Jackson plotted his musical comeback

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Jackson spent the last two years of his life plotting his musical comeback. Besides a spectacular, record-breaking concert series planned for London, he was also tapping the hottest producers and biggest names for an album he hoped would help restore the luster to his spectacular yet troubled career.

“He wanted to give the world a gift. He didn’t want the world to depend on Thriller, or Bad or Off the Wall,” said Theron “Neff-U” Feemster, one of the last producers to work with Jackson.

“He wanted to give them something new and fresh, and something they could hold and remember forever.”

Jackson didn’t live to see his dream come to fruition, but with help from Feemster, the singer’s estate and several other collaborators, another Jackson album has been crafted for his fans.

Michael, to be released Tuesday, contains 10 songs, most of which Jackson was working on when he died in June 2009 at age 50.

The tracks were at different stages of completion, but producers like longtime Jackson collaborator Teddy Riley, Grammy-winner Tricky Stewart and rocker Lenny Kravitz worked over the last year to put the finishing touches on an album they believe Jackson would have been proud to call his own.