The Unexpected Purchase

I received a couple of Amazon vouchers for my birthday this month. This is nice as it allows me to make the odd spur of the moment purchase without worrying about the credit card bill but it is also a bit of a liability as it means I end up operating computers when I probably shouldn’t. A point in question was last weekend when I thought it would be a good idea to listen to Cream’s Disraeli Gears album after having a few beers. There is nothing particularly wrong with this except I managed to sit on the LP whilst sorting the turntable out and cracked the vinyl.

I immediately remembered the spare vouchers and went to order a replacement – except I noticed that I could get The Very Best of Cream for less than Disraeli Gears which also has the best bits of Fresh Cream, Wheels of Fire and Goodbye as well as most of Disraeli Gears. Bargain! Of course in my German Pilsner induced state of happiness I forgot to check what else had been mysteriously saved away in the basket. It therefore came as something of a surprise when The Essential Michael Jackson appeared through the post.

Now I have never been a Michael Jackson fan as such. I never bought any of his records and at most may have idly watched a TV concert on Hogmanay whilst waiting for festivities to start. That’s not to say I disliked his work, it’s just that when he was bringing out Thriller I was probably more into The Number of the Beast. So I’ve never actually bought a Michael Jackson record before even if I am familiar with some of his songs. In fact it turns out that I am familiar with a lot more than I imagined.  Compilation albums often use weasel words such as “The Collection” or “Anthology” to get around the fact that half the artists better known work is missing as it was released on another label but this compilation comes from the Sony “Collections” range and to say it is comprehensive is somewhat of an understatement.

This collection consists of 38 songs split over two disks. The first CD begins right back in 1969 with the Jackson 5’s first hit, I Want You Back, and features other Jacksons and early solo records on through to the monumental hit that was (and still is) the Thriller album. The second disks charts his mega-stardom from the Bad album through to the 2001’s Invincible. I’d say that at least 80% of it was instantly recognisable to me. I’d also say I rather enjoyed most of it right from the cheery, upbeat pop of the early Motown hits through to the complex pop songs of his later career. There is also a good deal of variety from gentle ballads, dance favourites, pop, funk, R&B and even the searing Hard Rock of Beat It (also featuring Eddie Van Halen’s finest 15 seconds). I can even forgive him for the Earth Song (although not his performance of that one at the Brit awards!)

So for an unintended purchase I’m rather pleased with this album. Any complete music collection should feature all of its most iconic artists and whilst it is easy to think of Michael Jackson either as an eccentric celebrity or ultimately a rather tragic figure it shouldn’t be forgotten that he produced some of the most memorable pop songs of the late 20th Century. This collection is ample proof of that.