One-time big-name pop star Michael Jackson is releasing his first album in many
years; and attempting to put his freak-show image and child-abuse allegations
behind him, has attempted to make it as straight and boring as possible, with
any eccentricities swept under the carpet of slick, commercial-strength R&B
production. According to The Guardian, however, the result has been
not only tedious, but also
unintentionally disturbing:
Then there is The Lost Children, a hideous, syrupy sub-Broadway showtune featuring Jackson and an infants' choir. It ends with a fearful child's voice saying "It's so quiet in the forest... it's getting dark, I think we'd better go home now." It's creepy, has deeply unpleasant connotations and is appallingly misjudged.