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At 78 minutes this is too long, and especially given his history, "The Lost Children" is offensive. But the first three tracks are the Rodney Jerkins of the year, "2000 Watts" is the Teddy Riley of the past five years, and even the prunables offer small surprises.
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Formula or not, with Invincible, Jackson reclaims his pop crown and wears it well.
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The mix is such that the saccharine ("You Are My Life" and "Heaven Can Wait") is outweighed by the brilliant ("Whatever Happens" and "The Lost Children"), creating a record that is quite relevant while at the same time being experimental and fresh.
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'Invincible' is a relevant and rejuvenated comeback album make overlong and embarassing by the unavoidable fact that Michael Jackson is a) exceedingly rich and b) a bit of a wanker.
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Ultimately, the record runs too long, losing steam halfway through.... Fortunately, Jackson was clever enough to front-load this record, loading the first seven songs with really good, edgy dance numbers.
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We're placed squarely in Michael Jacksonland, a bizarre place where every sparkling street is computer-generated, every edifice is larger than life and every song is full of grandiose desperation.
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To really care about this album you have to be able to get into the pure hard sounds of the dance-track percussion and the way Michael tends to garnish them with his voice.
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Q MagazineThough fatally flawed, Invincible does boast its fair share of sonic exhilaration. [#184, p.132]
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It does at least manage to include several of the things we hold dearest about Michael Jackson the singer, and it also steers clear of anything as laugh-out-loud as 'Earth Song'.
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The fortysomething performer doesn't have the stamina he used to, and the album quickly turns into a long run of listless ballads and silly cries for privacy.
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Halfway through the album, Michael ruins the good mood with a seemingly endless run of soggy, would-be anthems and self-pitying celebrity complaints.
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For all of the energy and money that went into it, ''Invincible'' is curiously lacking in excitement or thrills, cheap or otherwise.
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BlenderA long-winded, soulless soul album of the kind Levert might have once turned in. [#4, p.117]
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'Invincible' is an album almost unbearably mired in schmaltz.
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It simply isn't his best work.
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Jackson has lived a bizarre train-wreck life of mystery and tragedy, but following such a lengthy absence, Invincible just reeks of desperation and aimlessness.
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Invincible is an assembly-line bore.
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UncutStarts badly and gets worse for a very long time (77 minutes). [Jan 2002, p.146]
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MojoTired, frightened-sounding and hopelessly misjudged.... Hugely disappointing. [Dec 2001, p.116]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 150 out of 180
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Mixed: 13 out of 180
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Negative: 17 out of 180
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Nov 29, 2012
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Nov 16, 2010
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Aug 8, 2021