Michael Jackson: 'This Is It'

In 2001, Michael Jackson released his last studio album, Invincible. Despite hitting No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic, it's fair to say that it's remembered as Jackson's weakest solo effort since he hooked up with Quincy Jones in 1979. An interesting Invincible titbit is that it was available in five different covers: red, green, orange, blue and silver. The contents were identical, but that didn't stop Jacko superfans from buying the same record several times over for the sake of completeness.

On to This Is It, then. An album billed as "the music that inspired the movie", it's not, unfortunately, a concert-sequenced recording of rehearsals collected for the film of the same name. Nor is it a comprehensive single-disc Best Of to replace the Number Ones/King Of Pop comps - notably, it features a grand total of zero tracks from Off The Wall. Instead, it's an obvious cash-in accompaniment to the Kenny Ortega-directed picture, as well as being the sole physical repository of two versions of the 'new' title track. The credits attribute 'This Is It' to Michael Jackson and The Jacksons, with the booklets presumably printed before Paul Anka's lawyers picked up the phone.

Though it's always possible to quibble over track selection, music-wise there's little to argue with here. All the biggies from Thriller ('Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', 'Thriller', 'Beat It', 'Billie Jean', 'Human Nature') rub shoulders with the best of Bad ('The Way You Make Me Feel', 'Man In The Mirror', 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You', 'Smooth Criminal'), Dangerous ('Jam', 'Black Or White') and HIStory ('They Don't Care About Us' and sadly 'Earth Song'). Throw in a more esoteric track, namely The Jacksons' 1978 single 'Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)', and you've got what looks like a well-ordered set-list for the gig that never was. As such, it's actually a little frustrating, making you realise just how incredible a comeback concert featuring a healthy, on-form Jackson could have been.

More fun is the bonus disc. It's irritatingly slight at a mere four tracks, but alongside the lavish and photo-filled packaging it offers the sole draw to fans who've heard (and probably own) the hits many times over. An acoustic guitar-driven version of 'She's Out Of My Life' opens the disc and highlights the fragile beauty of a voice that sometimes got lost amidst the bombast of the finished records. A demo of 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', though pleasingly rough-round-the edges, isn't a million miles away from the version we all know and love. The final track is a slightly creepy Jacko-from-the-grave narration of the 'Planet Earth' poem which first appeared in the Dangerous liner notes. However, before that there's an absolutely incredible two-minute a cappella demo of 'Beat It' featuring nothing but multiple Michaels doing their thing.

Those with a handful of colourful Invincible CDs will have bought this already. Those without a Jackson platter to their name should go straight to his double-disc Best Of, The Essential, instead. Despite the great photos, the rest of us are best off purchasing the Selections from Michael Jackson's This Is It digital EP for the music on the bonus disc and nicking the album itself from a friend. Well, if it was good enough for Michael...