Michael Jackson Album: “Essential Michael Jackson [International]”

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!

...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.

There are a number of MJ compilations out there, but this is by far the best one. It features a nice sampling of Jackson 5 and 70s Jacksons hits, as well as all the major solo hits. The only major omissions are the Jackson 5 hits "I'll Be There" and "Dancing Machine", the Jacksons "State of Shock" and the duet with Janet Jackson, "Scream", but considering this is a Michael Jackson compilation it's not that detrimental.

I'm impressed at the scope of this collection, and all of MJ's major albums, "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad" are well-represented here. The underrated "Dangerous" is also well-represnted including songs that were not on "HIStory" or "Number Ones", including the hypnotic "In the Closet" and "Who Is It".

Invincible is only represented by "You Rock My World", although I think "Butterflies" and "Cry" would have been good additions.

But, it's hard to complain when you have 30 years of some of the most incredible pop music ever made.

Truth is, Michael Jackson needed a 2-disc collection as much as anybody. Those single discs didn't quite do it for somebody who's still often called the "King Of Pop". So, the pros and cons. I personally don't need the Jackson 5 material myself, but some might. I also think this is a bit shy on his most recent work. I do miss "Earth Song" and the duet "Scream" with Janet too. However, many of his best songs came from "Thriller" and "Bad", and we get most of those here. In fact there are 7 of the 9 songs from the original "Thriller" album, and even more from "Bad". Plus we get the best of "Off The Wall", and again some of his earliest stuff. The fact is, after listening to this collection of Michael Jackson, you almost can't not like him. It's just "Human Nature".

Wow, no media attention at all. I just noticed this when I was trying to add a Michael Jackson to the Now Listening To part on my xanga site. This has definitely got to be one of the finest collections of songs by Michael Jackson. Includes songs from The Jacksons group as well, which is spectacular! Each of my 8 favorite songs are on this CD, it was amazing when I picked it up! The title of the CD says it well, it is essential for any Michael Jackson fan.