Invincible＜完全生産限定盤/Stone Grey Marble Vinyl＞

“キング・オブ・ポップ"=マイケル・ジャクソン
『インヴィンシブル』発売25周年記念 ストーン・グレー・マーブル・ヴァイナル

本作は2001年に発表された、マイケル・ジャクソン生前最後のオリジナル・アルバム『Invincible』(インヴィンシブル)。ロドニー・ジャーキンスを迎えて制作され、サウンド、ビート、メロディを複雑かつ繊細に重ね合わせながらも、マイケル流のPOPSとして昇華している。「You Rock My World」「Butterflies」「Cry」といった名曲が収録。マイケルファンのみならずR&B好事家の間でも極めて評価の高い傑作。発売25周年を記念し、ストーン・グレー・マーブルカラーのアナログ盤が登場。

Let's get the cliched bad joke out of the way to begin with: at the time Michael Jackson released Invincible in the fall of 2001, he hardly seemed "invincible" -- it was more wishful thinking than anything else, since he hadn't really had a genuine hit in ten years, and even that paled in comparison to his total domination of the '80s. That lack of commercial success, combined with a fading reputation as a trailblazer, a truly ugly public scandal, and swirling rumors about his diminishing finances, along with a huge wait between albums (by teaming his Dangerous follow-up with a hits collection, it wound up being overlooked, despite a gaudy publicity push), resulted in Jackson being deep down in the hole, needing to surge back out with a record that not only proved his talents, but his staying power. So, faced with a make-or-break record, what did Jackson do to save his career? What he had done since Dangerous, take a turn toward the street and craft a hard-driving, hard-polished urban soul album, heavy on the dance numbers and sweetened by lugubrious ballads. That's a proven formula for commercial success, but it didn't push his music forward, particularly when compared to the wildly rich, all-encompassing musical vision of Thriller and Bad. Here, he is reined in by a desire to prove himself, so he keeps his focus sharp and narrow, essentially creating a sparkly, post-hip-hop update of Off the Wall. However, the infectious joy and layered craft of that masterpiece have been replaced with a desire to craft something hip enough for the clubs and melodic enough for mainstream radio, thereby confirming his self-proclaimed status as the King of Pop. Since he is exceptionally talented and smart enough to surround himself with first-rate collaborators, this does pay off on occasion, even when it feels a little too calculated or when it feels a little padded. Ultimately, the record runs too long, losing steam halfway through, as it turns to a series of rants about "Privacy" or a deadly stretch of uncomfortably treacly, sub-"Man in the Mirror" songs about "The Lost Children," or when he says that he can't change the world by himself on "Cry." Fortunately, Jackson was clever enough to front-load this record, loading the first seven songs with really good, edgy dance numbers -- even the opening "Unbreakable" isn't sunk by the creepy resurrection of Biggie Smalls -- and lovely ballads, highlighted by "Break of Dawn" and "Butterflies" with its Bacharach-styled horns. Even if these are too self-conscious and a little mechanical, they still have a spark and sound better than anything Jackson did since Dangerous. That's not enough to make Invincible the comeback Jackson needed -- he really would have needed an album that sounded free instead of constrained for that to work -- but it did offer a reminder that he could really craft good pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

新録を含む2枚組の大作『History』が出たのが95年だから、新作は6年ぶりとなるマイケル・ジャクソン。決して短いとは言えないブランクを経て、われらがMJは今回どんなスタイルでもって現在の音楽界と折り合いをつけるのか……と、皆の目はそこに集中するわけだが、聴けばやはりMJはどこまでもMJ、どんなダンス・ビートも100％自分色に染め上げている。噂どおり、先行シングル“You Rock My World”ほか半数近くの楽曲をロドニー・ジャーキンスが手掛け、ほかにも再起用のテディー・ライリーやR・ケリー、それにベイビーフェイスまでもが応戦。ノトーリアスBIGが甦り、クリス・タッカーがチャラけ、カルロス・サンタナが哀愁ギターで泣かせるなどゲスト陣も賑やか。かつての80'sメロウなMJもドクター・フリーズやアンドレ・ハリス制作曲で味わえる。〈キング・オブ・ポップ〉は〈キング・オブ・R&B〉でもあることを証明した傑作だ。
bounce (C)林 剛

新録を含む2枚組の大作『History』が出たのが95年だから、新作は6年ぶりとなるマイケル・ジャクソン。決して短いとは言えないブランクを経て、われらがMJは今回どんなスタイルでもって現在の音楽界と折り合いをつけるのか……と、皆の目はそこに集中するわけだが、聴けばMJはどこまでもMJ、どんなダンス・ビートも100%自分色に染め上げている。噂どおり、先行シングル"You Rock My World"ほか半数近くの楽曲をロドニー・ジャーキンスが手掛け、ほかにも再起用のテディー・ライリーや、R・ケリー、それにベイビーフェイスまでもが応戦。ノトーリアスBIGが甦り、クリス・タッカーがチャラけ、カルロス・サンタナが哀愁ギターで泣かせるなどゲスト陣も賑やか。かつての80'sメロウなMJもドクター・フリーズやアンドレ・ハリス制作曲で味わえる。<キング・オブ・ロック>は<キング・オブ・R&B>でもあることを証明した傑作だ。
bounce (C)林 剛