In 1995 Michael Jackson released a double disc set called “HIStory.” The first disc featured all of his hits – everything from “Billie Jean” to “Bad” to “Thriller” to “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and everything else in between like “She’s Out Of My Life.” Disc Two had fifteen more songs, most of which were brand new and had never been heard before.
Being that I already owned most of the hits when he put this record out, I didn’t even bother picking it up. Also I was more of a Prince fan at that point and was on some “Prince is better than Mike” type of shit, which is so typical of Prince & Michael Jackson fans. I’m way beyond that now, but anyway….I only very recently decided to go and download the second disc, only because I’d never heard it before. I still have no plans of actually buying the disc for myself. It wasn’t too long after downloading it that I was moved to sit down & do a track-for-track review of the album. I’m just gonna tell ya what I think of this record straight up. Check out the review and make of it what you will:
Scream: This was the first single he released from the album and you know what? At the time, I thought it was absolute crap. The worst thing he’d ever put out. It was a collaboration between himself and his younger sister Janet which featured him pretty much lashing out against the media. He told them to “stop pressuring me” and, much worse than that to “stop fucking with me.” Michael Jackson was not known for cursing on his albums, but here he was….droppin the “F” bomb in front of everybody. Although it was Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis who co-wrote this song along with Michael & Janet, and I do recall one of them saying how they wanted to Mike to really get his point across in the lyrics, hence the profanity. In the remix that lyric was looped over & over again “stop fucking with me, stop fucking with me….” The video featured them in some kind of “futuristic” spaceship smashing things up, playing video games and generally letting out all of their frustrations. I guess you could also say that it was a brother & sister just goofin’ off as well. As I said earlier I initially thought the song was crap but I went & bought the 12inch several years later so I guess I don’t mind it nowadays.
They Don’t Care About Us: I remember this song causing quite a stir because of the lyric, “Jew me sue me everybody do me.” Michael later went back into the studio, cut the word “Jew” out of the original song and re-released the album. He also edited the lyric that followed, which was “kick me kike me don’t you black or white me,” which later became “don’t you wrong or right me.” I’m not sure if anymore copies of the original album still exist, but it’s probably a lot harder to find that particular version now. I had initially interpreted this song as Michael just being shitty about the media and their overall interpretation of him, moreso because of the fact that he’s making such statements as, “I’m tired of being a victim of hate” and other things along those lines. Apparently though, the song is really all about the ills of prejudice. Now that I listen to the song a little more carefully, it gives me the impression that he may or not’ve been implying, “They don’t care about black folks.” Whoever “they ” were. Two videos were shot for this song: one in a prison cell with intertwined footage of the LA riots and poverty in Africa and another one which featured Michael singing the song in a street in Brasil. Both were directed by Spike Lee.
Stranger In Moscow: You know…..I had the “History” set on DVD for many years, but I never really paid that much attention to this song. For some reason I just thought it was wack and never really gave it a chance. But what I’ve noticed over the last few days or so, is that it is indeed a very nice song. His harmonies are multilayered Prince/Marvin Gaye style and he sings the lyrics in that beautiful sweet voice of his. It’s the perfect marriage for a classic Michael Jackson tune. But take a good look at the lyrics. The man is very sad and lonely. Worse still, he feels trapped by his own fame and fortune. I’m not really sure why he’s talking about being haunted by Stalin’s tomb and getting stalked by the KGB though, or even why he feels like a stanger in Moscow…..on second thought, I suppose that was just his way of trying to relate to what he was saying. The song’s great though……wow, I am so late on this one! Oh well, better late than never.
This Time Around: Michael’s getting funky again….except he sounds more like he’s grunting rather than singing. Again, it’s another angry song about how he’s not gonna let the media write any bad things about him and how he’s just generally gonna stand up for himself. Or rather, as he says, “This time around, I’m taking no shit.” Oh really? Late rapper Notorious B.I.G also dropped into the studio and provided a verse for this song…which….as a whole, I don’t think is anything too special, really. Next song.
Earth Song: Now it’s time for another one of those socially conscious songs from Michael Jackson. He’s been doing stuff like this at least since 1987 with “Man in the mirror,” although he never wrote that one. This one’s just about how we’ve been so cruel to the Earth and all that type of stuff. I understand why he would’ve written a song like this one, but for some reason, it never really appealed to me. The live instrumentation sounds really good though, I’ll give him that. When he performed this in 1996 at the Brit Awards, Joe Cocker’s son, Jarvis ran up on stage, lifted his shirt up and put his (clothed) buttocks in an audience member’s face. All this because he felt as though Michael was getting all Christ-like during his performance because of the way the people on the stage were seemingly “worshipping” him and being healed by him. Yeah, that was quite an extreme performance. Jarvis looked like a dickhead though, I must say.
D.S.: This next song should’ve been called “BS,” because it’s exactly that. Bullshit. I mean, sure we’re still gonna get up and jam to “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” with its infectuous chant of “Mama say mama say mama koo sah,” which Michael was allegedly getting sued over by an African artist, but anyway, that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say is, in 25 years’ time, are we really gonna get up & groove to “Tom Sneddon is a cold man”? I think not. Other words, this is really just Michael lashing out again. This time it’s against an attourney, ironically enough named Tom Sneddon who…..unless I’m mistaken was the man who first accused him of child molestations in 1993. As I said, the song is wack as hell, but props to Mike for releasing his anger….just don’t release it on record in future. Actually, the lyric is allegedly “Don Sneddon is a cold man” and the song is titled as such because the guy would’ve obviously sued the hell outta Michael Jackson and his gold diaper. I’m not sure if this guy ever responded to Michael’s song though.
Money: I was really quite surprised at Michael’s low voice on this next cut. He’s very much doing a spoken word piece, about how some people have that evil look in their eyes, which would then make them backstabbers, and just how folks would do all kinds of extreme things for money, like sell their souls and even die. The chorus is sung in a classic MJ style with multi layered harmonies that sound all kinds of soulful. We have another winner here from Michael Jackson. Shame he never put this one out as a single. The message still stands strong fourteen years later.
Come Together: This song was originally featured on the “Jam” CD Single in the early ’90s and also in the movie “Moonwalker” in 1989. Apparently he recorded it back in ‘87. He never included it on any of his albums though, which is probably why he put it on disc 2 of “History.” It’s something different though compared to the rest of the songs on the album. Overall, not a bad version of the Beatles classic. I wonder how Paul McCartney felt when he heard this. We all know he wasn’t too thrilled when Mike decided to buy the entire Beatles catalogue.
You Are Not Alone: I wanna say this was the second single released off the album, but I could be wrong about that. I do know for a fact though, that this song was written by R. Kelly and the demo featured him imitating Michael’s smooth singing style, which means he more or less had Michael in mind when he wrote the song in the first place. This was quite a big hit back in the day, whose accompanying video clip also caused some controversy because it featured Michael Jackson and his ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley with no clothes on….thankfully we never saw Mikey’s meat and two vege. I don’t mind this song nowadays. The album version’s slightly different to what was on the radio though, there’s an instrumental intro that goes on for about 16 seconds.
Childhood: When I finally sat down and listened to this song for the very first time, I just thought “this is quite a sad song” simply because of the fact that he’s singing about how he loves really basic things, how he’s always joking around and how he’s just generally begging the listeners to really love and accept him for who he is before they go ahead and judge him for his behaviour. You’ve got to also think, “Hey, this man was pretty much robbed of his childhood,” which is why he’s still trying to search for and capture that child within himself. That’s also why, whenever they do a TV special on him, you always see him throwing water balloons around and climbing trees and stuff. This was another one that I always used to skip over on the “History” DVD, but now I’m feeling all choked up as I listen to him singing it. Even Michael himself sounds like he’s gonna break down and cry towards the end. This song was chosen as the theme song for the movie “Free Willy 2.”
Tabloid Junkie: Now that the sweet stuff is over and done, it’s time for Mike to get back to that cum-grunt style of singing. He’s angry at the press, man. Furious. To the point where you can hardly understand a damn thing he’s saying in the verses. The gist of it though, is that a whole bunch of lies have been written about him over the years and he’s not cool with it. At all. And why would you be? One of those rumors is that he’s gay, which, when I first heard him say that, cracked me up! The way he sings the chorus, though, is absolutely stellar. “Just because you read it in a magazine or see it on a TV screen don’t make it factual, actual.” He would later repeat this phrase in his infamous interview with British journalist Martin Bashir. The song’s pretty decent but I think since he put this album out he’s gone too far with all of those hitting back at the press types of songs.
2 Bad: Looking at this song’s title and even some of its lyrics, you would think that this could be Michael’s attempt at writing a sequel to “Bad” from 1987. “you’re throwing rocks to hide your hands” is indeed quite similar to “you’re throwing stones to hide your hands” Also, he said “you’re doing wrong,” which is a line from the acapella version of “Bad,” which is featured at the end of the video clip. I’m not really sure who he was singing about, and I’m not real sure if it was meant to be a sequel either…..probably just another song that wasn’t meant to signify anything in particular. It also features a rap verse from basketball player Shaquille O’Neal who says he’s gonna “grab my crotch and twist my knees.” Just keep it to yourself, mate. Overall it’s not a bad song though.
History: And here is the title track. Probably the most confused song I’ve ever heard in my life. Let’s see if I can get this straight…..at first he’s amped up about some guy getting kicked in his back…..possibly Rodney King who got beat down in the early ’90s during the LA riots, then he’s singing all sweet about how you need to stand up for your rights & remember how everything you do becomes a part of your legacy. That’s just what goes on in between the song. Amongst all of that there are samples of a Martin Luther King speech, and even an old quote from Michael himself from when he was a child, talking about how he doesn’t sing anything unless he actually means it. If he had’ve sang this song in its entirety as a very simple & sweet type of track then yeah it would’ve been a classic anthem, but since he was so caught up in frustrations over molestations & who knows what else, the song just doesn’t go anywhere at all. Winds up being a very hot mess…..except for the chorus though, he sounds real nice there.
Little Susie: Straight up…..just what the fuck is this?! It runs for about six odd minutes but begins with a choir of some sorts, then it segues into a sample of a little baby humming and playing with a toy, then it goes off into this orchestral piece about a girl who was killed and now has blood in her hair as a result of her murder. I’m just sitting here with my face all screwed up in confusion. Sounds like Michael Jackson lost the plot on this track. Apparently it was an outtake from the “Dangerous” album and was originally titled “Tradgedy Of The Cheerleader.” Other fans are also saying that it was written back in 1979, but I don’t know if that’s correct or not. The bottom line is, it’s not my type of song. End of discussion.
Smile: I can see why Michael would end the album with a song like this one – something to tell us to constantly smile, even when we’re feeling sad or scared about a certain something in our lives. I suppose it would be sort of like the light at the end of the tunnel, you know? Some kind of positive message to close the album. I had no idea Charlie Chaplin wrote this song, but I was of course aware of Nat King Cole’s version, which I think was the most famous one. My only real criticism about Michael’s rendition is that he decided to put a beat on it which in my opinion completely ruins it. If he would’ve sung it with only an orchestra behind him it would’ve been so much better.
Verdict: Indeed, Michael was just a tad bit pissed off on this album, but you see, that wasn’t purely the case. He was also sad & hurt by a few things and yeah, he definitely needed to express such feelings. That’s cool with me but I think he got a little too carried away with all of that “Fuck the press” shit and that really bled into some of the later work in his catalogue. Honestly I just hope he goes into the studio one day & does a whole bunch of songs that don’t attack anyone or don’t talk about his lack of childhood or privacy or any of that stuff. I understand why he would’ve been angry about such things, but there comes a time where you really need to get over stuff like that. Overall the album’s OK. Definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
