Michael Jackson - The Essential (2CD) (Re-Rip) [EAC-FLAC] [RePoP

This release fixes some corruption found on the previous FLAC I shared. I'm sorry for those who spent time downloading it, and for the memory of MJ, which that fawlty release might have damaged in some way. Here's my apology in the shape of a new, corrected torrent. I hope you like it.



Long live the King.



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Michael Jackson - The Essential (2CD)

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CD: Michael Jackson - The Essential (CD 1)



01. I Want You Back [0:02:58.57]

02. ABC [0:02:57.10]

03. The Love You Save [0:03:05.08]

04. Got To Be There [0:03:25.02]

05. Rockin' Robin [0:02:32.62]

06. Ben [0:02:46.18]

07. Blame It On The Boogie [0:03:30.40]

08. Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) [0:03:45.54]

09. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough [0:03:56.35]

10. Off The Wall [0:03:46.00]

11. Rock With You [0:03:23.06]

12. She's Out Of My Life [0:03:37.20]

13. Can You Feel It [0:03:50.23]

14. The Girl Is Mine [0:03:41.68]

15. Billie Jean [0:04:52.72]

16. Beat It [0:04:18.03]

17. Wanne Be Startin' Somethin' [0:04:17.30]

18. Human Nature [0:03:45.73]

19. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) [0:03:58.55]

20. I Just Can't Stop Loving You [0:04:11.66]

21. Thriller [0:05:14.40]CD: Michael Jackson - The essential (CD2)



01. Bad [0:04:06.52]

02. The way you make me feel [0:04:26.26]

03. Man in the mirror [0:05:18.72]

04. Dirty Diana [0:04:40.57]

05. Another part of me [0:03:46.46]

06. Smooth criminal [0:04:17.18]

07. Leave me alone [0:04:39.66]

08. Black or white [0:03:21.40]

09. Remember the time [0:03:59.67]

10. In the closet [0:04:48.61]

11. Who is it [0:03:59.42]

12. Heal the world [0:06:24.70]

13. Will you be there [0:03:40.24]

14. You are not alone [0:04:55.74]

15. Earth song [0:05:02.08]

16. They don't care about us [0:04:44.29]

17. You rock my world [0:05:08.25]



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Album Review by Rob Theakston



There are several Michael Jackson greatest-hits compilations out there, each one

its own take on what should be the definitive portrait of the gloved one's

career. The Ultimate Collection, The Essential Collection (different from the

one here), and Number Ones have all surfaced in 2003 and 2004, and HIStory a few

years prior. Each one of these collections, while commendable in its attempt to

thoroughly document Jackson's accomplishments, has fallen woefully short in one

aspect or another. This has finally been rectified with this installment of

Sony's outstanding Essential collection. Starting with his campaign with his

brothers in the Jackson 5, this two-disc set tours through every important

single and every important fan favorite short of including his duet with Paul

McCartney on "Say Say Say" (the Beatle does, however, make an appearance here on

"The Girl Is Mine"). From Off the Wall to Dangerous, it's all here in one

concise package, making it the ideal reference point from which exploration into

his deeper catalog can begin. While die-hard fans will already have every single

song contained herein and may be weary to purchase another greatest-hits

compilation short of a greatest-hits compilation including his backing vocals on

Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me," this may be the only one fans and casual

listeners will ever have to purchase to get their fill of the King of Pop's

magic.



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Biography by Steve Huey



Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the '80s, and

certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time. In his prime,

Jackson was an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to dominate

the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance

moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power. His 1982

blockbuster Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all time (probably his

best-known accomplishment), and he was the first black artist to find stardom on

MTV, breaking down innumerable boundaries both for his race and for music video

as an art form. Yet as Jackson's career began, very gradually, to descend from

the dizzying heights of his peak years, most of the media's attention focused on

his increasingly bizarre eccentricities; he was often depicted as an arrested

man-child, completely sheltered from adult reality by a life spent in show

business. The snickering turned to scandal in 1993, when Jackson was accused of

molesting a 13-year-old boy; although he categorically denied the charges, his

out-of-court settlement failed to restore his tarnished image. He never quite

escaped the stigma of those allegations, and while he continued to sell records

at superstar-like levels, he didn't release them with enough frequency (or, many

critics thought, inspiration) to once again become better known for his music

than his private life. Whether as a pop icon or a tabloid caricature, Jackson

always remained bigger than life.



Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958, in Gary, IN. The fifth son of

steelworker Joe Jackson, Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an

extremely young age. His childhood was strictly regimented; from the start, he

was to an extent sheltered from the outside world by his mother's Jehovah's

Witness faith, and his father was by all accounts an often ill-tempered

disciplinarian. Joe began to organize a family musical group around his three

eldest sons in 1962, and Michael joined them the following year, quickly

establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer. His dead-on mastery of James

Brown's dance moves and soulful, mature-beyond-his-years vocals made him a

natural focal point, especially given his incredibly young age. Dubbed the

Jackson 5, the group signed to Motown in 1968 and issued their debut single in

October 1969, when Michael was just 11 years old. "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The

Love You Save," and "I'll Be There" all hit number one in 1970, making the

Jackson 5 the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top

the charts. Motown began priming Michael for a solo career in 1971, and his

first single, "Got to Be There," was issued toward the end of the year; it hit

the Top Five, as did the follow-up, a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin."

Later in 1972, Jackson had his first number one solo single, "Ben," the title

song from a children's thriller about a young boy who befriends Ben, the highly

intelligent leader of a gang of homicidal rats. Given the subject matter, the

song was surprisingly sincere and sentimental, and even earned an Oscar

nomination. However, the momentum of Jackson's solo career (much like that of

the Jackson 5) soon stalled. He released his fourth and final album on Motown in

1975, and the following year, he and his brothers (save Jermaine) signed to Epic

and became the Jacksons.



In 1977, Jackson landed a starring role alongside Diana Ross in the all-black

film musical The Wiz, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz; here he met

producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time. Encouraged by the success of

the Jacksons' self-produced, mostly self-written 1978 album Destiny, Jackson

elected to resume his solo career when his management contract with his father

expired shortly thereafter. With Jones producing, Jackson recorded his first

solo album as an adult, Off the Wall. An immaculately crafted set of funky

disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush, sentimental pop ballads, Off the Wall made

Jackson a star all over again. It produced four Top Ten singles, including the

number one hits "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You," and went

platinum (it went on to sell over seven million copies); even so, Jackson

remained loyal to his brothers and stayed with the group.



No group could have contained Jackson's rapidly rising star for long; however,

there was still no sign (if there ever could be) that his next album would

become the biggest in history. Released in 1982, the Quincy Jones-produced

Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were

more driving, the pop tunes and ballads softer and more soulful, and all of it

was recognizably Michael. Jackson brought in Paul McCartney for a duet,

guitarist Eddie Van Halen for a jaw-dropping solo, and Vincent Price for a

creepy recitation. It was no surprise that Thriller was a hit; what was a

surprise was its staying power. Jackson's duet with McCartney, "The Girl Is

Mine," was a natural single choice, and it peaked at number two; then "Billie

Jean" and the Van Halen track "Beat It" both hit number one, for seven and three

weeks respectively. Those latter two songs, as well as the future Top Five title

track, had one important feature in common: Jackson supported them with

elaborately conceived video clips that revolutionized the way music videos were

made. Jackson treated them as song-length movies with structured narratives:

"Billie Jean" set the song's tale of a paternity suit in a nightmarish dream

world where Jackson was a solitary, sometimes invisible presence; the anti-gang

-violence "Beat It" became an homage to West Side Story; and the ten-minute-plus

clip for "Thriller" (routinely selected as the best video of all time) featured

Jackson leading a dance troupe of rotting zombies, with loads of horror-film

makeup and effects. Having never really accepted black artists in the past, MTV

played the clips to death, garnering massive publicity for Jackson and droves of

viewers for the fledgling cable network. Jackson sealed his own phenomenon by

debuting his signature "moonwalk" dance step on May 16, 1983, on Motown's

televised 25th anniversary special; though he didn't invent the moonwalk (as he

himself was quick to point out), it became as much of a Jackson signature as his

vocal hiccups or single white-sequined glove.



Showing no signs of slowing down, Thriller just kept spinning off singles,

including "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," the airy ballad "Human Nature," and

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"; in all, seven of its nine tracks wound up in the

Top Ten, obliterating conventional ideas of how many singles could be released

from an album before it ran its course. Thriller stayed on the charts for over

two years, spent 37 nonconsecutive weeks at number one, and became the best-

selling album of all time; it went on to sell 25 million copies in the U.S.

alone, and around another 20 million overseas. Naturally, Jackson won a slew of

awards, including a record eight Grammys in one night, and snagged the largest

endorsement deal ever when he became a spokesman for Pepsi (he would later be

burned in an accident while filming a commercial). At the end of 1983, Jackson

was again on top of the singles charts, this time as part of a second duet with

McCartney, "Say Say Say." In 1984, Jackson rejoined his brothers one last time

for the album Victory, whose supporting tour was one of the biggest (and

priciest) of the year. The following year, he and Lionel Richie co-wrote the

anthemic "We Are the World" for the all-star famine-relief effort USA for

Africa; it became one of the fastest-selling singles ever.



Even at this early stage, wild rumors about Jackson's private life were

swirling. His shyness and reluctance to grant interviews (ironically, due in

part to his concerns about being misrepresented) only encouraged more

speculation. Some pointed to his soft-spoken, still girlish voice as evidence

that he'd undergone hormone treatments to preserve the high, flexible range of

his youth; stories were told about Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber to

slow the aging process, and purchasing the skeleton of John Merrick, the

Elephant Man (Jackson did view the bones in the London Hospital, but did not buy

them). Jackson bought a large ranch in California which he dubbed Neverland, and

filled it with amusement park rides and animals (including the notorious pet

chimpanzee Bubbles), which only fueled the public's perception of him as a

somewhat bizarre eccentric obsessed with recapturing his childhood. He also

underwent cosmetic surgery several times, which led to accusations from the

black community that his gradually lightening skin tone was the result of an

intentional effort to become whiter; a few years later, Jackson revealed that he

had a disorder called vitiligo, in which pigment disappears from the skin,

leaving large white blotches and making direct sunlight dangerous. One of the

rumors that was definitely true was that Jackson owned the rights to the

Beatles' catalog; in 1985, he acquired ATV Publishing, the firm that controlled

all the Lennon-McCartney copyrights (among others), which wound up costing him

his friendship with McCartney.



During his long layoff between records, Jackson indulged his interest in film

and video by working with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 3-D short

film Captain Eo. The special-effects extravaganza was shown at the enormous

widescreen IMAX theaters in Disney's amusement parks for 12 years, beginning in

1986. Finally, Jackson re-entered the studio with Quincy Jones to begin the

near-impossible task of crafting a follow-up to Thriller. Bad was released to

enormous public anticipation in 1987, and was accompanied by equally enormous

publicity. It debuted at number one, and the first single, "I Just Can't Stop

Loving You," with vocal accompaniment by Siedah Garrett, also shot up the charts

to number one. Like Thriller, Bad continued to spin off singles for well over a

year after its release, and became the first album ever to produce five number

one hits; the others were "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the

Mirror," and "Dirty Diana." Jackson supported the album with a lengthy world

tour that featured a typically spectacular, elaborate stage show; it became the

highest-grossing tour of all time. Although Jackson's success was still

staggering, there were faint undercurrents of disappointment, partly because of

the unparalleled phenomenon of Thriller (Bad "only" sold eight million copies),

and partly because the album itself didn't seem quite as exuberant or uniformly

consistent when compared to its predecessors.



Jackson took another long hiatus between albums, giving the media little to

focus on besides his numerous eccentricities; by this time, the British tabloids

delighted in calling him "Wacko Jacko," a name he detested. When Jackson

returned in with a new album in late 1991, he'd come up with a different

moniker: "the King of Pop." Dangerous found Jackson ending his collaboration

with Quincy Jones in an effort to update his sound; accordingly, many of the

tracks were helmed by the groundbreaking new jack swing producer Teddy Riley. As

expected, the album debuted at number one, and its lead single, "Black or

White," shot to the top as well. Jackson courted controversy with the song's

video, however; after the song itself ended, there was a long dance sequence in

which Jackson shouted, grabbed his crotch, and smashed car windows in a bizarre

display that seemed at odds with the song's harmonious message. With the video

given a high-profile, prime-time network premiere, Jackson was criticized for

the inappropriate violence and the message it might send to his younger fans.

However, Jackson would not be the biggest story in popular music for long. In

early 1992, Nirvana's Nevermind symbolically knocked Dangerous out of the number

one spot; after the alternative rock revolution, the pop charts would never be

quite the same. Jackson scored several more hits off the album, including the

Top Tens "Remember the Time" and "In the Closet," but the aggressive "Jam" and

the saccharine "Heal the World" both performed disappointingly.



Jackson had long preferred the company of children over other adults, and

befriended quite a few, inviting them to stay at his Neverland Ranch and enjoy

the massive playground he'd assembled over the years. In 1993, Jackson was

accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy who'd become a frequent guest at

Nev