Actually, i think the timing's all wrong. If MJ's execs are thinking of making a buck off the past success of this troubled musician, maybe they should wait a year or two after the latest molestation trial. I'm a fan of the old MJ myself, but he's exploited himself pretty horribly in the past couple of years. If MJ really wants to be the King of Creep, he should quietly step off Sony's throne. Invincible? Barely.

I share your enthusiasm for Jackson-the musical entertainer, at least into the early-'90s, and this set is clearly packed. Perhaps it will help to remind us of his musical greatness, but I wonder if the current environment precludes the general public's ability to reconnect with the artist at this time. We will see - thanks and welcome Kevin!

I agree that the timing is very poor. The set debuted on the charts at around #150.

It is an outstanding distillation of MJ's career in many ways, but listening to it is somewhat reminiscent of reliving a long, tragic story.

I quibble a bit with some of the choices, too. Some major hits are left out like "Say Say Say," the duet with Paul McCartney, "Scream," the odd but interesting duet with Janet, and "Human Nature" is only on the set in live form.

The first disc with the coverage of the Jackson 5, Jacksons and Michael's solo hits through "Off the Wall" is a great idea, but the sound quality for many of these was better on Hip-O's "The Jacksons Story" from earlier this year. I did appreciate the inclusion of the tracks from the "Wiz" though.

The set does remind you how amazing MJ was, but it also includes some of the latterday messiness/weirdness that helps tell the uniquely tragic story.

all good points if we make it more than about simply the music.

Bill, you're right... "Say, Say, Say" isn't included, however it does have "The Girl Is Mine" w/ Paul McCartney.

i found the set to be marvellous, although i was somewhat dissapointed with the absence of Scream, as stated above.

Do think the timing is indeed a bit weird, though.

there may be some "contractual obligation" stuff going on from one or both directions: I have the impression Sony wants to finish up and run screaming in the other direction ASAP. The other timing issue could be they want to get this out before the actual trial and/or verdict, which could get very ugly and messy and completely kill the market

Contractual messiness and damage control are most likely at play, however from the music perspective there couldn't have been a better time. Listeners who still enjoy Michael Jackson have something new and it makes for a great gift.

which we encourage our readers to bestow upon one another by clicking on the Amazon link above

Kevin RS

This did make it up on Advance.net finally.

I posted Bill Lamb's MJ review as well by way of a quick contrast, though I usually just post the first to review it (unless it's super short and sucks sour sugar sacks

Congratulations and thank you for the review.

-- Temple

I would just like to say that the new MJ collection is absolutely amazing. Being a total MJ freak I would say that! However it must not be denied that it does remind us how talented MJ really was and is! I have to point out that on disc 1, track 17, this song only deserves to be played on the highest volume...god he could really sing!!! Also the version of 'You Can't Win@ I found refreshing, very different to the 1 on the film!! I love it and I think timing has nothing to do with it, its just a great celebration of this man and the scale of his talent!

hi ppl ... mj is the best singer/performer ever and this ultimate collection shows this not only does it have most of his best songs it has a dvd concert which is unbelievabe and this album is a must have for any music collection and forget about his private life because waht has happened to "inocent until proven guilty" i think hes inocent any way

The day I bought this set, I went over to a friends place (who has huge plasma screen and surround sound) and whacked the dvd into the machine. The friend was moaning. "Aww, not MJ..." 5 mins in he was captivated by the performance and when his mum walked in later, she screamed like a giddy school girl. The whole household got into it. Was great to everyone enjoying it. A testament to MJ's star power.

I JUST WANT ALL THE PEOPLE TO REMEMBER ONE THING.MICHAEL JACKSON IS THE KING OF POP FOREVER. HE IS A GREAT MAN. THE TALENT THAT COMES ACROSS HIS VOICE IS JUST AMAZING. GOD BLESS THE KING OF POP.

Yeh, I have the ultimate collection and I aggree he is the King of Pop, there isn't a day where I dont listen to an MJ song.
I hope he doesnt end up in jail...

My friend once said if he did then we'll be able to enjoy his jailhouse blues songs in the future...

I think the ultimate collection is absolutely amazing i just wish man in the mirror and leave me alone wasn't left off. I think sony are being really cruel in pulling the discs off the shelves in the uk as he has earned them more money over the years than any artist. Surely they owe him something that they could wait and see whether or not hes guilty(which he's not!).I think mj is just a very intelligent innocent religious person who has had it rough by not being able to know what it was like to be a kid. I think he just feels he has to protect children from what he endured as a child. Ok you could argue that his childhood has made him as succesfull as he is but it's no replacement. Hope i'm not on my soap box too much.It is hard for people to understand that an adult can have such an affinity with children but why does it have to be seedy. Thanks for taking the time to read this and i hope i haven't done your heads in.

no matter what any fucker ses michael jackson rules i mean who can dance like this man he is awesome because he sets a great example of people who want to be a perfomer theres only one mj and no one will replace him so before the judge lock him away. he betta think again cause michael aint guilty. anything michael is guilty of is being a true performer and talented human being