There’s no getting away from it; posthumous albums make for a pretty ugly bunch. Almost universally cynical and money grabbing, they are right up there with musicals as the weapon of choice for destroying legacies worth protecting. ‘Xscape’, the second effort released since the death of Michael Jackson, though, has just enough about it to avoid the pitiful fate of its predecessor, ‘Michael’.
Largely plucked from Jackson’s post-’Off The Wall’ heyday, the eight songs here have been repackaged and brought kicking and screaming into the world by a team of producers under the guidance of LA Reid, CEO of Epic Records, including Timbaland, Stargate and Rodney Jerkins.
Their buffing and shining set aside for a moment, it’s still often clear and obvious just how good Jackson was in the early ‘80s.
Love Never Felt So Good, co-written with Paul Anka and first laid down following the release of ‘Thriller’, might be an offcut like everything else here, but its disco backing and mellifluous chorus are undeniable.
Similarly, Blue Gangster finds Jackson in pained Dirty Diana mode, while the title track’s brief drop into ethereal strings is a nostalgic treat.
There are times when the gleaming modern production undersells the vocal performances captured, though. Chicago is funk-lite, A Place With No Name’s chorus is criminally let down, while the re-imagining of Slave To The Rhythm is little more than a latter day Britney knock-off. Also, the decision to include Do You Know Where Your Children Are is likely to be subject to further analysis.
Since his death, Jackson has remained one of the vital presences in popular culture. His enduring influence is plastered across modern pop - see Justin Timberlake’s verse on a bonus version of Love Never Felt So Good - but we are yet to see anyone come close to scaling the heights he was able to in his youth. ‘Xscape’ will be devoured by fans, but all too often it can’t shake the fact that its high points are little more than sad reminders.
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