It is difficult to listen to and view Michael Jackson's The Ultimate Collection box set without a profound sense of tragedy. He is a near perfect tragic hero. Michael Jackson reached the pinnacle of Pop stardom and artistry at an early age, but he is haunted by a fatal weakness, seemingly his inability to relate positively to the world outside of his cloistered existence as a Pop star. The end, the destruction of his public image and meltdown of his musical career, is constantly foreshadowed through his music with paranoia, frustration, and anger. It's chilling, now, to hear him on "Billie Jean" sing the words "Mother always told me be careful of who you love / And be careful of what you do 'cause the lie becomes the truth." We don't yet know if the public has accepted lies as truth, but regardless of the outcome of Michael Jackson's legal battles, his glory days seem to be at an end.

Despite the tragic aura lingering over these four discs of music and one of video, listening to and watching Michael Jackson is still exciting and instructive. The first disc of the collection intelligently breezes through Jackson's career with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5 (and later the Jacksons) climaxing with his first adult solo hits and the last major hits with the Jacksons. The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" and "ABC" remain perhaps the most amazing one-two punch to kick off any artist's recording career. Many of the choices included here are obvious, but it is nice to hear the sparkling disco of "Ease On Down the Road" and "You Can't Win" from The Wiz. The inclusion of the demo version of the Jacksons' "Shake Your Body (Down To the Ground)" alongside the final version is instructive on the evolution of an R&B classic. The whispered vocal intro to "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" that kicked off Michael Jackson's adult career is as filled with sweet anticipation now as it was then.

The second disc of the collection chronicles Michael Jackson's emergence as a superstar. It features a clutch of tracks from Thriller, still the biggest selling album of all time, as well as a number of extras from the same period. The sequencing here is a bit odd. The disc kicks off like the Thriller album did with "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," but for most fans, the true introduction to this period of Jackson's career was the pre-album release of "Billie Jean" as a single, but it is now buried 5 tracks into the disc. "Billie Jean" still reeks of paranoia after all these years while riding on one of the most irresistible bass and rhythm foundations of all time. It's difficult to remember just how groundbreaking Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo in the middle of "Beat It" was now that it's so familiar. Along with Prince's "Little Red Corvette," "Beat It" broke down the MTV color lines and revolutionized the way music videos were programmed.