Michael Jackson lives again in Xscape

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, fans are now able to enjoy new music by the great and oh- so much-lamented Michael Jackson. New in this sense does not really mean newly created. This means music that Michael had composed at various times in his life but which never made the final cut of any of his albums. They had been privately recorded and had not been performed publicly before.

It is so easy to imagine how it was then. Michael would come up with a tune. He would then save it for future use. He would record it on a tape recorder or on his phone, his home studio or anywhere the mood or the situation takes him. Out of these raw materials, he would next choose what he considered were the best with his producers and arrangers. Those selected would then get the final treatment and become cuts in an album.

Thankfully, the rest were not erased but were instead stored in his vault to be taken out and possibly resurrected for future projects. These have now become a treasure trove of posthumous Michael music. An initial batch was used in the Michael album two years ago. And now the time has come for some more of those songs to be heard. They are now part of the album titled Xscape, a bountiful collection of works that again calls attention to Michael’s untimely demise. What a loss, indeed.

Xscape was released last May 13 by Epic Records in conjunction with the Estate of Michael Jackson. The executive producer is the famous, multi-award-winning L.A. Reid, who is also the chairman and CEO of the Epic label. L.A. has been granted unlimited access by the Estate to Michael’s files. These contain materials from the past 40 years with, most importantly, Michael’s recorded vocals.

L.A. chose eight new songs for Xscape. These were then farmed out to producers that Michael had already worked with or had expressed interest in working with while he was still alive like Timbaland, J Roc Harmon, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, John McClain and others. I must say that they not only rose to the challenge of the difficult assignment. They crafted every cut with all the love and reverence due the King of Pop.

It is no wonder then that Michael hit a winner on his first time out from Xscape. This is the disco ballad Love Never Felt So Good and the title alone already makes spending for a copy of Xscape truly worthwhile. I love that this song is so typically his. It is romantic and sexy and danceable just like the music from my favorite Michael album of all, Off The Wall, which was his first with producer Quincy Jones and his first solo release outside Motown. I still believe that the period between the Jackson 5 and Thriller was Michael’s best. That was before the themes got darker and when there was no pressure to best himself. Back then, the music was less complicated, less aggressive and there was a light, happy lilt in his singing.

Love Never Felt So Good is Xscape’s centerpiece. Introduced by dramatic strings, it gets the album off to an excellent start. It also closes the package as a bonus track. And when I say bonus, I really mean a big, unexpected bonus. It goes over the top in a duet version of the song by Michael and Justin Timberlake. This one is a real killer and a wonderful video where JT dances with existing footage of Michael from various sources, has been released. It is such a joy watching them together and JT looks ecstatic about the experience.

That is not all. If you bought the Deluxe edition of Xscape, you will find out that Michael’s original recorded vocals for all of the eight songs are also included. These are the tracks that L.A. chose and that the other producers had to work with. Here again is proof of the extraordinary talent that Michael was. These recordings are practically raw and were initially discards but they sound great and Michael’s voice is really something to marvel at. Love Never Felt So Good, with a simple piano accompaniment and finger snaps by Michael, is the best of them all.

The rest of the songs come from different periods in Michael’s life. Xscape mirrors the anguish of the beleaguered celebrity in Scream. Do You Know Where Your Children Are? takes on child abuse, a topic that nearly destroyed Michael. A Place With No Name, a likely next single, borrows from the phenomenal selling A Horse With No Name by America. Loving You is a romantic ballad. Also included are Chicago, Paradise, Slave To The Rhythm and Blue Gangsta.

The first reaction is that no common thread holds the album together. Only Michael’s singing does and when used in treasures such as these, that is more than enough.