The Essential - Michael Jackson

With the huge publicity surrounding Michael Jackson's death last month, sales of his back catalogue have soared through the roof all over the world. He sold over a million records within the first fortnight of his untimely demise and thousands of new people are being introduced to the amazing genius that shone from this individual even if it was greatly diluted during his later years. 'The Essential Michael Jackson' is currently the number 1 album in the UK some four years after it was first released. It's one of about 3 greatest hits collections on the market released by the late singer during his epic career though putting all three of them together, I would ...  Read the complete review

I'm not going to turn this into another Michael Jackson tribute as plenty have been done before. This review is simply about the album. When Michael Jackson died I, like many others, got caught up in the Jacko craze however I realized I didn't actually own a single Michael Jackson album. That was soon rectified with the purchase of 'The Essential Michael Jackson'. I opted for a best of/compilation album instead of a particular album (e.g. Thriller) as I was hoping to get the best of Michael Jackson from across his career. I'm 19 so I never really grew up when he was producing his best songs however his music was constantly being played when I was younger so this album ...  Read the complete review

The Essential Michael Jackson is a 38-song collection of all his best and well-known hits, right from the beginning of his career with his songs with the Jackson 5 through to his last single 'You Rock My World'. While many people will be put off buying or even listening to anything related to Michael Jackson due to his troubles over the past few years, any fans of his will absolutely love this double CD. Anyone not so familiar with his work (if that's possible) will also be treated to a compilation of some of the best pop songs from the last 30 years. Although I have been a big Michael Jackson fan since I was younger, I didn't own too many of his ...  Read the complete review

Like a lot of people I used to be a huge Michael Jackson fan in the 80s and 90s, and following the recent media coverage of his unfortunate passing I have dusted off all my old CDs and given them another listen - also like a lot of people, although I found his lifestyle choice bizarre and some of his decisions wrong/mis-judged (Please note that I do not believe that he was a paedophile) I think that some of his music was out of this world and listening to Michael Jackson: Essential I realise that almost every song invokes memories from certain times of my life. The ability to make music which causes such feelings is a very rare talent and I think a large ...  Read the complete review

This album really is the essential Michael Jackson. It's not for those who are serious Jacko fans and want something more than his best known hits. This really is Michael Jackson as people will remember him, full of classic tracks that make you want to get up and at least try and dance like him! A real plus in this album is the progression of Michael Jackson child star, to Michael Jackson's first solo tracks, to the king of pop at his height. It's also hard to disagree with the track selection on the album, these are the most famous songs but it's also a dense enough album to discover tracks you never knew existed. He was a pop sensation and for those who wish to ...  Read the complete review