The crowned prince of pop, Michael Jackson has had... let's just say... a little bit of a successful pop career. He's become one of the most famous figures in the world, and his face is perhaps the most easily unidentifiable (for many obvious reasons). Tracks such as Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller... the list is endless even when we don't include his hits in the fantastic Jackson 5!) In the years before his death, Jackson was plagued with allegations that he was a card carrying member of the Gary Glitter fan club, but this blog is not here to discuss somebody's perverse sex life, it's here to talk about the hypocrisy of releasing a song stating 'It Doesnt' matter if you're black or white' whilst selecting your own skin colour from a Dulux paint chart.
Ok, ok, It's not! I'll just talk about the song. Happy now? Got it.
Side A is Black Or White, starting with some sound effects before locking into the Prince-like groove, a funky beat and Michael comes in singing. It repeats itself, like, it's quite a boring song to be honest. The groove is not enough to carry itself over constant repetitions like a P-Funk groove. We get a bit of a harder electric section and rap by Bill Bottrell, but it's all superficial, and just feels like jumping on the trend. This really is a sign of the times, where jacko had become a parody of himself, and this song really doesn't hold well when compared to tracks like Beat It or Thriller.
Side B is an instrumental version, and to be honest, it just really emphasises how musically boring this track is, and without a proper solid groove, it's even hard to dance to. Nothing more to say really.
This is Michael Jackson trying to take Prince on, but without the intelligence or carisma of the man's music. It comes out as shallow, superficial and just extremely boring. Jacko had achieved such great heights in the eighties, but after you reach the mountain's peak, the only way is down, and Jacko seemed to have banged on a couple of rocks on his way down(musically speaking... though it would explain away his need for surgery!) I would say it's one of Michael's worst songs... but then I remember The Earth Song, and (shudder) Scream, and I think again.
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