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Extra Andrea
Nemerson's Norman
Solomon's nessie's Tom
Tomorrow's
PG&E and the California energy crisis Arts and Entertainment Electric
Habitat Tiger
on beat Frequencies
Culture Techsploitation
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Reservations Cheap
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PERSONALS | MOVIE CLOCK | REP CLOCK | SEARCH
Second Time Around Michael JacksonLove Songs (Motown) Forget the Nasdaq numbers if you're interested in tracking America in decline. There are more interesting and in some ways more telling methods of watching the empire's social, political, and economic foundation crumble into dust. For instance, the vital signs can be measured by the number of recycled love songs various record labels release for Valentine's Day. You can see corporate genius at work: sales figures are down, the next Britney is not waiting in the wings, and big pressure is dropping from headquarters. Why not release an album of already-recorded ballads by [name your own artist] to ride Cupid's coattails into the black? Are people so clueless or desperate that they'd bet $16 on a CD of tired, recycled music against the prospect of another lonely night? It's hard to believe, but that hasn't stopped the flood of V-Day reissues. I can forgive Marvin Gaye's Love Songs (Motown) – even if everyone's already got the originals – but nothing else. This includes Motown's ultralame Michael Jackson entry: The best material on this compilation comes from his tenure with the Jackson 5, particularly "Who's Lovin' You," and "I'll Be There." Compare the Jacksons' cover of "Lovin' You" with Smokey Robinson's original; it's not just the prepubescent quality of Michael's piercing soprano that tears the, um, heart from the song, it's the fact that – god love him – he sounds slightly extraterrestrial, even at that early age. The same can be said for "I'll Be There"; his voice may be lovely, but if you knew for a fact that M.J. was going to be somewhere, you probably wouldn't want to show up yourself. (J.H. Tompkins) |
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