March 3, 2011 - 4:28pm
Michael Jackson's 'Vision' video collection, examined
BY JOE DIMUZIO
Michael Jackson is, first and foremost, a performer. Vocally and physically he could just about do it all. Need to be a J-B sex machine? Angel? Furious globe-crashing world warrior? Child? Michael wore plenty of hats well, conditioned since youth to do so. He was a shape-shifter and professional by determination, and a notorious perfectionist and workaholic. He did his best to entertain.
It’s fair to think less of him as an “artist.” His music, while incredibly performed and popular, didn’t necessarily push boundaries. But his most enduring, global and influential contributions to pop music were his music videos. Or at least, putting money into them.
Now, just in time for the holiday season, Michael Jackson’s "Vision" is here. It’s a three-disc collection of (almost) all of Michael’s music videos, touting remastered audio and picture, a previously unreleased clip and a really slick photo book.
While this collection fills a real void being the first collection of this size and range, (My sister still owns the now ancient History Pts 1 & 2 VHS tapes), it’s technically underwhelming. The audio quality is PCM Stereo which is adequate but hardly great. The picture quality of these videos is erratic, and in some cases, just bad; with grainy textures, occasional frame issues and unfortunate widescreen conversions. Since this is clearly, like so many MJ products will be for the next decade, a cash-grab, the time, money and effort needed to remaster the film for all 35 of these videos was something Sony was clearly not interested in. There’s no Blu-Ray release, and there probably won’t ever be.
But if you haven’t seen these videos, "Vision" is the best place you can go. It lacks alternate versions/cuts of popular videos, has absolutely no extras and the quality isn’t incredible — but if you’re an MJ fan or are one of the five people who hasn’t seen Beat It, check it out.
The first disc is prime MJ, both musically and visually. It covers Off the Wall through Bad, and Michael’s rise to unrealistic heights. The Off the Wall clips are charming time capsules, with a young, effervescent Michael dancing, grooving, moping. With "Thriller," everything changed. It sold millions worldwide, got a black man on MTV for the first time and changed popular music videos forever. First video “Billie Jean” is mostly dated, but when the tiles light up under Michael’s feet, it feels like more than a neat effect. It’s prophesy.
From there, Michael poured money, choreography and innovation into each successive video. He attracted high-caliber directors, from Martin Scorsese to David Fincher, and made the music video an event, the likes of which no artist did or could before him.
“Thriller” needs no introduction, endless revisitation. Scorsese’s “Bad,” complete in its 18 minute run time, is a clunky riff on ghetto toughness, shedding the tedium when it pops into vivid color, with the tug and stretch of Michael’s leather jacket and pop-n-lockin thugs getting their Jerome Robbins on. With the album Bad, Michael achieved a level of stardom that no artist has and may ever achieve again. Which means, more singles, more videos, more money. Overall, they range from unforgettable to hit-and-miss. “Man in the Mirror” is inspirational fluff, “Dirty Diana” and “Another Part of Me” are kinetic live documents, and “Speed Demon” is a detour into claymation hell.
Disc 2 is a mixed bag. The music post-Bad only boasts the occasional gem, and the videos, while mostly fun, just don’t have the verve of early MJ clips. Landis’s “Black or White” is schizo-we-love-all-races ham-fistery, but the inexplicable black panther ending is still neat. John Singleton’s “Remember the Time” is duller than I remember it being, wasting Eddie Murphy but featuring enough of Michael in his now aracial, asexual peak. “Heal the World” and “You Are Not Alone” are big sloppy hugs, and “Childhood” is sadly uncomfortable.
For the most part these are lovable misfires, because Michael still charms. But a few late-era clips do well. Mark Ronson’s expensive “Scream” looks great at 15 years old, with Michael meeting his match in a furious, maniacal Janet, in space, gravity-free, relentless. “Stranger in Moscow” is a nice slo-mo meditation on depression and it’s an underrated tune.
The "Vision" bonus disc isn’t too exciting. It has the previously unreleased “One More Chance”, which is, to put it lightly, a throwaway. Three late Jackson 5 clips are included, one of which is “Can You Feel It”, the most exciting and trippy video I hadn’t seen since this compilation, and it’s a must-see.
There’s not enough space here to gush on all these videos, but if you haven’t seen them, they’re here in one convenient place. But if you want the ultimate experience, perfect sound, video, e.t.c… you’re better off waiting for whenever Sony decides to get off their ass and make it happen. So it might be awhile.
