Michael Jackson’s ‘Invincible’: 18 Years Later, a Full Review
On October 30, 2001 Michael Jackson released what became his final album of all new material during his lifetime: Invincible. The album, shortly after its release, became one of the most controversial albums of Jackson’s career, not for the music (unlike 1995’s HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I) but for the conflict between Jackson and his label at the time, Sony Music. At its peak the headbutting involved Sony ceasing promotion for Invincible shortly after its release (after Jackson informed the label he would not be renewing his contract) and Jackson going after the then head of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola, publicly calling him a “racist” and a “devil”.
Invincible predictably got somewhat lost in the melee.
This is not to discount the album’s success or impact. Invincible lived up to its title, proving Jackson was just that, debuting at №1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and moving more than 366,000 units in one week. It also hit №1 in 12 other countries around the world.
Produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, along with the majority of the album, the lead single You Rock My World notched Jackson yet another top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. This chart position gave Jackson his 28th top 10 hit in the United States. You Rock My World (initially called Rock My World) was nominated for a Grammy and featured Jay-Z in the official remix. The 13 minute short-film video for Your Rock My World continued Jackson’s history of longer, feature length film-styled music videos, and pulling huge stars to appear in them. In addition to Jackson, You Rock My World starred Marlon Brando, Michael Madsen and Chris Tucker.
The success of both the album and the lead off single proved that Jackson’s iconic style and musical formula was still viable and marketable in the 21st century and to yet another generation. Invincible gave Jackson №1 albums in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and the ’00s. By early 2002 Invincible had already sold more than 6 million copies, becoming Jackson’s fastest selling album ever (yes, it sold faster than Thriller). Invincible has to date sold more than 13 million copies worldwide. IFPI put the album as the №9 best selling album of 2001 (not bad for Jackson not having released a full album of new songs since 1995’s HIStory). In 2009, Billboard magazine readers voted Invincible the best album of the decade.
This year Invincible is all grown up and to celebrate its 18th anniversary, here is a track by track, and cumulative, review:
Track 1: Unbreakable — (Up-tempo) The King of Pop opens the album by reminding anyone that may have forgotten, or not known, that he is… well… unbreakable. It would have been nice if the track were a tiny bit faster and just a bit shorter (it clocks in at just under 6:30), but overall the song sounds awesome and works nicely as a 21st century version of Bad. The posthumous rap by the Notorious B.I.G. inserts brilliantly and marks their second collaboration (their first having been on This Time Around on Jackson’s 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future — Book 1). Grade: B+
Track 2: Heartbreaker — (Up-tempo) This song is simply excellent. Utterly flawless, pop platinum. The song refers to a woman whose sole purpose is to break hearts and broke Jackson’s. In the chorus the King of Pop sings, “That girl, can’t take her, I should have seen it coming, heartbreaker.” There are parts in the song where you can hear Jackson beat-boxing the beat under Darkchild’s wickedly fast beat. The song is just brilliant. Jackson reportedly also wanted an unknown rapper on the album and the rapper chosen, “Fats”, is a perfect fit for this song. Unlike other tracks on the album (as you’ll read), Jackson’s vocals are clear, crisp and familiar on this song, and many of his vocal trademarks are well in place (there is a very clear “Ow!” at a key point in the song). Grade: A+
Track 3: Invincible — (Up-tempo) The title track to the album is not the ego-fest that one might assume it would be, the song is actually about a girl who won’t give Jackson her attention. “Even when I beg and plead, she’s invincible,” Jackson sings. The beat is incredible, although again, it wouldn’t hurt if it were a bit faster. “Fats” also raps on this track. Grade: B+
Track 4: Break of Dawn — (Down-tempo) This is a love song. This song, again, is perfection. Nothing could be added or removed to make it better. An oddity about this track is Michael Jackson does not (at least overtly) sing the chorus. He instead ad-libs around unnamed background singers who actually sing the chorus. Though it does not damage the song, it might have been nice to have Jackson sing the chorus. In the movie This Is It (in the video remake of Smooth Criminal), it shows the Break of Dawn café. Grade: A
Track 5: Heaven Can Wait — (Down-tempo) Yet another perfect love song. This song is about a girl Jackson refuses to leave. He sings, “Tell the angels no, I don’t want to leave my baby alone, I don’t want nobody else to hold you, that’s the chance I’ll take baby I’ll stay, heaven can wait.” This is another track on Invincible where Michael Jackson again, does not (at least overtly) sing the chorus. Again he decided to, at times, ad-lib around unnamed background singers who sing the chorus. Again, it might have been nice to have Jackson sing the chorus but it does not damage the song. The way Jackson opens this track is pure excellence, singing quickly, “You’re beautiful, you’re wonderful, incredible I love you so.” Grade A
Track 6: You Rock My World — (Up-tempo)
This was the first single from the album and charted as another top 10. The opening banter between Chris Tucker and Michael Jackson about whether or not Jackson could “get that girl” is nothing short of a hilarious. Simply put, it is a great song. Though many fans preferred a different lead single after hearing the full album, YRMW (song and video) covered so many different music, music video and live performance styles, that in hindsight, some fans may want to reconsider. After all, it introduced Jackson to an all new generation in a way that did propel the album to №1. There is an official Jay-Z remix. A particular favorite from this track, is how each instrument comes in as the track opens. Fairly rare for a pop song. The pace is a little slower than my liking for an up-tempo song but that’s just a personal preference. YRMW spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Grade: A-
Track 7: Butterflies — (Down-tempo) This was the third single from Invincible and charted at №14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (№2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Billboard chart). This song is Jackson’s 37th top 40 hit. Butterflies spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There is an official remix that featuring rapper Eve. The song is beautiful and showcases Jackson’s epic vocal range. Despite this third single looking like it was going to be another major hit off the album, relations between Jackson and Sony had deteriorated so much by this point, no music video was filmed and this became the final single released from Invincible. Grade: A
Track 8: Speechless — (Down-tempo) For an album that spends so much time altering Jackson’s vocals, this song is the clearest and most pristine Jackson’s voice gets on Invincible. His voice is almost entirely uninterrupted by any kind of instrument for the first minute of the song (and the last 20 seconds of it). It starts off a capella and slowly builds from there. Speechless is beautiful and again utterly perfect. Jackson sings the song a capella again, in the This Is It film. Jackson said he was inspired to write the song following a water balloon fight with a group of children. Grade: A
Track 9: 2,000 Watts — (Up-tempo) 2,000 Watts is one of the most unforgettable tracks on Invincible. The bass is unreal, Jackson sounds nothing like himself and lyrically the song is all over the place, in a good way. This is another song on Invincible where Jackson does not sing the chorus, rather ad-libbing over studio singers who deliver the chorus. The opening line, “You may now apply your 3D glasses as we proceed…” makes one wonder how incredible the music video would have been for this track. Grade: A
Track 10: You Are My Life — (Down-tempo) This is where I feel like Invincible loses something. There is not anything particularly wrong with this song as much as it is entirely forgettable. It adds nothing to Invincible and on a 16 track album as highly anticipated as this one, any of the hundreds of songs Jackson reportedly recorded would have likely sat better in this song’s place. If You Are My Life is actually about Jackson’s children as some think it is, the song then becomes more compelling. It also gives perspective to lyrics like, “You took away the fear, and you brought me back to the light, you are the sun, you make me shine, more like the stars that twinkle at night.” Grade: C+
Track 11: Privacy — (Up-tempo) This is the only rock styled song on the album, and sees Jackson again teaming up with Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. In this song Jackson, over camera flashes, pleads for… well… privacy, and journalistic integrity. He sings, “Your cameras can’t control the minds of those who know, that you’ll even sell your soul just to get your story sold”. This is another song where Jackson sounds markedly different than he has on previous albums. It fits very well next to Jackson’s similarly themed songs like Scream, Tabloid Junkie and Leave Me Alone. The song could have survived a faster tempo as well, but overall it is very good. Since false, maligning stories about Michael Jackson are still just as prevalent as true stories, lines like, “Stop maliciously attacking my integrity” have aged well. Grade: B
Track 12: Don’t Walk Away — (Down-tempo) Don’t Walk Away is a love song where Jackson pleads with his parting love, “Don’t walk away, see I just can’t find the right thing to say.” The song is a bit ho-hum until about the 2:38 mark, when it changes pace. Jackson’s vocals change here, the beat gets a bit more intense and studio singer vocals come in, singing lyrics like, “Even though I had to let you go”, over which Jackson begins pleading, “Can’t you see, you and me, we will always be”, “Don’t you leave me” and “I won’t forget you girl”. Following her interview with Oprah, many fans began to think this song was written about his relationship and subsequent break-up with Lisa Marie Presley. In the interview, Presley says she divorced Jackson because he would not let go of people around him who Presley says she felt did not have his best interests at heart. Though the two divorced in 1996, in 1997, Presley was seen backstage at a tour stop with Jackson. They were filmed holding hands in his dressing room. Grade: B
Track 13: Cry — (Down-tempo)
Written by R. Kelly (who also wrote Jackson’s №1 hit You Are Not Alone), Cry was the second single released from Invincible, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Written prior to the attacks Jackson sings, “When that flag blows, there’ll be no more wars”. The song is reminiscent of Man In The Mirror, with Jackson whispering as the last line of the song, “Change the world.” Some of his trademark vocal tricks are perfectly in place as the song ends, although they sound oddly slowed and muffled. Jackson is conspicuously absent in the song’s video. Jackson’s refusal to appear in the video is said to be the result of the then-internal conflict between Jackson and Sony that later became very public. Cry became a top 40 hit in six countries, including the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, France and Spain. Grade: B
Track 14: The Lost Children (Down-tempo) — A bit folksy in its sound, The Lost Children is about all the children that are missing around the world. In the song Jackson sings, “Let’s pray for all the lost children… wishing them well and wishing them home”. While some might consider the song a tiny bit corny, with the children’s choir toward the end and the sound of children playing in the forest, others will find the spirit of the song (particularly in the light of the constant reports of missing children all over the world) rare, needed and beautiful. This is another song on Invincible where Jackson’s vocals sound different as if slightly altered, though it doesn’t interfere with the quality of the song. Grade: B
Track 15: Whatever Happens (Down-tempo) — With Carlos Santana on the guitar and Michael Jackson tearing into this song unlike he does anywhere else on the album, this Whatever Happens is an inarguable standout. Even reviewers that were hard on Invincible all seemed to rave about this track. The song tells the story of a man engaged in some unnamed questionable activity with his girlfriend, who is extremely apprehensive about what they are doing. Jackson sings, “Everything will be alright, he assures her” and “preoccupied, she’s afraid, afraid what they’ve been doing’s not right.” And on the chorus he sings, “Whatever happens, don’t you let go of my hand”. Santana’s playing on the guitar adds an intensity equal to the intensity built by Jackson’s vocals as the track progresses. This song is unique and phenomenal. It has aged remarkably well. Grade: A+
Track 16: Threatened (Up-tempo) — If you missed the Thriller, Ghosts, Is It Scary Michael Jackson, you will enjoy Threatened… you’ll also enjoy it if you didn’t. Threatened opens with The Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling saying, “Tonight’s story is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction.” What follows is a beat that instantly goes absolutely berserk. The wild beat plays so intensely you can barely hear the words spoken by Rod Serling introducing Jackson, which include, “A monster arrived in the village”. The beat calms slightly as the King of Pop comes in with, “You’re fearing me, because you know I’m a beast, watching you when you sleep, when you’re in bed I’m underneath.” He taunts, “Half of me, you’ll never be.” Rod Serling delivers a rap (think Vincent Price on Thriller) pieced together from lines he spoke on the Twilight Zone. That part alone is phenomenal, easily a highlight of the track (it almost sounds better now than it did when it came out). Personally, this is exactly the track I wanted from Jackson at the time - and now. If Invincible was an effort to make people forget some of the weird, quirky parts of Jackson’s image and music catalogue (which is what it felt like at times), this song was a full about-face from the other 15 tracks assigned to that task. This song sits quite nicely next to, not only Thriller, Ghost and Is It Scary but some of Jackson’s other creepy tracks like Little Susie, Morphine and Blood on the Dance Floor. The theme of the song is noir, the beat is eccentric (toward the end it sputters and breaks up), Jackson’s vocals and lyrics are intentionally menacing — and if that wasn’t enough, the host of one of the weirdest shows of all time, bookends the track and raps for the bridge. The final line of the track, and of the album, is Rod Serling saying (over sudden quiet), “What you’ve just witnessed could be the end of a particularly terrifying nightmare… it isn’t, it’s the beginning.” Michael Jackson can be seen dancing to the instrumental of this track in This Is It, at the end of the re-done Thriller set. Grade: A
The challenge Invincible faced (being Jackson’s first album of any kind in four years and his first album of entirely new material since 1991’s Dangerous) was, it had to cater to the several different styles Jackson had dabbled in throughout his career up to that point, do it well and palatably introduce it to a new generation. It had to do this all while simultaneously pleasing previous generations of fans. Invincible accomplishes this, but not without a misstep or two along the way. A few more up tempo songs would have been nice and the absence or suppression of some of Jackson’s signature vocal techniques is a bit more than apparent (there are very few “hehe”s and “hoohoo”s, for example, as compared to Jackson’s previous albums). Overall though, Invincible is a brilliant piece of work, with each song tuned to pop perfection and at 16 tracks and more than 77 minutes, there is something on it for everyone, no matter which era or style one has enjoyed from the King of Pop. Invincible has also aged quite well. Jackson wisely did not conform to pop music standards at the time of production, leaving Invincible sounding just as fresh and distinctive as it did on the day it was released.
For such an impressive album, it’s a shame that Invincible eventually became a casualty of the war between Jackson and Sony at the time, particularly since they would later resolve their differences and release successful music in the future.
A version of this article appeared in ‘The San Diego Monitor News & Business Journal’.
