Maybe they forgot the question mark.
Michael Jackson's "brand new" posthumous single This is It -- released yesterday at midnight on Jackson's website -- isn't exactly a barnburner. Then again, it isn't exactly a new song either.
Turns out the track is apparently a retooled (and possibly retitled) old recording of a Jackson composition called I Never Heard, which was released by the soul-pop singer Sa-Fire in 1990. The tune, reportedly co-written around 1980 by Jackson and Paul Anka, first appeared on an album titled (believe it or not) I Wasn't Born Yesterday.
Jackson's version, which sounds like a demo that's been fleshed out with overdubs and doowoppy backup vocals from his brothers, is a simple midtempo keyboard ballad accented with finger-snaps and bubbly jazz guitars. In typical fashion, the lyrics toggle between grandiosity (This is it, here I stand / I'm the light of the world, I feel grand) and shy romantic yearning (I never heard a single word about you / Falling in love wasn't my plan). Supposedly recorded during sessions for his 1991 album Dangerous, there are currently three different mixes of the track in existence: A spare album version, a string-sweetened orchestral single, and a slightly longer orchestral version. On the whole, it's a sweet little number -- but it doesn't live up to its authoritative title. Then again, it's rumoured that Jackson left behind a lot more music than this, so it's unlikely this is really it in terms of posthumous releases.
The single will appear in the upcoming film and companion album of the same name. The movie opens in theatres Oct. 28 for a two-week run, with the two-disc album -- which features one CD of hits, an EP of demos and a 36-page booklet of photos from Jackson's final rehearsal for a planned series of British concerts -- arriving in stores a day earlier.
Jackson's shocking June 25 death due to acute perscription drug intoxication has been labelled a homicide by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. The physician who allegedly prescribed the medication that caused his death faces possible criminal charges.
SUN RATING: 3 OUT OF 5
