HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I by Michael Jackson

In keeping with Michael Jackson's established work pattern, four years passed between the issue of his 1991 multi-platinum effort "Dangerous" and the follow-up "HIStory" – a time in which his career endured some major disturbances. With allegations of child sexual abuse coming from a visitor to his Neverland Ranch and cranking public scrutiny to higher levels than ever before, the case was promptly settled out of court via a twenty million dollar payoff (but no explicit admittance of guilt; Michael persisting in stating his innocence to the present day). While a concrete belief in his culpability (or lack thereof) varies from person to person, the fallout from the scandal is stamped all over "HIStory", a double album that pairs a greatest hits record with a disc of all-new material. The more cynical among us may raise an eyebrow at such a marketing move – likely a damage control effort to keep the new songs selling by bolstering them with time-tested successes – and it's hard to discern how well the studio portion would have fared released alone. In addition, it's interesting to note that while "HIStory" still shifted plenty of units, its individual sales were lower than for any of Michael's preceding 'grown-up' albums, and its pompous cover, tacky marketing strategies (like floating giant, self-idolising statues down major European rivers) and infamous 'Messiah' Brit award appearance were all complicit in landing him a critical blow he's never really recovered from. Perhaps the whole era was simply the result of a misunderstood eccentric being taken for a financial ride, but it's hard to dismiss the obvious weaknesses inherent in this record, with stilted beats and rampant paranoia conspiring to making parts of it a very tough listen.

Disc One: HIStory Begins

As previously mentioned, the first half of the "HIStory" set groups all of Michael's hits into a near-essential compilation, with many of its tracks being enduring pop classics that are among the most defining musical moments of the past twenty-five years. For brevity's sake, I'm not going to cover all the songs (besides, it's not like the world needs another person singing the praises of "Billie Jean"), but this is a must-have if you're even remotely interested in the man and his music – especially since you can now get it as a standalone piece. While not sequenced in chronological order, there are plenty of opportunities to witness Michael's growth as a writer and performer, from the unpretentious, bubbly disco of "Off the Wall" (represented by the excellent "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough", "Rock With You" and the drippy, tuneless "She's Out of My Life") to his Quincy Jones-produced masterstrokes.

Fittingly, the "Thriller" and "Bad" albums grab most of the spotlight on this collection, and for good reason – the Jones/Jackson duo was a truly formidable one, capable of succeeding in areas ranging from all-out theatricality (the respective title tracks) to sophisticated pop ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You”; "The Way You Make Me Feel") and irresistible R&B-based dance grooves like the rock fusion "Beat It". It's a shame that this pairing couldn't have persisted into the "Dangerous" record, where Michael's adoption of New Jack Swing rhythms resulted in a far more bloated, monotonous and dated sound, with little of the innovation he formerly provided. It's no shock to see that "Dangerous" gets the fewest inclusions of all, although the smash hit "Black and White" is pretty catchy and "Heal the World" has a pretty melody (if its weepy hand-wringing doesn't induce a sugar coma). Anyway, with the minor flaws dismissed, this is a great set of songs, and definitely worth grabbing if you see it about.

Disc Two: HIStory Continues

Things get much murkier on the second disc, which feels like a lesser re-write of "Dangerous", with the same repetitive, minimal arrangements (usually consisting of little more than a drum machine loop, vocals and a couple of minor synthesiser embellishments) and protracted running times. When it works, it can be quite compelling and effective – "They Don't Care About Us" has an oddly unsettling keyboard build-up to its explosive mid-section, and the Janet duet "Scream" is fairly exciting, exemplifying the album's main formula with a polished, hard-hitting beat, impassioned singing and some unexpected tempo changes along the way. After hearing these numbers, muddy bores like "This Time Around" and "2 Bad" come across as totally pointless, contenting themselves with endlessly cycling the same beat pattern amidst tossed-off attempts at vocal hooks (usually achieved by repeating one line of melody over and over) and echo-laden effects that might suit a lesser singer, but are absolutely unnecessary in this context.

As for lyrics, the running theme revolves around ego, pursuit and insecurity. Understandably rattled by the child molestation charges, Michael's on the defensive, and his performances are as undeniably emotional and sincere as ever. However, the constant venting gets old incredibly quickly, and isn't helped by the nasty reek of hypocrisy that permeates most of these songs; feeling more like 'you hurt me, so I'll hurt you' embittered ranting than any kind of thoughtful social commentary. Certainly, hearing Michael smugly proclaim that his detractors will do "anything for money" on the aptly titled "Money" is ridiculous considering he had few qualms about dripping eight million dollars on the "Scream" video, and said song's "As jacked as it sounds, the whole system sucks" line is just insulting – he had no problems with the system when it was affording him all that fame and cash! Even worse, there's also the transparent paparazzi whining of "Tabloid Junkie", as well as the poisonous rocker "D.S.", which supposedly takes pot-shots at someone named 'Dom S. Sheldon' – but is sung to sound like 'Tom Sneddon', who was coincidentally the district prosecutor in the sexual abuse case (and would be again for its 2005 successor). In short: anger is one thing, but self-absorbed, juvenile retaliation is quite another.

That just leaves the ballads, which unfortunately tip too much towards schmaltz for my liking. The huge UK hit "Earth Song" is interesting in that it could be easily dismissed as horrendously overblown, but works very well taken as a one-man dramatic performance, growing from mournful verses to a huge, belted climax. The minor single "Stranger in Moscow" is also decent, fleshing out its arrangement with raindrop piano and some soft violin additions, and "You Are Not Alone" is at least tasteful in its saccharine romantic statements (although given collaborator R. Kelly's recent escapades with minors, it now feels more like a nauseating call to pedophilic unity than a declaration of love). Sadly, even that questionable syrup is more tolerable than the remaining slowies – "Little Suzie" is a pseudo-classical piece of pretentious tripe, and the corny, over-orchestrated "Childhood" and "Smile" are melodically vacant bits of adult contemporary sludge, which deftly show why co-producer David Foster is now reduced to working with the likes of Heidi Montag.

In conclusion, the basic thread persisting through "HIStory" is of being hit-and-miss – and its peaks just aren't enough to compensate for the miserable lows. Despite the definite, recommendable quality of the greatest hits disc, the second ends up being the first post-"Off the Wall" Michael Jackson product to truly bomb, and indicates that the issues in his personal life were definitely trumping his musical invention at the time. It remains to be seen whether he'll be able to pull off any kind of real comeback, but I guess that "HIStory" points both to past glory and future collapse in so fitting a way as to be a worthy purchase – but only just. 3 stars.