• Record Label: Epic
  • Release Date: Dec 14, 2010
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 19
  2. Negative: 1 out of 19
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Jan 10, 2011
    60
    While nothing on this record comes close to rivaling any of his past material, you can't deny the urge to indulge yourself in something labeled, "new Michael Jackson," and that's where Michael succeeds.
  2. Dec 15, 2010
    60
    This far less satisfying collection of gussied-up outtakes and posthumously completed tracks shifts the focus back to the packaging that progressively dehumanized Jackson.
  3. Dec 15, 2010
    60
    This is not a Michael Jackson album. Jackson was one of pop's biggest fussbudgets: Even when his songs were half-baked, the production was pristine. He would not have released anything like this compilation, a grab bag of outtakes and outlines assembled by Jackson's label.
  4. Dec 10, 2010
    60
    Michael rarely serves up anything that will have its listeners making a b-line for the dance floor.
  5. Dec 10, 2010
    60
    If there is a heaven, and if Tupac, Cobain, Presley et al made it through the gates, chances are they're consoling a wincing, visibly embarrassed Jackson, cursing his inability to bolt the demos drawer in Neverland's vaults just that little bit tighter.
  6. Jan 3, 2011
    50
    Michael Jackson's career might have plummeted in the last 20 years, but in death, his cultural significance and nostalgia offer enough so that new music is greeted with hushed reverence. It's enough reason to continue listening, instead of simply dismissing.
  7. 50
    On the balancing strength of those two songs [Dangerous & Much Too Soon], Michael manages to dodge the bullet enough to be kind of enjoyable. But it's worth remembering that both songs date back to the 1980s.
  8. Dec 14, 2010
    50
    Disappointing swansong from the King of Pop.
  9. Dec 13, 2010
    50
    It's not that Michael is embarrassing, it's just below par, a warehouse for songs that languished in the vaults for decades because they didn't quite measure up.
  10. Dec 13, 2010
    50
    At the very least, the album doesn't tarnish his legacy, although it adds nothing to it either.
  11. Dec 14, 2010
    42
    Michael mostly reflects the paranoid, musically out of touch, deeply unhappy person he became -- and who many fans would just as soon forget.
  12. Jan 13, 2011
    40
    Jackson's progressiveness and laser-aimed focus on perfection was always the foundation of everything he ever did and resonated through every song he ever made....Given the patch-work necessary to piece Michael together posthumously, it's impossible to imagine that this is a collection of songs Michael intended to deliver.
  13. Dec 10, 2010
    40
    Michael's real problem isn't the late star's indisguisable weirdness, but a paucity of decent material.
User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 81 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 81
  2. Negative: 16 out of 81
  1. Sep 10, 2011
    6
    Nothing here is really memorable (well, duh--it's not like it's any of Michael Jackson's older stuff), but it's all fun, spunky, and itNothing here is really memorable (well, duh--it's not like it's any of Michael Jackson's older stuff), but it's all fun, spunky, and it REMINDS us of his older music. Full Review »
  2. Feb 14, 2011
    2
    This posthumous album does not withstand any of Michael Jackson's previous materials. The album can be associated to as a compilation of songsThis posthumous album does not withstand any of Michael Jackson's previous materials. The album can be associated to as a compilation of songs from his previous album that did not make the cut. Full Review »
  3. Dec 31, 2010
    3
    This is what happens when people want to milk as much money out of the household name Michael Jackson. The songs sound half-baked and theyThis is what happens when people want to milk as much money out of the household name Michael Jackson. The songs sound half-baked and they were probably knocked up in a few minutes. The only standout track on the album is Much Too Soon. I wouldn't listen to the rest, it's forgettable throwaway pop. Full Review »