HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I

Performer: Michael Jackson
Artist: Janet Jackson; The Notorious B.I.G.; Siedah Garrett; Paul McCartney; Shaquille O'Neal; Boyz II Men; Eddie Van Halen; Slash
Engineer: Bruce Swedien
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Michael Jackson (vocals, various instruments); L.T.B., Vincent Price (vocals); Jeff Mirinov, Michael Thompson, Rob Hoffman, Jen Leigh, David Williams, Marlo Henderson, Christopher Currell, Paul Jackson, Dean Parks (guitar); Bill Bottrell (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion); Steve Lukather (guitar, bass); Paul Peabody (violin); David Paich (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Rod Temperton, Chuck Wild (keyboards, synthesizer); Steve Porcaro (keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Greg Phillinganes (keyboards, Rhodes, synthesizer); Nathan East (bass); Ndugu Chancler, John Robinson (drums); Ollie E. Brown, Richard Heath (percussion); Christa Larson, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters (background vocals). Producers include: Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Teddy Riley, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson. HISTORY BOOK 1 contains one disc of Jackson's greatest hits and one disc of all-new songs. It features a 52-page booklet with liner notes by Janet Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as many never-before-seen photographs. HISTORY BOOK 1 was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Album Of The Year. "You Are Not Alone" was nominated for Grammy Awards for Song Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and the Michael Jackson-Janet Jackson duet "Scream" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. One of the most expensive albums ever made, both in production and marketing costs, Michael Jackson's double-disc HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I is a monumental achievement of ego. Titled HIStory Begins, the first disc is a collection of his post-Motown hits, featuring some of the greatest music in pop history (including "Billie Jean," "Don't Stop Til Ya Get Enough," "Beat It," "Rock With You," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"), as well as some of the most cloying ("Heal the World," "Black Or White"). It leaves some hits out -- including "Off the Wall," "Human Nature," "Will You Be There," "In the Closet," and the number ones "Say Say Say" and "Dirty Diana" -- yet it's filled with enough prime material to be thoroughly intoxicating. That can't be said for the second disc, called HIStory Continues and consisting entirely of new material -- which also happen to be the first songs he released since being accused of child molestation. HIStory Continues is easily the most personal album Jackson has recorded. References to the scandal permeate almost every song, creating a thick atmosphere of paranoia. If Jackson's music had been the equal of Thriller or Bad, the nervous, vindicative lyrics wouldn't have been quite as overbearing, which would have saved the album from appearing as a mean-spirited attack. However, HIStory Continues reiterates musical ideas Jackson has been exploring since Bad and the songs aren't as fresh as the material on Dangerous. Jackson certainly tries to stay contemporary, working with R. Kelly and incorporating stronger elements of hip-hop rhythms, yet he has a tendency to smooth out all of his rougher musical edges with a fondness for show-biz schmaltz, as evidenced by his cover of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile." Occasionally, Jackson produces some well-crafted pop that ranks with his best material: Kelly's "You Are Not Alone" is seductive, "Scream" improves on the slamming beats of his earlier single "Jam," and "Stranger in Moscow" is one of his most haunting ballads. Nevertheless, HIStory Continues stands as his weakest album since the mid-'70s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Michael Jackson's double-disc HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I is a monumental achievement of ego. Titled "HIStory Begins," the first disc is a collection of his post-Motown hits, featuring some of the greatest music in pop history, including "Billie Jean," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Beat It," and "Rock with You." It leaves some hits out -- including the number ones "Say Say Say" and "Dirty Diana" -- yet it's filled with enough prime material to be thoroughly intoxicating. That can't be said for the second disc, called "HIStory Continues" and consisting entirely of new material -- which also happens to be the first material he released since being accused of child molestation. "HIStory Continues" is easily the most personal album Jackson has recorded. References to the scandal permeate almost every song, creating a thick atmosphere of paranoia. If Jackson's music had been the equal of Thriller or Bad, the nervous, vindictive lyrics wouldn't have been quite as overbearing. However, "HIStory Continues" reiterates musical ideas Jackson had been exploring since Bad. Jackson certainly tries to stay contemporary, yet he has a tendency to smooth out all of his rougher musical edges with show-biz schmaltz. Occasionally, Jackson produces some well-crafted pop that ranks with his best material: R. Kelly's "You Are Not Alone" is seductive, "Scream" improves on the slamming beats of his earlier single "Jam," and "Stranger in Moscow" is one of his most haunting ballads. Nevertheless, "HIStory Continues" stands as his weakest album since the mid-'70s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Michael Jackson's monumental collection HISTORY BOOK 1 seeks to make two points. The first disc--chock full of hits spanning Jackson's Epic Records solo career--tries to establish how the so-called King of Pop earned that nickname in the first place; the second disc, featuring fifteen new, star-studded tracks, makes a case for him holding onto that royal moniker well into the next century. And though many may dismiss both directives as the product of Jackson camp hype, once the music begins it's hard to deny him any title he wishes to bestow upon himself. All of the songs on HISTORY's first disc have already been ingrained in the minds of the radio-listening, MTV-watching public. From the funky disco of 1979's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," through the countless and diverse THRILLER hits ("Billie Jean," "The Girl Is Mine," etc.), to the anthemic peace-in-our-time ballad "Heal The World," Jackson's star-power-fueled singles invested the mainstream with black pop's soulfulness to the point where black pop became the mainstream. And Jackson, subsequently, became pop's king. On the second disc, Jackson tries to retain a hold over his current empire while moving toward a more street-wise, hip-hop-tinged pop. "Scream," a duet with sister Janet, is prototypical. The beats are cold and stone-hard, and effuse grey noise electric discharges. Yet after multiple listens the song's simple chorus and minimalist melody imbed themselves in the cranium. Same goes for the mildly controversial "They Don't Care About Us," where Jackson near-raps a stream of nonsequiturs, amidst various urban-life samples, over a busy hip-hop beat. In fact, considering hip-hop's deep influence on HISTORY's new tracks, it seems the King has seen the future of his kingdom and has begun to act accordingly.

Rolling Stone (8/10/95, pp.55-58) - 3.5 Stars - Good - "...HISTORY's ultimate goal is to position Michael Jackson's music as a planet, a genre, a law....As time passes and singles break, maybe those superhuman plans will touch back down on earth." Q (8/95, p.120) - 3 Stars - Good - "...HISTORY is basically an appeal on behalf of the rich and famous....the metallic clatter of jackhammer rhythms and Michael's own complaints remain this record's defining features..." Musician (9/95, pp.86-87) - "...incorporates tougher musical textures and deliberately `blacker' vocal inflections....more open about expressing negative emotions....also more pointed about political and racial issues, moving from...safe genralities...to more controversial stances..."

In the spotlight since the age of four, Michael Jackson rose to fame as the lead vocalist for the Jackson Five. In the late 1970s, Jackson embarked on a solo career as a young adult with the Quincy Jones-produced OFF THE WALL. With one hit album under his belt, Jackson proceeded to bring R&B to a whole new audience with his massive THRILLER release--one of the top-selling pop albums of all time--and his innovative videos, not only broke an unspoken color barrier, but began to dominate the newly founded MTV network. Although his personal life would become the ultimate fodder for the tabloids, the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" remained one of the most successful and influential recording stars worldwide until his sudden death in 2009 at 50.

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