Michael Jackson Album: “History: Past, Present and Future Book 1”

We all know the fantastic geninus of MJ on CD 1 so let's move on to CD 2.

CD 2 is where the new meat of the set is. Although this is not MJ's best, it is interesting nevertheless due to the personal commentary in many of the CD's 15 songs.

Everything from politics (Scream) to racism (They Don't Care About Us), to the ecology (Earth Song), to his personal struggles with the press (Tabaloid Junkie), to abuse (Little Suzie), the album ends with his personal statement about his whole experince in a cover of Smile.

Personal highlights for me include some of the above tracks mentioned: Scream, They Don't Really Care About Us, and Earth Song -- as well as the smooth Stranger In Moscow, a cover of The Beatles' Come Together, the ballad hit You Are Not Alone, and the somewhat epic soundscape title track.

Bottom Line: Although it may not be Jackson's best, it is his most personal, aggressive, and intellectual album -- you get a peak into the thoughts of the one and only Michael Jackson through song.

Two things bothered me while watching the Michael Jackson news stories on TV following his death..they always overlooked two of his finest albums, "Dangerous" and this set, "HIStory".

"HIStory" is a set that is the sound of Michael Jackson re-inventing and evolving as an artist.

Disc 1 features some of his biggest hits in its full unedited form (Unlike his other greatest hits set Number Ones), but with the unedited tracks comes the fact that so many of his hits weren't included!

For 1995 it was the only Michael Jackson best of compilation available on the market..and Im thankful more concise hits collections like "The Essential Michael Jackson" and "The Ultimate Collection" are available.

So if you want the hits, and all of them, please pick up those collections! Or even better, buy his 4 original albums! (Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad and Dangerous).

But as for this collection, all the songs are incredible and its a surprise to see songs like "She's Out Of My Life", "The Girl Is Mine", "Remember The Time" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" included in a collection where they usually omit those songs!

Overall, the songs are no doubt 5 star quality, but for the omissions of so many great songs I give Disc One: 4.5 stars.

Disc 2 is the very sound of a tortured superstar under the pressure and scrutiny of the media. If you have heard all of his albums, this one right here easily earns the title of his most honest album.

Its a complete turnaround from his previous 4 albums. He's angry. He knows hes been hounded. And now hes writing and singing about all of his tribulations over his career, but mostly about the 1993-1994 era where he was accused of those disgusting (and in my opinion extremely false) allegations.

Standout tracks:

The disc begins with "Scream" a duet with his superstar sister Janet Jackson. The song is a loud, futuristic dance song about all the pressure the two siblings face. Its a great track, and was a big hit back in 1995. (It should have been bigger!)

"They Don't Care About Us" is one of my all time favourite Michael tracks!

Its all about how he's been victimized and how he's basically had enough of all the hatred. Its an incredible song with such danceable qualities, with a heavy subject matter without resorting to over preaching.

"Stranger In Moscow" is a window glimpse into Michaels mind during the 1993 allegations era. It is such an incredibly honest song as he sings about his "Fall from grace" and how it feels to be "Alone and cold inside". I believe that this is one of his greatest musical accomplishments.

"Earth Song" is a typical MJ "Save the world" anthem, but its done to epic proprtions. Its a mammoth anthem, not preaching to people how to save the world, but basically how "no one gives a damn". It doesn't get better than this! Another overlooked gem in Michaels catalogue of work.

"Money" is a song that doesnt sound like anything MJ had done before. Its basically all spoken word, and what he says about what people would do for money is spot on and extremely relevant to his experiences, and whats going on in the world today.

"Come Together" is Michaels remake of The Beatles classic and I really enjoy this one too. Its a great remaking and its cool to have it on CD after seeing it on his Moonwalker film right at the end!

"You Are Not Alone" is the 1996 mega smash and its a great ballad. Theres not much to say about this one, but you honestly cant help but sing along and get caught in the infectious chorus!

"Childhood" is Michaels his most autobiographical song ever. Just listen to the lyrics..its not your typical Verse-Chorus-Verse-Bridge-Chorus song, its structure is intricate and his powerful lyrics are the main attraction to this song. The music alone can also be enough to bring someone to tears.

"Tabloid Junkie" is another roaring dance number similar to "Scream". It tells of how everyone shouldnt believe what they read or see. A great song that is usually overlooked!

The rest of the tracks are also great (This Time Around, D.S., 2Bad, History, Little Susie and Smile) and are well worth a listen..they are great tracks, but those ones I just wrote about are my personal standouts.

My overall rating for Disc Two is 5 stars.

"HIStory" is the evolution of Michael Jackson from the beginning of his musical solo career to his honest later work. You will never hear Michael this honest, frank and autobiographical in any other album.

There are songs on the 2nd disc that I consider some of his finest work ever.

Just give it a try! Just because the television doesnt acknowledge this fine album (and Dangerous), it doesnt mean it isnt good.

Its a fantastic album and should be heard by anyone who considers themselves a Michael Jackson fan.

R.I.P Michael Jackson! You many not be here on Earth, but I am so grateful you left your musical legacy with us, so people now and people in the future can discover how remarkable it really is!

Michael shockingly passed away yesterday, and like so many of us, I replayed quite a bit of my CD collection of his (and I have all of it), and there is no doubt in my mind that this stands as the absolutely best collection of MJ music, anywhere.

"HIStory: Past, Present and Future - BOOK 1" (1995 release; 2 CDs, 30 tracks; 157 min.) brings the best of all worlds. CD1 brings Michael's greatest hits, with a heavy dosis of "Thriller" of course, but many of his highlights from "Off The Wall", "Bad" and "Dangerous" too. But the real meat for me is CD2 (15 tracks; 77 min.), which brings 15 then-new songs. It was quite controversial at the time, combining a greatest hits set with a new album. But the songs from that 2nd CD demonstrated that Michael was far from finished and had TONS of great music left in him. The first half of the new album sounded as good as anything he had done, with great stuff like "They Don't Really Care About Us", the pensive "Stranger in Moscow", the biting "This Time Around", the epic "Earth Song", "D.S." with its great guitar riff, and the urgent "Money". The second half of the album falters slightly, but not much, check out the self-aware "Tabloid Junkie", the all-out "2 Bad" and the HIStory title track. Wow, just a fabulous album in its own right.

I bought this release the day it came out in 1995, and was incredibly excited by the release of new music from MJ. Now 14 years later, if anyone asked me to take only MJ album with me on a desert island, "HIStory" surely would be it. It pains me to have seen Michael go down the weirdness of the last 10 years, but it will not diminish his place in music history. The man was a musical genius, and this collection is the best testament to it: it brings you his greatest hits, and a second CD that equally resonates to me now than when it came out 14 years ago. A close second in my collection is the 2 CD "The Essential Michael Jackson", which brings 38 tracks covering his entire output from "I Want You Back" to "You Rock My World". RIP Michael Jackson, you will never be forgotten.

The title of the album is very appropriate. With the first CD giving us a blast from the past of amazing songs, and the second disk pulling us into the future. Many people have complained about the second disk, but I find that the songs on it are quite brilliant. The first song, Scream, is one of the most original songs of the nineties. It has a sound you won't find anywhere else, and the brother/sister duo mix their vocals extremely well. The second track, They Dont Really Care About Us, is so passionate and stimulating. You almost can't help turning up the volume. Stranger in Moscow is one of the most beautiful songs MJ's written, and its production is top notch. Earth Song is THE most beautiful song he's done, and it has a feel that gives you goosebumps. Overall, the album is one of the best I've heard. Some people critisize it for being too angry, but the anger gives the songs a passion and a depth that other artists lack. Its definitely worth the money for this deep and interesting work of art.

This is an oddly put together compilation. Yes, many of his classics are there. But, where's "Smooth Criminal," "In the Closet," "Dirty Diana," "Liberian Girl," "Give in to Me"? Not to mention others. For some odd reason, they compacted his mindblowing career into one disc, when in fact, the 2 discs could've been used to cover a complete retrospective of his adult solo career. The first disc seems rather incomplete.

Instead of releasing a second disc with all new material, Sony should've released HIStory as a strictly greatest hits compilation, as I had mentioned above. In addition, they should've released the second disc as a seperate, full studio album shortly thereafter. Coupling the feel good hits of the first disc with the angst driven "leave me alone, I'm fragile" songs of the second disc just seems, odd.

Don't get me wrong. I believe that the second disc is worth the price of admission. Sure, it's self-indulgent. Yes, it's masturbatory, in many senses. But, this is the only time (spanning his career) that Michael lifts the shield, and lets the public take a peak into the life of MJ. The torment. The scandals. He speaks rather candidly, actually.

It's too bad that they hadn't released the discs seperately. The second will, and has, been pitted against the first, and really, there is no comparison.