what it is ain’t exactly clear
(or: december 14 — a thumbnail sketch)
posted at 4:50 pm by brandon in tuesdays in the record store with brandon
The canny scheduling of the year’s most anticipated pop novelty punctuates this week’s (rather muted) action on the new release wall. Take a gander:
What Sony must be praying will make a suitable last-minute stocking stuffer arrives this week with the controversial release of Michael, a collection of ten newly-completed recordings culled from the supposedly deep vaults of the dearly departed King of Pop, Michael Jackson. There is a considerable amount of heat swirling around this record, with more than a few whispers that it’s not actually Michael’s voice on these tracks. And call me naive, but I choose to believe that the current curators of his estate wouldn’t dare risk tarnishing Jackson’s magnificent musical legacy by taking that kind of greedy risk. (Nor do I believe top-flight folks like 50 Cent, Akon, and Lenny Kravitz — all of whom make guest appearances here — would play along with such a ruse.) Having said that, Mike was notoriously prolific and always laying down something on tape; there are said to be hundreds of unreleased Jackson recordings laying around waiting to see the light of day, so you can bet Michael won’t be the last such posthumous release.
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