early 2000s and mid-late 2000s.
Ugh, did you actually go in? Or did you just stand there looking at the gates? I'm sure if you ever saw him, we'd all know by now but let me ask anyway.
Quote:
Originally posted by Riverwide
Cracking album! I remember rushing to the record shop to buy it on release day. Not because I was a Jacko fan, but because it had been heavily rumoured that Madonna was featured on "In the Closet". I was gutted when I got it home and realised it wasn't her, but ended up loving the album anyway. It was such a huge event when he released this. Pop was so, so exciting back then and it didn't get any bigger than a new Jacko album. Fond memories of such a fab time in pop music!
Absolutely ADORE the artwork too!
Will You Be There is probably my favourite track, but I adore most of the album.
Someone who was there for the experience! That must have really been something. To be there for a massively hyped superstar release in an era when that really meant something. You and I share the same favorite song!
Do you remember when the Black or White video debuted? What did you think of that?
Ugh, did you actually go in? Or did you just stand there looking at the gates? I'm sure if you ever saw him, we'd all know by now but let me ask anyway.
Someone who was there for the experience! That must have really been something. To be there for a massively hyped superstar release in an era when that really meant something. You and I share the same favorite song!
Do you remember when the Black or White video debuted? What did you think of that?
I went once, but it was for this children society thing. I can't even remember it something with my organization that I was apart of. He wasn't there though
I have met him once when he was in Miami (2003) at Aventura Mall, and I actually saw him in the mall and followed ha to the Limo. (This is the same thing Martin was shooting that 2003 documentary). Anyways, I touched ha hand.