With the recent passing of the King of Pop, there was no shortage of hearing MJ’s music nearly everywhere the past few weeks. I initially wanted to make a top ten list of my favorites, but I found it difficult to rank them all, and honestly who hasn’t done that already. Since I’ve owned all of his solo albums starting from Off The Wall, I decided to look up the songs on each album that didn’t make it as singles and chose a favorite from those.
I’ve included an imeem playlist (not a video) for you to listen to my picks. If you click on the top right of the playlist, it should open a new window/tab and you can listen to all the songs in full, instead of a 30sec clip. No need to sign up for imeem (even though it’s free).
So without further ado, here are my favorite Michael Jackson, non-single tunes (in order of album release).
Off The Wall - I Can’t Help It
I just love how mellow and smooth this song is. Something different in such a disco/funk laden album.
Thriller - Baby Be Mine
Of only two non-single songs on the album, this song has got the groove to bob your head to. You gotta hear the bridge, it really gets to you. Well, it gets to me. (“Won’t you stay with me until the mornin’ sun…”). The other non-single is The Lady in My Life and is a great tune, but when I hear the intro, all i hear is it’s sample usage in LL Cool J’s Hey Lover w/Boyz II Men.
Bad - Just Good Friends
I pretty much had no choice with this song. This album also had two non-singles, but Another Part of Me was used in Disney Theme Parks’ 3D epic, Captain E.O., and I gotta say that Captain E.O. was always first on my agenda whenever I visited Disneyland. It was AWESOME!!! Right?! Who’s with me? Anyway, I’m here to talk about MJ’s duet with Stevie Wonder. It’s such a catchy and light-hearted tune on a love triangle, and I like it that way.
Dangerous - Why You Wanna Trip On Me
This song is basically a way of saying that there are great perils haunting our world and MJ isn’t one of them. It’s another song that really grooves with me and has a deep underlying message. A close second favorite is Keep the Faith. Definitely a spiritual type song to pick you up when you’re down.
HIStory - Tabloid Junkie
Wow. talk about angry. This album is weighted with MJ’s frustrations. This is somewhat similar to Why You Wanna Trip On Me in context but not nearly as gritty. I think the chorus has a fetching melody, and dare I say it… it’s got a groove. I can’t help it. Special mention goes to Come Together and Smile. I think Michael did a knockout job on these covers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the originals, but MJ had his way with these renditions.
Invincible - Break of Dawn
Harking back to some sex-you-up-kind-of-smooth roots, Break of Dawn takes you there. I have similar feelings to this song as with I Can’t Help It— you just gotta listen to it with that special someone in your life. Or dream that one day you achieve a love like that. Cornball? Cheesy? Cliche? I think not. Just go on and do it— Do it, you!
Hope you enjoyed,
umop-episdn
RIP MJ
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