Invincible

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
For such a boldly titled and apparently driven attempt to reinstate Michael Jackson at the centre of the pop world, Invincible is a listless thing. Split between scratchy funk workouts and mid-tempo ballads that might have appeared as Bad B-sides, the album plays on and on while never seriously promoting dancing or romancing. Its handful of weird moments--the resurrection-by-tape of Biggie Smalls on the bridge of the title track, for instance--are hardly large-scale bizarre like the first disc of HIStory. The title track turns out to be hardly the rampant ego-fest you'd imagine; instead, its subject is a female whom Jackson cheers on. Likewise, the most ear-catching moments of the "comeback" single "You Rock My World" come with Chris Tucker's jivey introduction. Despite a debt to "Payback"-era James Brown, "Rock" floats away like steam midway through. It's almost a relief when the old self-regard turns up: on the growling "Privacy", Jackson rants about muckrakers "stalking" him in search of "the stories you need to bury me", all this long after foundering divas and troubled boy-group members have replaced him on tabloid covers. The man may occasionally break away from the mirror, but he seems unsure about where else to find inspiration. --Rickey Wright

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Customer reviews

review by: gd01st date: 2008-08-17 rating:
A bit of a disappointment....
Okay, it's not as bad as it's harshest critics make it out to be, but then it's nowhere near as good as some of the over-zealous MJ fanatics rate it either.

I'm a lifelong fan and appreciate his music both as a solo artist and with The Jacksons but this album was something of a disappointment. That's not to say it's not without merit, but if you're buying this hoping to hear the same kind of passion Michael delivers on pop classics like Billie Jean or Don't Stop Till You Get Enough or even Who Is It then you're going to be disappointed.

Simply put, the melodies just aren't up to scratch. The opening three cuts are fast and frantic with flashy production from Rodney Jerkins but they all lack the same thing: a catchy hook. Michael Jackson used to be the master of the catchy pop song. I remember when I was a kid and I used to sneak into my brothers room when he was out and play Smooth Criminal on a loop. He's created so many wonderfully melodic pop songs that are so rich with imagery and passion but there's very little of that to be found on Invincible.

There are some moments of relief. Heaven Can Wait is a gentle R&B mid-tempo track with wonderful strings, a decent melody and a soaring vocal delivery from Michael. There's also the beautiful ballad Speechless, one of the few tracks written and produced solely by Michael and you can hear his passion shining through.

But these moment are rare and much of the record is padded out with filler material. Some of the tracks sound as if they were written by someone else, presented to Michael, and he just said "okay then" because he couldn't be bothered to write some decent songs himself.

It is not really surprising that Michael stopped making music after this album. He really doesn't sound very inspired anymore and I'd hate to see him tarnish his legacy with mediocre albums like this.

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review by: blackplantlady date: 2008-05-20 rating:
Does it for me
Jackson still does it for me. A mix of songs almost worthy of Quincy Jones expertise, a clever blend of faster and slower ballads. I'm not so gone on the rap which is why I gave it 4 stars after just one listen. These things tend to grow on me. I cannot understand Rickey Wright's review for Amazon, even if he is not a Michael Jackson fan, he should, as a reviewer be able to be impartial. It is hard to fault Michael Jackson's music, it's so damn perfect. Michael's voice is terrific, especially on these heart-rending ballads. Some of Michael's finest lyrics here too. Keep doing it for me MJ. Over 30 year sin the business and you still keep innovating.

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review by: Gary Wobby date: 2008-03-04 rating:
Great under rated album
"You'll never break me, coz i'm unbreakable" Michael sings on the opening track of this album and I, and millions of other MJ fans out there, can only hope that those words come true because they were definitely sung from the heart.
The problem with a lot of Michaels albums now is that they're always going to be compared to Thriller and if they sell even 1 million less copies than that album then it's going to be known as a flop, also everytime Michael attempts to release another album the jealous people suddenly come out of the woodwork to spread lies about him because they wish they could be half as successful as him.
The problem with this particular album isn't anything to do with the songs on it but it has a lot to do with the controversy surrounding Michael at the time, that alone made this album a flop, that's a flop by Michael's usual sales figures which would be considered a big hit for many other wannabee pop stars out there.
The music on this album is great and i'm not going to bother giving reviews of every track because so many other people have already done that, it does have some weak tracks on the album but so do most of Michael's other albums and most other pop stars albums come to think of it, but when it's great it's truly great and it contains some of his best work of all his albums.
In my humble opinion if "Whatever happens" or "Unbreakable" had been released as the first single instead of "You rock my world" then this album would've done a lot better than it did, don't get me wrong, "You rock my world" is a great song but it's also a song that Michael has done many times before and done much better too.
So all I can really say about this album is ignore the controversy, don't believe the hype and just go out and buy it, I promise you you'll love it.
Oh...and don't forget "innocent until proven guilty" and Michael WAS found innocent and hopefully the new album that's out this year can prove all the naysayers wrong and put Michael back at the top of his game where he belongs.

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review by: Claire Elise Archibald date: 2007-04-24 rating:
Invincible
I think this album is an extremely underrated work of art. This has to be one of my favourite albums of all time. This has a good blend up melodioc ballads thrown in with some up-beat dance tracks. I really cannot understand why alot of people label this as one of MJ's weaker albums, since it really shows off Michael's vocal range far more than in comparison to his earlier work. My favourite tracks include: Speechless, Break Of Dawn, Heaven Can Wait, The Lost Children, You Are My Life, Butterflies, Cry and Whatever Happens featuring the legendary Carlos Santana. An absolute must-buy for any music lover or MJ fan! ~ Claire Elise Archibald.


review by: date: 2007-03-19 rating:
The simple most UNDERRATED album i heard in years.
If this album was released from any artist on earth (and i i mean ANY) we would talk about: JESUS WHAT AN ALBUM, OMG OMG OMG etc. But when you are Michael Jackson and have 1 billion stupid journalists behind you thinking that its easy to create "Thriller", "Bad" and "Dangerous" every year then NO. In this case we have a stupid album which proves the fall of the ex King of Pop right? Well guess again.. The album is great. Way underrated. Sure its not the best album MJ released but still. And if you havent heard it its a great time to buy it. Something to do until the new masterpiece comes.

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