Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) (Single Edit)
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Single Version)
Rock With You (Single Version)
Off The Wall3:45
She's Out Of My Life
Can You Feel It (Single Version)
The Girl Is Mine
Billie Jean (Single Version)
Beat It (Single Version)
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Single Version)
Human Nature
P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
Thriller (Single Version)
Track Listings (17) - Disc #2
Bad
I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Leave Me Alone
The Way You Make Me Feel (Single Version)
Man In The Mirror
Dirty Diana
Another Part Of Me (Single Version)
Smooth Criminal (Radio Edit)
Black Or White (Single Version)
Heal The World
Remember The Time
In The Closet (Single Version)
Who Is It (7" Edit)
Will You Be There (Single Version)
Dangerous
You Are Not Alone (Single Version)
You Rock My World (with intro)
The 2CD The Essential Michael Jackson takes you on a journey from budding star, to iconic legend and allows you to immerse yourself in the musical and emotional development of each track defining the story of a global supe... more »rstar. Michael Jackson needs no introduction, as part of the Jackson 5 he helped make up a remarkable musical family and one of the biggest pop phenomenons of the early 70s. The Jacksons' infectious brand of funky soul and now iconic stage presence reached out globally and made them and Michael international stars. As the success of the band grew, Michael branched out with his own solo career first launching with "Got to be There" and then "Rockin' Robin". The momentum started to grow with the release of more successful singles and, as the hype surrounding the Jackson 5 slowed down towards the late 70s, Michael continued to develop and grow as an artist. With the release of Off the Wall, an immaculately crafted set of funky disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush, sentimental pop ballads, Michael cemented his place as a global star. The 1980s were a career-defining period with his instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power Michael Jackson was unstoppable. The 1982 album Thriller became the biggest selling album of all time and combined his musical genius with an exceptional and ahead of its time music video epic. Bad (1987) was released with enormous public anticipation and spawned another succession of hit singles with "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."« less
The 2CD The Essential Michael Jackson takes you on a journey from budding star, to iconic legend and allows you to immerse yourself in the musical and emotional development of each track defining the story of a global superstar. Michael Jackson needs no introduction, as part of the Jackson 5 he helped make up a remarkable musical family and one of the biggest pop phenomenons of the early 70s. The Jacksons' infectious brand of funky soul and now iconic stage presence reached out globally and made them and Michael international stars. As the success of the band grew, Michael branched out with his own solo career first launching with "Got to be There" and then "Rockin' Robin". The momentum started to grow with the release of more successful singles and, as the hype surrounding the Jackson 5 slowed down towards the late 70s, Michael continued to develop and grow as an artist. With the release of Off the Wall, an immaculately crafted set of funky disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush, sentimental pop ballads, Michael cemented his place as a global star. The 1980s were a career-defining period with his instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power Michael Jackson was unstoppable. The 1982 album Thriller became the biggest selling album of all time and combined his musical genius with an exceptional and ahead of its time music video epic. Bad (1987) was released with enormous public anticipation and spawned another succession of hit singles with "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."
"Whoa!!!!! Where did this come from? Without any hype or media attention, Sony has just released "The Essential Michael Jackson" (37 tracks, 157 min.), perhaps the ultimate Michael Jackson compilation.
CD 1 (20 tracks, 79 min.) cover the period up to and including the "Thriller" album, starting with the best known Jackson 5 singles such as "ABC" and "I Want You Back", then shifting to the Jacksons. It would have been better to include "State of Shock" or "Lovely One" instead of "Enjoy Yourself". CD1 finishes off with 7 of the 9 "Thriller" album tracks (the other 2 being "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady in My Life"; it's still hard to believe how successfull that album really was, and how many hits were relased from it, in the days when "radio tracks" meant actual vinyl single releases). This was of course Michael at his absolute best, now 23 years ago.
CD2 (17 tracks, 78 min.) compiles 8 tracks from "Bad" and 7 from "Dangerous", and finishes off with "You Are Not Alone" from HIStory and "You Rock My World" from Invincible. In other words: only 2 tunes from the post-1992 era, and rightfully so, even though the HIStory and Invincible albums are not nearly as bad or mediocre as many would like you to believe. The only track that arguably should be on here (but, at 78 min. already, at the expense of what other track then?) is "Scream", the No. 1 duet with sister Janet.
In the end, this "essential" compilation is better than any other compilation available (HIStory Vol. 1; Number Ones, etc.) as it covers both the Jackson 5/Jacksons era and his solo output. It's very strange to me that this was released without any hype or advertizing campaign, but the main thing is that it's out and available. Hihgly recommended!"
Close enough for those who don't want the albums
The JeroCrowe | 07/22/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"While some might gripe about the lack of new material on this collection, very few (and I only say this because I don't own all of them) of the sets in the "The Essential" series of compilations have anything new on them. The point is to make available an affordable compilation of an artist's hits over the course of their career. This is especially useful in the cases of artists who have had career highlights on various labels, such as Johnny Cash or Michael Jackson. In the case of Jacko's collection, this is the only 2-disc set on the market that contains tracks dating from the J5 years to the present, so it's valuable to those who want a lot of his hits in one purchase but don't want to buy the J5's greatest hits, a compilation of pre-Off the Wall hits and then another compilation that covers from Off the Wall to the present.
There are a few glaring omissions to be noted, though: "Dancing Machine," "Scream" (with Janet), and "Say Say Say" (with Paul McCartney) deserve to be on here. "Blood on the Dancefloor" is a personal favorite of mine that would've been nice to get without having to buy a remix album, too, but it's inessential (then again, so is "Dangerous," which made it on). Overall, though, I recommend it for those who want a 2-disc Jackson fix in 1 purchase."
It's the CD to own for this American icon.
Robert G. Martinez | Brooksville FL | 06/26/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Thjere are many Michael Jackson CD's on the market. This is the one to own however since it captures all of his big hits and well represents my two favorite albums "Off The Wall" and "Thriller". His best songs are all here" Rock With You, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Beat It, Billie Jean,The Girl Is Mine, Human Nature, etc. as well as his early hits with the Jackson Five and the great later albums like "Bad" and "Dangerous". THIS IS THE BEST SOUNDING representation of these hits I have ever heard. There are 37 cuts. Michael was indeed an American tragedy and a pop music icon. If you can only own one CD, this is the most logical choice. My only quibble is the omission of "Never Can Say Goodbye" which was my favorite Jackson Five song. At one time, he was selling over one million albums-CD's a day (1983-84). He changed the course of pop music history and his legacy will live on despite the cynics. Highly recommended!"
A Great Compilation...
S. Rhodes | 09/15/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"...But it should be warned that if you already own "HIStory: Past, Present, and Future" then you're more or less paying for the same thing. However, the good news is that if you don't, this is by far the best collection of Michael Jackson's greatest hits!
Unlike HIStory, they actually have the goods. Not just the same old stuff we've all heard thousands of times (i.e. we get more than just "Billie Jean" "Beat It" and "Thriller"). Not only that, but we get to hear some classic Jackson 5 songs. And of coure, "Ben" which was one of his greatest.
If you take a look you'll notice that "Off the Wall" "P.Y.T. Pretty Young Thing" and "Human Nature" are here. And I was very impressed that this time, they remembered "Smooth Criminal" (the song everyone seems to think Alien Ant Farm did). They also threw in "Dirty Diana" and "Leave Me Alone".
Likewise, we can easily see that "Dangerous" was not a forgotten album. This time spawning more than just three songs, but actually seven. And what a fine seven they are, the ones we actually LIKED... well, maybe some of us could do without "Heal the World". But luckily, "Man in the Mirror" will save you from that.
Really, this is a great compilation. We get to see Jackson before he became a total nutcase in the media. Remember, it doesn't matter what he looks like now, or even how his music sounds now. It's all a matter of what his music can still bring to you now. You can't change the past, and the past was good! So let's keep it and remember it when we buy this.
Lastly, I still have to throw in that if you got HIStory and Number Ones, this might not perk you up right. However, for two CDs the list price isn't bad (HIStory debuted at about forty dollars). So if you want the GOOD Jackson songs, get this album. It's more than just his solo career, too. It's his career with the Jackson 5 as well."
SIMPLY THE BEST!! A GOOD FINAL TRIBUTE TO MJ's LEGACY!
N. Newman | McMinnville, TN | 06/30/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I agree with an above poster. I didn't buy this album to "drool" over. I wanted to listen and enjoy his music not analyze his life or even think about his passing. Just enjoy the tracks on this record. 2 songs I liked weren't included they were , The Jacksons "Torture" and MJ's 2001 song "2000 Watts". But I got most of those from the net. I liked some of MJ's songs but only knew the most popular ones prior to his passing. Since his passing and thanks to a tribute of MJ songs played on XM Satellite Radio. I now enjoy more songs than ever before. I know most think that people like me ONLY bought this record because of the hype. That isn't true if you never liked MJ's music than regardless of the hype you won't all of the sudden like his music. You have to be a fan of some sort prior to his passing. Sad that it takes MJ passing for fans bring his music to a level that he never saw when he was alive. I like most (if you never owned a MJ album) wanted to have at lease one ACTUAL record of MJ's to remember the good music he did. I'll add that listening to "You are not alone" is very hard now knowing that MJ is gone. Knowing that he meant so much to so many! It was like his way of leaving a final message! RIP MJ"