INVINCIBLE by Michael Jackson was originally released in October 2001, and as I recall, even before it came out, so-called music critics were hating on it and declaring it a flop. How in the world they could have done this, I don't know. If anything, they were rating his personal life rather than the music and that hardly seems fair, because I believe the music should speak for itself. Granted, Mike has his problems, but the fact that he is an musical icon, the most influential and gifted entertainer to surface in the past 30+ years, and a consistent hit maker cannot be ignored. I guess this CD is considered a flop merely because it didn't sell as well as his other albums. But it shows how much of an exceptionally talented individual he is when critics can only compare INVINCIBLE to other MJ albums and not to anything or anybody else. That's saying a lot - meaning that even with a so-called "flop", MJ is STILL better than anyone else out there and can only compete with himself!

While INVINCIBLE is not in the league of OFF THE WALL, THRILLER, BAD or even DANGEROUS, it is still a solid effort from Michael, featuring both funky, upbeat dance tracks and warm, effective ballads. He updates his sound with some touches of hip-hop, but also taps deeper into his R&B roots here and I'm so happy that he did because he actually SINGS instead of relying on "whoos", "oows", "eee-hees", "sham-ons" and hiccups so much to get through a song, which I never really cared for. I've always felt those signature ad-libs that Mike would utter on the songs he made during his post-THRILLER years took away from the fact that he is a truly fabulous vocalist. Just listen to the neo-soul groove of the pristine and ethereal "Butterflies", the best song on this CD, and you'll understand what I mean. When I first heard it, it reminded me of the beauty of the albums that Mike and his brothers recorded when they were at Motown - then the CBS stuff (THE JACKSONS, GOIN' PLACES, DESTINY, and OFF THE WALL), not so much by the sound of it, but when Mike simply SUNG and you enjoyed his interpretations and magnificent phrasing of the lyrics. There are plenty of tunes on this CD that measure up to that standard.

Best tracks: "Unbreakable", "Heartbreaker", "Invincible", "Break Of Dawn", "Heaven Can Wait", "You Rock My World", "Butterflies", "2000 Watts", "Don't Walk Away", "Whatever Happens".

Shame on Sony for not giving this the promotion it deserved! We all know that it was a ploy to get their hands on the invaluable Beatles catalog (for those who don't know - Mike owns it), saying that INVINCIBLE went way over budget and the money wasn't there to complete it...whatever. Other than "You Rock My World", they didn't bother to promote anything else from this CD, most specifically, "Butterflies" - no video, nothing - and this was Mike's strongest single in years. They purposely wanted it to fail. I applaud Mike for sticking to his guns and not selling the catalog.

There are a couple songs on this CD that didn't work for me, but all in all, this is worth owning. INVINCIBLE proves that Michael Jackson still has much to offer the music industry. All we need to do is give him a chance to do that, because once you put aside all the drama, you'll find that his music still has the ability to move people. Great job, Mike!

Instead of saying "Invincible RULES!!!" or "Invincible SUCKS!!!", I thought I'd write a review on each song and let everybody judge the album that way. I rated each song and averaged them together and came out with a 3.6 star rating for the album. So I rounded up to 4 stars.

So here are my thoughts on each song, with the rating listed before the song title:

1) ***** Unbreakable - This is probably my favorite track on the album. I'm a sucker for a good piano/keyboard melody, so this song just hit me right away. The beat and melody is incredible and it is laced with a classic MJ vocal sound. Notorious B.I.G.'s rap is also well-placed into the song.

2) ***** Heartbreaker - At first I was turned off to this song because of its uncanny resemblance to a Timbaland song. Some of the sounds seem ripped from Ginuwine's 1996 "Pony" song. But after listening to it and giving it a chance, I really like this song alot. The best part is the "bridge" of the song (starts at ~2:08 into the song).

3) **** Invincible - This is a good song. Very good beat...easy to jam to.

4) ***** Break of Dawn - I love this song! It's very smooth...great romantic song produced by Dr. Freeze.

5) ***** Heaven Can Wait - One of the 3 Teddy Riley songs which are great on this album (one's not so great...read below for more details). The lyrics are beautiful. It's one of the best songs on the album.

6) ***** You Rock My World - Again...great song. Classic Rodney Jerkins production with a classic MJ sound to it as well. And the Chris Tucker skit in the beginning always makes me crack up. MJ saying, "She is banging"...really funny!

7) **** Butterflies - At first this was a skipper cause it started off too slow. I would just hit the skip button. But then my friend told me this was her favorite song. So I actually listened to it, and it really is a beautiful song. Very nice lyrics and nice music. You should give this one a try. I haven't heard one person who doesn't like this one.

8) *** Speechless - At first I would skip this one every time, because the song starts off very slow. But when I actually listened to it, I realized it was a very nice song. It would get a 4 star rating if it weren't for that beginning part.

9) ***** 2000 Watts - Classic Teddy Riley club joint! This song will rock your speakers. Michael Jackson sings the verses in a lower tone than you're used to hearing him. The lyrics are kinda strange though...it's all about high tech, high energy.

10) * You are my life - Why did they put this horrible Babyface song on the album??? I usually like Babyface songs, but this one should not have made the cut. Skip it!

11) *** Privacy - This is another song about the evil media and how he wants to be left alone. It's a good song, but not as good as his previous "evil media" song, "Leave Me Alone".

12) * Don't Walk Way - It has an ok melody, but I'm just not feeling this song. It has this weird country vibe to it. I'm surprised this was a Teddy Riley production.

13) * Cry - I usually skip it. Again, this is kinda slow. This one is produced by R. Kelly...I usually like his songs, so maybe I'll give it a chance one of these days.

14) * The Lost Children - Ditto...same as "Cry". Too slow.

15) ***** Whatever Happens - This should be one of the singles. This is a wonderful song produced by Teddy Riley and featuring guitar performances by Carlos Santana. Santana is also the guy who whistles at the beginning of the song. This song has a great vibe to it...probably my 2nd favorite song on the album.

16) **** Threatened - Can you say Thriller part 2? I would love to see the video for this one. It's got that great Thriller-type vibe on this song...it even has Vincent Price-type rap verses on it.

Ok, so many are quick to jump on the band wangon and call the man washed-up or just weird..fine. But we were always told to never judge a book by it's cover--Invinicible is what MJ fans have come to expect from their King- classic pop cuts, mainstream hybrid of rock rap and RnB, and coutless "he he" and "whoos" In a whole this cd is great. Take Butterfiles...this song reminds me of old school Mike, when it was cool to like Michael Jackson. Heaven Can't Wait, Whatever Happens, which is a pop masterpiece, unlike ANYTHING out there, and Santana rips it along side Mike. You Rock My World is a classic Jackson tune, sharp, sweet and full of funk. The production on this album is flawless, almost prestine, which is another factor we've come to expect from the King of Pop. He has the mojo and star power to comand whatever and whoever he wants, and they come! Rodney Jerkins, R-Kelly the Late B.I.G, Santana, Brandy, Fats, David Foster and Babyface to name a few. Sony should see that with proper media attention, this cd would have gone on to sell much more then a did. And what a shame the world will never hear "What More Can I Give" a wonderful, heartfelt tribute to the 9-11. Featuring the who's who in Pop music..Reba Macintire, Justin Timerlake, Gloria Estefan Juan Gabiel, Shakria, Julio Iglsieas, Jon Secada, Alejandro Sanz, Celine Dion, and on on and on...Who else can command that star power in two languages! Truly a remarkable man, with remarkable lifestyle that tend to overshadow his true passion--Music!

I really like this album. It's worth buying just for Rock My World and Butterflies. Butterflies is amazing and a totally new sound. Rock my World gets me dancing - I keep playing it. Worth listening to the whole album - seems like Michael's voice has improved since Dangerous and the beat is less intrusive. The two songs I mentioned stand up against his older work, and alot of the others do too.

I totally disagree with the Amazon editor review - just about every song is good and they are ultra-romantic. In fact, it's pure bliss from Break of Dawn until Butterflies. His voice really comes through on all of the tracks. The only one I am not crazy about is Speechless, but Cry is awesome and Whatever Happens too.

Ever since Michael's death, I've been listening to his music non-stop. I had for the most part disregarded it for the past 20 years (except via radio play,etc.), but now that I hear it again - I am captivated. His music is like a work of art you want to hang on your wall - something you can really enjoy. And hearing all of it, you pick-up on the Motown roots with the funky beats and harmonies. Jackson tried to make every song danceable or meaningful and I appreciate that. Re-listening to it, I am excited about music again - which I haven't been in quite some time.

After all of the B.S. that this album was a "commercial flop" for MJ, he still managed to sell more than 2 million copies in the U.S.

Madonna, Springsteen, Timberlake, etc. can sell 2 million of their latest album and it becomes a "hit"...why is Michael held to a different standard?

And after all of the negative press, Billboard (the music industry authority) ranked "Invincible" as the #8 R&B Album of the Year for 2002.

Not bad for a "flop" album, huh?