I’ve had many conversations/arguments with people when attempting to curate a list of the top five Michael Jackson songs, but time and time again, it proves too difficult. Instead, an easier task might be to choose the worst songs from the five best Michael Jackson albums (from Off The Wall onwards), as it provides a smaller pool to select from.
Off The Wall (1979)
Tracklist:
1. Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough
2. Rock With You
3. Working Day And Night
4. Get On The Floor
5. Off The Wall
6. Girlfriend
7. She’s Out Of My Life
8. I Can’t Help It
9. It’s The Falling In Love
10. Burn This Disco Out
Worst song: She’s Out Of My Life
I believe Off The Wall to be second only to Thriller in the list of Michael Jackson’s greatest albums, so picking my least favourite from 10 strong tracks is tough. Irrespective, I’m going to go with ‘She’s Out Of My Life’ (just ahead of ‘It’s The Falling In Love’) because I feel it is the weakest of the slower tempo songs, especially when you consider its release was during a time when Disco was at its peak. Additionally, though it was a close call, ‘It’s The Falling In Love’ was not picked partly due to the affection I have for Swiss’ superb re-interpretation of the song for his track ‘Cry’, in addition to to Flukes’ ‘Falling In Love’ instrumental that also sampled the song.
Thriller (1982)
Tracklist:
1. Wanna Be Starting Something
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl Is Mine
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9. The Lady In My Life
Worst song: Thriller
Without a doubt, the most difficult album to pick the worst song from, not only due to its quality but also its quantity, as the album only contains nine tracks. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that – despite it being the title track and perhaps the most famous – ‘Thriller’ (yes, you read correctly) is probably the worst song when compared to its companions. I can’t help but feel it was out of place when hearing it alongside the rest of the album and also that the video is the principal reason it is viewed so favourably.
Bad (1987)
Tracklist:
1. Bad
2. The Way You Make Me Feel
3. Speed Demon
4. Liberian Girl
5. Just Good Friends
6. Another Part Of Me
7. Man In The Mirror
8. I Just Can’t Stop Loving You
9. Dirty Diana
10. Smooth Criminal
Worst song: Speed Demon
Bad completed MJ’s hat-trick of classic albums, with ‘Speed Demon’ being the least effective of a new sound that he and Quincy Jones were shifting toward. Apart from the aforementioned track, I only ever really considered ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’ (before quickly realising I quite like that song), but ‘Speed Demon’ might just be one of my least favourite songs in Michael Jackson’s accomplished catalogue.
Dangerous (1991)
Tracklist:
1. Jam
2. Why You Wanna Trip On Me?
3. In The Closet
4. She Drives Me Wild
5. Remember The Time
6. Can’t Let Her Get Away
7. Heal The World
8. Black Or White
9. Who Is It
10. Give In To Me
11. Will You Be There
12. Keep The Faith
13. Gone Too Soon
14. Dangerous
Worst song: Give In To Me
After Quincy Jones relinquished sole control over production, Dangerous completed Michael’s transition into a new sonic direction, although, it was a song with a familiar feel that can be considered the worst on this album. ‘Give In To Me’ sounds like the bootleg version of ‘Dirty Diana’, so has to be considered a poor inclusion for someone of MJ’s stature, especially at the stage of his career at which it was released.
Invincible (2001)
Tracklist:
1. Unbreakable
2. Heartbreaker
3. Invincible
4. Break Of Dawn
5. Heaven Can Wait
6. You Rock My World
7. Butterflies
8. Speechless
9. 2000 Watts
10. You Are My Life
11. Privacy
12. Don’t Walk Away
13. Cry
14. The Lost Children
15. Whatever Happens
16. Threatened
Worst song: The Lost Children
Containing 16 tracks, Invincible – ultimately MJ’s final album – is relatively lengthy for a project of his, which introduces the risk of more filler records. And so it proved as several candidates were in contention for the worst track. In the end, ‘The Lost Children’ got the nod ahead of the likes of ‘2000 Watts’ and ‘Privacy’ as I was desperate to make known my indifference toward the majority of Michael’s songs similar in nature, like ‘Heal The World’ or ‘Earth Song’, for example.
