ICON

I received my order within 5 days, great timing as I wanted to have it to help celebrate during MJ's 3rd anniversary. Great collection of old skool orginal tunes, highly recommended for all MJ fans.

Some of the best songs of this PRODIGOUS talent child named Michael Jackson in his early years, some classics. A must for any MJ Fan.

MICHAEL JACKSON: ICON is a sparkling collection of the singer's work released during the early-to-mid 1970s, but be careful, for you may already own it: song-for-song, this is a re-packaged version of 20th CENTURY MASTERS - THE MILLENNIUM COLLECTION: THE BEST OF MICHAEL JACKSON (released in November 2000).

That said, this set of songs showcases Jackson's impressive - and quite often astonishing - young vocals in a package that culls the best from his four Motown era solo-efforts. Each of these consisted of "Collective"-written chart toppers and numerous album fillers, which was common at that time. The overall tone of these selections is fairly subdued (although there are some up-tempo tracks), but the songwriters took full advantage of their star's range here, and the results are timeless.

Listening to these tracks, particularly the earliest ones, recorded when the singer was only 13 years old, the maturity of expression, composure, clarity and power with which Jackson sings is disarming. "Ben", arguably the most well-known tune on ICON, gains renewed potency with its simple, plaintive arrangement and presentation, while other songs such as "Got to Be There" and "Music and Me" shimmer with vocal assurance that belies Jackson's years. As one delves into later cuts, the changing timbre of Jackson's voice suggests his ascendency from pop music prince to King; however we are halted just shy of that realization, instead allowed to embrace perhaps the most unaffected time in Jackson's life, when the promise outweighed the criticism.

The liner notes accompanying this CD are unfortunately sparse, but the original four albums these songs were released on were:

"Got to Be There" - GOT TO BE THERE (M.J., 1971)

"I Wanna Be Where You Are" - GOT TO BE THERE (M.J., 1971)

"Rockin' Robin" - GOT TO BE THERE (M.J., 1971)

"People Make the World Go Round" - BEN (M.J., 1972)

"With a Child's Heart" - MUSIC & ME (M.J., 1973)

"Happy (Love Theme from 'Lady Sings the Blues')" MUSIC & ME (M.J., 1973)

"Ben" - BEN (M.J., 1972)

"We're Almost There" - FOREVER, MICHAEL (M.J., 1975)

"Just a Little Bit of You" - FOREVER, MICHAEL (M.J., 1975)

"One Day in Your Life" - FOREVER, MICHAEL (M.J., 1975)

"Music & Me" - MUSIC & ME (M.J., 1973)

Lastly, I would have enjoyed the inclusion of the original MILLENNIUM COLLECTION cover photo in this package. The blank space behind the actual CD feels like a wasted opportunity.

In summation, this is a fine addition to a beginner's - or completist's - collection, which neatly displays some of the earlier gems in the King of Pop's crown.

MJ led a sheltered life and one of his own whether his choice or by handlers...these songs bring the memory of the precocious voice and are nostalgic.

I heard this on You tube really a good CD Micheal was a very gifted singer.Like the song I never heard "Happy".

Not at all what I expected. I thought there were going to be songs he made famous not this garbage. Ugh.

This is a wonderful cd and I really enjoyed it,!,

Magnifique

Très beau disque livré en peu de temps un cd qui vaut l'achat pour un très grand artiste qu'est MJ

Cd moins cher que dans le commerce

excelente Cd, nomas llego un poco rota la caja, pero de ahí en fuera, todo bien

Great Collector Item

Appena saputo dell'uscita di questo CD abbiamo deciso di regalarlo a chi partecipa a uno dei tanti contest presenti sul Blog dedicato a Michael Jackson [...] Amazon è sempre una garanzia in fatto di acquisto sicuro e puntuale.

This is a good product and it the item was everything the seller said it was