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Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work Of Michael Jackson, by Joe Vogel



Yet of all the heartfelt statements and tributes, one of the most intimate and powerful eulogies came from Jackson’s longtime friend and peer from Motown, Stevie Wonder. Wonder, of course, never saw Jackson perform; he never witnessed the changes in his appearance; he never saw the music videos or costumes or masks. However, he knew Jackson on a much deeper level than most. And he heard his music. Michael, he often said, was a gift.

Some months ago, I was offered an opportunity by Joe Vogel to review his new book, The Man in the Music:  The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson. I immediately agreed, because I knew it would be the first in-depth analysis of Michael’s artistry; the first major milestone to clearly define who Michael was and why he means so much too so many people. He told us that if we needed to be near him to listen to his music, because we would find his soul and love there. After June of 2009, I immersed myself in the sounds, lyrics and emotions of that unique voice; in that extensive body of work, and I found comfort amidst the storm of confusion and feelings of profound loss.

I thought I knew the music, but I have discovered that I had merely skimmed the surface—content with the familiar chords and visual excellence that had accompanied me through life. Joe has produced a study of Michael’s life work that reveals the intricate layers and details of a master at work, play, and collaboration in the medium he was born to inhabit. As Michael frequently opined, his music was already present in the Universe, and he was but a channel through which it came to us, from another place and Being who trusted this particular human to give His perfect, loving gift to a waiting world.

Let’s take a closer look at what Joe’s purpose, inspiration and goal was, as he embarked on what became a five year labor of love to detail, fairly assess and re-claim an artist’s vision and creative genius. He explains, “I wanted to write something historically and critically rigorous, but approach the subject with less cynicism and more curiosity. What was Jackson trying to covey? What did his work illuminate, challenge, provoke, express? How was it made? And what type of response(s) did he hope to elicit?”

The book’s preface, outlines Joe’s numerous sources of reference that enabled him to delineate the meticulous attention to detail poured into every song in every album beginning with “Off the Wall,” through to ”Invincible.” In Joe’s words, “In creating this book, I traveled deep inside that soul filled work. With each return visit, new and exciting discoveries unfolded. It is my hope that Man in the Music will inspire a similar experience for others, serving as a gateway into the creative world of one of the most unique artists of the past century.”

Freedom and liberation, with no boundaries between race, gender, nationality or culture, blended with unlimited imagination, drive and talent, and supported by the best, handpicked collaborators, produced some of the grandest and best loved music of the 20th Century. Because it is important to understand the context of the political, social and cultural forces present at the time of each release, Joe takes many of us back and informs others of the defining aspects of each era. As Michael evolved personally and professionally, we come to understand the impact and effects of what was occurring in the world around him. I particularly enjoyed these descriptions, because I could once again feel, and see in my mind’s eye, each decade and my own influences during those times.

In the summer of 1979, I was still in college and recall the disco craze, but it is “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” that triggers an auditory memory of dance and those minutes of pure joy pouring from the car or small, hand held radios. It was a primal reaction to the music and voice that was new and wonderful. Joe takes us to that time and place, and uncovers the sought after excellence that Michael achieved in this release, and the rest of that album. Still very young and visually joyful living in his talent, the cute little boy had grown into a beautiful young man, and we loved him. Joe takes us inside the process of musical craft, as Michael and Quincy Jones changed the future of music. I found myself listening once again to “Off the Wall” with new ears, trying to hear and identify different sounds, layers and meanings never appreciated before.

Released in 1982, “Thriller” triggers clear memories of Motown 25 and the impact of Michael’s performance. Even on TV, the magic of that moment is difficult to describe—those few minutes, for the first time since the Beatles, excited and stunned in its visual success. In addition, “Beat It” and “The Girl is Mine,” run through my mind in the context of that time. One revolutionary and the other warmly familiar, as McCartney had been for the past twenty years. My young children sang along, as Michael accompanied us everywhere.

Every song treasured, as Joe delves into the musical construction, composition and the artist’s mindset as described by his peers. If “Billie Jean” graces the airwaves to this day, it has to play loud, really loud, because its imprint demands nothing less. Joe guides us once again, with detailed gems of information and reflections from studio engineers, producers and fellow song writers. Bruce Swedien, was now an integral part of Michael’s team, and is responsible for much of the musical identity of each track on “Thriller.” Michael began the new decade as a shiny, new Prince of Pop, and within 3-4 years, morphed into the brightest cultural and musical tsunami since the Beatles. “Thriller” earned him most of his 8 Grammy’s in 1984, established him as MTV’s savior, and identified Michael as a force for change in social consciousness and racial tolerance through the power of his music and dance.

By 1987, storm clouds had formed over Michael’s career. Joe tactfully addresses media bias based on perceived, personal eccentricities. Music critics are gracefully admonished for superficial and unfair assessment after the release of “Bad” —their critiques primarily directed at the artist rather than his art.  Through his book, Joe liberally contrasts various critical impressions—those fair, and those focused on extraneous matters that had nothing to do with the joy of “The Way You Make Me Feel” or the powerful message of “Man in The Mirror” —in-depth peeks into Michael’s heart and mind, his evolving social consciousness, and expanding awareness of his unique position to effect change is beautifully described.  Each track on “Bad” is discussed at length, and offers insight once again into the restless mind of the creator who, with help from his friends and peers, made us feel young, empowered and inspired.

Critic, Christopher Sunami, writes about “Smooth Criminal,” “Through it all glides Michael, moving sometimes in unison, sometimes in counterpoint and sometimes in a complex relationship with the other dancers…Michael’s performance is mercurial, shifting instant by instant through movement vocabularies that other performers might spend years to develop and perfect.  …He’s not so much dancing to the music as an ordinary person would. Rather, his dancing floats on top of the music, a dizzying progression of technological virtuosity.” To this writer, that short film is simply fluid sensuality emanating from a dancing man with unparalleled grace and originality…brilliant!

Regarding “Dangerous,” released in 1991, Joe states: “By turns, gritty, haunting and transcendent, it not only became the singer’s most socially conscious album to date, but also his most personal revealing. ….A dazzling musical Odyssey, “Dangerous” is Michael Jackson’s Song in the Key of Life:  the work of an artist engaging with the world around him—and inside him—as never before.” Joe, skillfully guides our memories back in time to the days of Guns N’ Roses, U2, REM, Madonna and Nirvana. He describes the creative juices flowing in the studio that blended the talents of Bill Bottrell, Brad Buxer and Matt Forger, along with Teddy Riley, and Bruce Swedien. Buxer said of Michael, “Often, he would say, ‘Brad, get me a sound that hurts really bad.’”  Joe adds that “Michael simply heard “music” in everything”
Between “Bad” and the release of “Dangerous,” Michael had purchased his new home, Neverland. He found solace, and was invigorated in the peace and solitude of that place, and further developed his love of reading and books. Joe beautifully describes what Neverland meant to Michael, what it offered him, and how he created his own world and began to embrace a universal spirituality with a more inclusive world view. “Secluded in Neverland, Jackson, now thirty-one, felt free to explore regions of his identity, worldview, and purpose that he never had before. When he wasn’t creating, he was reading voraciously: everything from the verses of Emerson and Wordsworth, to the biographies of Michelangelo and Beethoven, from the psychology of Freud and Jung, to Sufi poetry (Jackson’s personal library grew to more than twenty thousand titles, including numerous first editions of his favorite classics).”  Dancing the Dream was conceived during this time. His spiritual adviser at that time, Deepak Chopra, commented on the “God feeling” that Michael brought to his performances. Joe explains, “…a transcendent, “ecstatic state” that dissolves hard lines, barriers and ideologies, and recognizes instead the unity of existence…”
It is compelling reading when Joe discusses Dancing the Dream, as well as his marvelous look at the art and interpretation of the “Dangerous” cover. “Straight through the middle of the cover is a track, suggesting that by following it inside, one might go beyond the mask and enter into the creative world and soul of Michael Jackson. The mask, in other words, is only the surface; in his music, one not only discovers his “essence,” but also the very purpose of his work, which is to pump life and energy into the world through the rhythms, melodies, and words of his songs.”
And the music? “Will You Be There,” “Who is It,” “Remember the Time,” “Keep the Faith”…days after Michael died, I was traveling with young teenagers and a three-year-old—we turned up the volume, opened the windows, and sang our memories of Michael loud and long. “Black or White” brought our little group together, as the youngest child laughed and clapped Michael’s legacy into the future. And that, I believe, was exactly what he would have loved.

In late 1995, Michael released “History: Past Present and Future Book 1.”  Joe begins his review by acknowledging that:
“History” is Michael Jackson’s most personal album. From the impassioned rage of “Scream,” to the pained vulnerability of “Childhood,” the record was, in Jackson’s words, “a musical book.” It encompassed all the turbulent emotions and struggles of the previous few years: it was his journal, his canvas, his rebuttal”
Joe succinctly describes the critical response to “History” and the uproar over promotional decisions for the new album. More importantly, he speaks in depth about Michael’s painful experiences beginning in 1993, and how that experience so profoundly affected him. As always, Michael expressed his disillusionment and pain through his art. Social, cultural and individual responsibility, as well as the cruel power of the media, is highlighted in the lyrics of “They Don’t Care About Us,” “Scream” and “Earth Song.”  Personal indignation and anger pound through “D.S.,” at the same time that “You Are Not Alone” and “Stranger in Moscow” speak to heartbreaking alienation, and a plea for understanding and emotional support Michael’s marriage to Lisa Marie Presley and the happiness he experienced, serves as a weighted balance against all the negativity in those years; how “Scream” was decided upon as an entry on the album, and Janet’s memories of that process are humorously relayed. Through Joe’s words, we meet a man who has now experienced humiliation, unfairness and deception on a global stage. Creativity and love became his saviors. Detailed accounts abound in the telling of how this was translated in the studio.
“Come Together” turned my head around at the stunning visual of Michael’s interpretation. It has been said that Michael featured the performance in Moonwalker, as homage to Lennon and gift to his son, Sean.

As Joe tells us, “John Lennon, Jackson felt was in many ways a kindred soul: someone who didn’t quite fit into conventional society, yet whose genius rested in that very unorthodoxy. It is only fitting then that Jackson picked “Come Together,” a song that famously defies all conventions, and openly embraces freedom from the strictures of language, authority, and ideology.”

It wasn’t until after Michael died that I became familiar with his marvelous short film, Ghosts. Even today, it continues to surprise and enchant, although what lies beneath the glorious dancing and fanciful story, written with Stephen King, lies what Joe explains as: “His best response to the public perception of him as some combination of spectacle, villain, and freak. If “Childhood” is, as Jackson once claimed, his most personal song, “Is it Scary” is the necessary counterpoint.” The release of Ghosts corresponded with Michael’s album “Blood on the Dance Floor,” along with the haunting “Morphine,” and one of my personal favorites, “Is it Scary.” Perhaps “Morphine” holds the heart hostage at present, because of current events.  Joe relates:

“But “Morphine”  is best understood as an experiment—both sonically and lyrically—in representing the experience of physical and psychological suffering and its temporary release (most literally in the form of narcotic pain relievers such as Demerol and morphine, both of which Jackson had been addicted to, on and off, since the early nineties). This experience is also brilliantly conveyed in the song’s form:  About midway through the track, the grating beat subsides, symbolically representing the pacifying effect of the drug. “Relax; this won’t hurt you,” Jackson sings soothingly from the perspective of the drug/doctor.

Beyond the literalness of the drug, is Jackson’s persistent yearning to escape from pain, loneliness, confusion, and relentless pressure. In this brief interlude, he beautifully conveys the soothing, seductive, but temporary release from reality. There is a sense of pleading, of desperation before the high abrupt end, and the listener is slammed back into the harsh world of accusations and anguish. “ 
Michael’s last studio album, “Invincible,” was released in October 2001. Many new collaborators in addition to Teddy Riley were at various times involved in the creation of “Invincible,” along with Rodney Jerkins. Joe quotes Rodney, “He was super vocal,” recalls Jerkins. “He was so hands on. I’m talking about from the high hat to everything. The sound quality was so important to him. He looked at everything under a microscope, like, ‘The middle frequency is too much’—he was very technical. He used to always say, ‘Melody is king’ so he really focused in on melody.”

Joe discusses in depth the year’s long creation of “Invincible,” the forces that way-laid plans for its promotion including the events of September 11, and the conflict between Michael and the head of Sony at the time. Lacking Michael’s visual interpretations via short film other than “You Rock My World,” and without a backing tour, “Invincible” ultimately sold more than 10 million copies. It is a beautiful, moving, healing album infused with a mature, creative man’s musical genius that is elegantly described by the author. Beloved children and the joy of fatherhood and family, along with the always present desire and need to create, prompted healing and a resurgent confidence in Michael that is evident in tracks such as “Unbreakable,” “Butterflies” and “You Are My Life.”

Some months ago, I tried to express in writing what the song “Don’t Walk Away” triggers for me in some deep, emotional space inside. Listening again, I think it truly is simply feeling the tone; every syllable in every note and every lyric that Michael sings, is simply perfect. Longing, sadness, hope and regret all wrapped up in a beautiful melody that holds what Michael promised…his soul in his music.

The final chapter delves into Michel’s last years. As Joe describes: “Behind the scenes, however, a still compulsively creative and restless Jackson, told Ebony he was as busy as ever. Indeed, in the years after his 2005 trial, he wrote and recorded dozens of new songs. Some of these were made with longtime creative partners Brad Buxer and Michael Prince; some were with friends such as Eddie Cascio; and some were with contemporary artists and producers such as Will.i.am, Neff-U, Ne-Yo, RedOne and Akon. The new studio album was rumored to be as strong as ever; it was his proof that he hadn’t lost the creative magic. In his final years, he would also begin work on a classical album with composer David Michael Frank, and start preparations for his remarkable concert spectacle, This Is It, a fifty-show run in London’s O2 Arena that may have been the biggest comeback in popular music history.”

Joe speaks of Michael’s plans, preparation and total immersion in This is It and what he wanted to convey to the world. Michael’s death and the aftershock, is lovingly described as is the Memorial Service on July 7, 2009.

Joe’s words regarding Michael’s good friend and mentor, Stevie Wonder, quoted at the beginning of this review, seem particularly poignant because of Stevie’s unique experience with Michael. Without the surrounding stimuli that the rest of the world experienced, his primary sense of hearing no doubt magnified and personalized Michael’s musical gifts. Direct input of the sounds and feelings imbedded in the music may have gone directly to Stevie’s heart.
 
At Michael’s memorial, Joe speaks of Stevie’s eulogy for his friend:
“This is a moment that I wished I didn’t live to see come,” he says. “ In the medley that followed—an impassioned combination of “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer” and “They Won’t Go When I Go”—Wonder allows the music to simultaneously recover, lament, and testify. “No more lying friends/wanting tragic ends,” he sang in the latter song, as a hushed audience listened. It was a deep, gospel soul that conjured a very heavy, personal, visceral pain. It was a song about losing a friend, not an icon.”

Thank you, Joe, for this wonderful book and your hard work over so many years. Thank you for bringing Michael to the world as he truly will always be…The Man in the Music.



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Thank you for sharing this with us. It is absolutely beautiful and touching to the soul to read those words.

I went online on Saturday and bought the Invincible album in honor of its 10 year anniversary. At the same time I bought this book - both of which arrived today on my doorstep. I am anxious to read it when I have a minute to spare but for now it sits on the table next to me - the handsome face of Michael staring back from the cover.

Blessings to you.
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I'm proud to be a child of God and a member of MJ's Army of L.O.V.E.
 
"Press coverage of my life is like [watching] a fictitious movie...like watching science fiction. It's not true." ~Michael Jackson (2005)

"You should not believe everything you read. You are missing the most important revelations". Craig Harvey 3-15-2012

 

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